DoorCo, a UK-based composite door supplier, is to add an augmented reality (AR) visualiser to its Gripcore marketing portfolio. The move aims to assist DoorCo customers with selling the perfect door.
Ben Aspinall, DoorCo’s head of technology and marketing, said: “DoorCo is driven by innovation, not just in our products but our services too.” He added: “Marketing is an essential part of our customer support package, offering multiple assets to assist our customers to sell doors more easily. Our door designer has always been a key offering in the portfolio, and you have long been able to showcase a new door design on a property using a static image.
“The DoorCo marketing and technology team has taken this a step further by implementing augmented reality. The technology is currently being trialled ahead of release of the next edition of the dedicated Gripcore brochure, with one hero door design available now to use.
“Augmented reality is a system that combines real and virtual worlds, using real-time interaction. To put this into context, the existing DoorCo designer allows you to upload a photo of your house to get a visual of the door you have designed, overlaying the new door design to create a totally artificial environment.
“AR takes this a step further by overlaying computer-generated images over the real world. In other words, through a mobile phone camera, you can now overlay the property’s existing door with the DoorCo door of choice, to visualise exactly what that door will look like once it is installed. The technology will be activated in the new brochure via a QR code programmed with a Gripcore door design of choice from the collection.
“When purchasing a new door, we believe it’s important that you can see how a product will look in a home before making a purchase. In turn, homeowners will be more likely to be satisfied with the new entrance to their home. AR has an extremely positive affect on decision-making by reducing confusion, frustrations and subsequent returns.
“This is the first sales tool of its kind for our industry and an exciting development. The new tool is being launched to support sales of Gripcore but will soon be rolled out across our wider product portfolio.”
