In an industry where glossy brochures and showroom displays still feature heavily in the sales and marketing process, Hurst Doors’ pioneering Augmented Reality approach is said to be paying dividends for installers.
With fewer homeowners visiting traditional showrooms and more decisions being made online, Hurst Doors, the UK supplier of PVC-U door panels, composite doors and fire doors, identified a growing need to support retail installers with more advanced and immersive marketing.
According to Google, 66% of consumers want to use Augmented Reality (AR) tools to help them shop, yet only 1% of retailers can provide them. Sensing an opportunity, Hurst Doors designed a fully integrated and accessible suite of sales tools, with AR at its core, to help customers sell more effectively, particularly those without access to showrooms.
“In a retail space that continues to be dominated by brochures and physical product displays, Hurst installers can have a showroom in their back pocket with our AR approach to sales and marketing,” explained Hayley Barker, marketing manager at Hurst Doors.
“This means that they can accurately showcase the product in situ, directly to the homeowner, wherever they are. It’s a genuine point of difference that empowers our customers and gives them a competitive edge, especially smaller installers who don’t have a showroom,” Hayley added.
The Hurst AR composite door sales tool enables homeowners to view ultra-realistic, 3D-rendered doors on their own property using just a smartphone. They can rotate, zoom, scale, and even photograph the door in place, turning product browsing into an immersive, personalised experience.
Browser-based, with no irksome downloads, account creation or logins involved, the simple and intuitive tool is completely free to use, and designed to support all installers, from one-man bands to larger retailers.
Designed to bridge the gap between analogue and digital, it’s backed by a cohesive suite of customer-facing resources. These include the lifestyle-led, ‘You’re Home with Hurst’ brochure, explainer videos accessed via QR codes, and social content.
With more than 3,000 AR sessions recorded in six months and a 30% increase in brochure download, the figures speak for themselves, as Hayley explained: “Our AR sales tool isn’t a gimmick, it’s been designed with accessibility, usability and real-world selling in mind.
“The numbers clearly demonstrate how AR can directly influence decision-making, generate positive engagement between homeowners and installers, and ultimately generate real sales in the composite door sector.”
Presenting a scalable platform for future innovation, plans are already in place to expand the AR range from 12 to 20 door styles, introducing new colourways and trending designs.
Homeowner-facing lead capture features within the AR tool are also under development, creating a direct link between product interest and installer follow-up.
With further integration into the Hurst Live online customer portal also on the cards, installers will soon have access to real-time visibility of quotes and leads, alongside order management and technical downloads.
“Hurst’s AR tool, and the wider campaign that supports it, has laid the foundation for a new standard in product visualisation, homeowner engagement and digital selling,” concluded Hayley.
“It has raised the bar for the effective marketing of composite doors and redefined how they are traditionally sold, in a way that has far exceeded our initial expectations.”
