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Sep 22, 2023

One day we will look into the shop directly from the couch, says the founder of iShowroom.cz. He gives the experience of online shopping a 3D dimension.

One day we will look into the shop directly from the couch, says the founder of iShowroom.cz. He gives the experience of online shopping a 3D dimension.

iShowroom

Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality

3D Presentation

Digital Shopping

Ecommerce Innovation

Industry 4.0

Technology in Sales

StartupyCZ

EuroCZ

  • Although online shopping makes our lives easier in many ways, it still has its limits. Especially when it comes to things that need to be 'touched' before purchase.

  • This could change in the future. After all, Czech company iShowroom.cz is already working towards progress in this direction by giving sellers and their products a 3D form through augmented and virtual reality.

  • With this technology, customers can be instantly transported to a car showroom, where they can examine their dream car up close using a life-sized virtual twin. The founder of the startup, Filip Major, also sees potential in the construction and engineering segments.

If customers have truly gotten used to something during the coronavirus, it is undoubtedly the fact that they definitely don't need to get up from the couch for shopping. For the vast majority of them, this habit has stuck.

Czechs (and not just them) commonly have food, clothing, and electronics delivered to their homes – in short, all the things that don’t need to be 'touched' before purchase. At least for now. However, in the future, technologies should also ease tasks such as choosing a car, purchasing machinery, or realizating a brand new bathroom. After all, this is already happening, at least in part, today.

“One day we will visit our favorite cosmetics store from the living room. We will be able to walk around it, touch the products, and read their compositions,” says Filip Major, founder of iShowroom.cz, which digitizes the shopping experience and gives the entire process a 3D dimension.

The Czech startup, in other words, allows sellers and merchants for their products and spaces to be examined by customers using virtual and augmented reality. Both, of course, at life size. This eliminates barriers not only for online shopping as such but also for a wide range of administrative and logistical limits that continue to accompany both online and offline purchases.

The time when 3D e-commerce will be as common for stores as their own e-shops are today is still merely a concept. Nevertheless, it is a fact that this trend is already penetrating areas such as the automotive industry, construction, and engineering. This is where Major currently sees the greatest potential – whether it’s about presenting new car models or purchasing machinery that is physically very challenging to transport and for which potential customers sometimes must travel hundreds of kilometers.

“With such expensive items, it’s important to highlight the added value and communicate with the customer regarding the size, dimensions, and materials, all remotely,” he explains.

Sep 22, 2023

One day we will look into the shop directly from the couch, says the founder of iShowroom.cz. He gives the experience of online shopping a 3D dimension.

iShowroom

Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality

3D Presentation

Digital Shopping

Ecommerce Innovation

Industry 4.0

Technology in Sales

StartupyCZ

EuroCZ

  • Although online shopping makes our lives easier in many ways, it still has its limits. Especially when it comes to things that need to be 'touched' before purchase.

  • This could change in the future. After all, Czech company iShowroom.cz is already working towards progress in this direction by giving sellers and their products a 3D form through augmented and virtual reality.

  • With this technology, customers can be instantly transported to a car showroom, where they can examine their dream car up close using a life-sized virtual twin. The founder of the startup, Filip Major, also sees potential in the construction and engineering segments.

If customers have truly gotten used to something during the coronavirus, it is undoubtedly the fact that they definitely don't need to get up from the couch for shopping. For the vast majority of them, this habit has stuck.

Czechs (and not just them) commonly have food, clothing, and electronics delivered to their homes – in short, all the things that don’t need to be 'touched' before purchase. At least for now. However, in the future, technologies should also ease tasks such as choosing a car, purchasing machinery, or realizating a brand new bathroom. After all, this is already happening, at least in part, today.

“One day we will visit our favorite cosmetics store from the living room. We will be able to walk around it, touch the products, and read their compositions,” says Filip Major, founder of iShowroom.cz, which digitizes the shopping experience and gives the entire process a 3D dimension.

The Czech startup, in other words, allows sellers and merchants for their products and spaces to be examined by customers using virtual and augmented reality. Both, of course, at life size. This eliminates barriers not only for online shopping as such but also for a wide range of administrative and logistical limits that continue to accompany both online and offline purchases.

The time when 3D e-commerce will be as common for stores as their own e-shops are today is still merely a concept. Nevertheless, it is a fact that this trend is already penetrating areas such as the automotive industry, construction, and engineering. This is where Major currently sees the greatest potential – whether it’s about presenting new car models or purchasing machinery that is physically very challenging to transport and for which potential customers sometimes must travel hundreds of kilometers.

“With such expensive items, it’s important to highlight the added value and communicate with the customer regarding the size, dimensions, and materials, all remotely,” he explains.

Brochures are no longer flying

The solution offered by Majer’s technology is also available for sellers and traders who utilize physical spaces for their activities. The need to rent or own premises could one day disappear forever thanks to virtual and augmented reality. Or it could at least be minimized: "We do not force our customers to completely transform into the online space. We think about how to expand the possibilities of existing showrooms."

Not only can this way save up to tens of percent, but sellers can also more easily connect with the customers themselves. And literally. "Instead of large spaces outside of Prague, they can find much more lucrative ones somewhere in Karlín. Maybe the size of 50 to 60 meters," states the founder, adding that this step also has a positive impact on the environment to a certain extent, as a more modest operation and limited logistics can reduce the carbon footprint. Moreover, the number of necessary employees in these halls can also be reduced.

An additional plus is also the fact that for example, engineering companies do not need to have their products physically in stock, as they sell them based on a digital twin. "One room can be shared by multiple companies. And given that it will be intelligent in itself and guide the customer through the entire purchasing process, you can have a designed bathroom or selected car in just 20 minutes," Major points out.

From cars to construction machines

The purchase of a new vehicle was not mentioned by Major by chance. He originally wanted to focus solely on the automotive sector. However, the deeper he immersed himself in the area of 3D e-commerce, the better his idea of the real potential for other possible industries became. And although he initially aimed his hardware more at companies, it turned out that the product is also lucrative for sales representatives, who are able to serve customers in a significantly more efficient way using it. "They don’t carry brochures and samples with them; instead, they have a sleek tablet," explains the head of iShowroom.cz.

One of his fundamental requirements was for the hardware to be accessible even on a smartphone costing five thousand crowns. "I try to look at it from the customers' perspective; I certainly do not want to push anyone into costly hardware," he says. The starter package, which includes roughly three months of work, his company currently offers for about 50 thousand euros (1.2 million crowns), but depending on the complexity and volume of the order, the price can rise into the hundreds of thousands.

As for profitability, iShowroom.cz has been in the black practically from the first month of its three-year operation, despite the high costs, which are, according to the founder’s words, quite unusual for a startup. 

"We need to have top-notch people at the company and they come at a price," he comments, noting that they have not yet had to draw on the investment of 300 thousand euros (approximately 7.3 million crowns) that the company received at its start. This year, they also expect a turnover of around 15 million crowns. "Our EBITDA is relatively high, amounting to two million crowns last year," he concludes.

Filip Major

Filip Major

Filip Major

Founder, CEO, Concept Architect

Founder, CEO, Concept Architect

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