A 3D configurator is one of the most expensive things a product team can put on a website. It pays when it does a job the buyer and the dealer both need, and it costs a fortune when it is there to look impressive.
When does a 3D configurator pay for itself?
It pays when the options change the price and the buyer wants to see the exact machine they are paying for.
- Many options that change the price. Trim, color, wheels, tracks, seating, accessories. If a buyer can build a version that costs a lot more than the base model, they need to see it.
- Buyers who want to see their version. People who are spending real money on a vehicle, a sled, or a side-by-side want to look at their color and their accessories from every side before they call anyone.
- Dealers who quote from it. When the build goes straight to a dealer as a quote, the configurator becomes a sales tool for the dealer network and stops being a toy.
When is it a waste of money?
When there are only a few options, a good photo gallery and a clear price list do the job for a fraction of the cost. It is also a waste when your buyers are on slow phones and the model takes so long to load that they leave before it spins.
Why do phones come first?
Most people start shopping on a phone, so the configurator has to work there before it works anywhere else. That means a model that loads fast, controls a thumb can use, and a price that stays on screen while the buyer changes options. Design the desktop version second. I stepped in to a design leadership role at Polaris during the revamp of an online customizer that lets people configure their vehicle in full 3D, on phones too.
What happens after the buyer finishes building?
The build has to go somewhere useful: a dealer, a quote, or a saved link the buyer can send to a spouse. The worst ending is a finished build with no next step. Decide with the dealer team what they need in the hand-off (the exact options, the price shown, the buyer's contact details, the nearest dealer) and make sure the build arrives in a form they will use. If dealers ignore the leads, the configurator is a very expensive picture.
What does a 3D configurator cost to plan and prototype?
Prototyping is $150 an hour or a fixed quote, and it is the cheapest way to find out whether buyers will use the thing before you pay for the full build. A clickable prototype on a phone, tested with a handful of real buyers and a couple of dealers, answers most of the big questions. If you already have a plan or a vendor proposal, a one-hour second opinion is $150. See prototypes and, for a team in the middle of a revamp, interim design leadership.
What should we prototype first?
The parts most likely to fail: the first load on a phone, the option that changes the price the most, and the hand-off to the dealer. Leave the polish for later. If those three work in a rough prototype, the full build is worth paying for.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.