The question: “How will this artwork look in my dining room?” can now be answered with Monday’s launch of The Etsy House, an interactive experience that allows shoppers to virtually walk through a home decorated with handmade items offered on the online marketplace, Etsy announced in a Monday (Sept. 27) blog post.
The house features true-to-size renderings, as well as 360-degree views of items available for purchase. When visitors hover over selected items, a pop-up provides more details on the product and a link to buy, according to the blog.
The newest augmented reality (AR) experience follows Etsy’s June 2020 release of an AR tool to aid prospective buyers in viewing art, photos and prints in their homes, according to a Tuesday (Sept. 28) report from Retail Dive.
Etsy isn’t the only company harnessing the power of augmented reality. Earlier this month, buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Afterpay partnered with Crocs and JD Sports to offer a two-day virtual shopping experience that allowed shoppers to virtually try on two limited-edition items, as PYMNTS reported.
Read more: Afterpay Enlists JD Sports, Crocs for Snapchat Virtual Try-On Experience
In addition to The Etsy House, the online retailer has launched several other initiatives aimed at customer retention. Among them is an improved search function using proprietary technology, which allows customers to more easily find what they’re looking for. Another offering will allow sellers to use videos in their product listings to show how an item is made or used.
Etsy also gave sellers access to a “Start Seller” section of the Shop Manager dashboard, providing insight into how they’re performing in various customer service areas, including message response times, shipping speed and five-star ratings. To be deemed a Star Seller, a shop must respond to 95% of messages within 24 hours, ship 95% of orders on time with tracking, have 95% of reviews with five-star ratings and have had at least 10 orders and $300 in sales over the past three months.
Related news: Etsy Customer Service Program Could Hinder Growth of New Sellers
