IXINA

IXINA is the leading kitchen retailer in Belgium, has hundreds of retail locations in France, and has franchisees in 13 other countries in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Specializing in German-made (Nobilia) kitchens with brand-name household electrical appliances, IXINA targets the middle to middle-high market segment, differentiating itself based on the quality of its products and the expert advice provided by in-store designers who work with customers to design their dream kitchens.

With aggressive growth goals, IXINA is continually looking for ways to distance itself from its rivals in a very competitive market. The company sought a new way to attract prospects and improve the customer experience by making the kitchen design process easier and less time-consuming. Formerly customers would bring their kitchen dimensions into the store, and a designer would sit with them to design the kitchen. This process could take up to 3 hours – time that most people can’t spare.

The company commenced a search for an online 3D space planning application. The main objective was to make it easy for customers to use the IXINA website to make their product selections, visualize them in a virtual representation of their kitchen, and then bring the design into the store to finalize the project with the help of kitchen designers, and purchase.

A range of 3D space planning applications were evaluated, and all but one had shortcomings – primarily, they required customers to position kitchen cabinets and appliances manually. Only one solution, 3DVIA Home, had an automated proposal capability to automatically configure kitchens and propose all possible floor layouts. This enables users to quickly select IXINA products, consider different options and visualize their entire kitchen design before going into the store.

“People want personalized service that engages them in the design process and addresses their specific needs,” says Laurence Caurette, IXINA Director Marketing & Communication. “3DVIA Home provides this, enabling our prospective customers to start realizing their dream kitchen from the comfort of their home.”

Before deploying 3DVIA Home on its website, an IXINA technical manager worked with 3DVIA to implement design rules and import IXINA’s product catalog.

Based on the customer’s unique kitchen layout, 3DVIA Home automatically creates proposals without requiring the customer to add and place individual cabinets manually. The customer simply chooses a style, inputs the room’s dimensions, drag and drops door and windows into position, and then 3DVIA Home automatically proposes all possible layouts that support the design rules and space constraints for a fully functional kitchen.

When satisfied, IXINA’s customers navigate a highlyrealistic 3D model rendered in real-time to truly understand how their kitchens will look – all in less than an hour. “3DVIA Home helps expedite the sales process; when an Ixina customer starts a kitchen design project online, by the time they come into the store they are 80% convinced of their brand selection leaving more time for associates to help them complete their purchase,” says Caurette.

3DVIA Home inspires customers in a way that wasn’t possible previously because they can visualize their kitchen ideas before coming into the store. This can save sales time because the customer has already considered design options and made many of their product selections.

After completing their kitchen design on-line, a customer’s contact info and design layout is saved. This enables IXINA to capture leads and get insight into their customers’ purchase plans. While it’s too soon to know the return on investment (ROI) realized with 3DVIA Home, IXINA is already realizing the benefit of a satisfied customer, a new lead generation engine, and a more efficient sales process.

“Because of its ease of use and automated configurations, 3DVIA Home enables our customers to visualize and estimate the cost of their dream kitchens right on our website,” says Caurette. “The web-to-store customer experience results in both greater sales efficiency and customer satisfaction. We are confident we will improve our revenues as a result.”