Lowe’s expanding Apple Vision Pro kitchen design pilot
Lowe’s Companies Inc. is refining and testing an experience that lets customers use immersive 3D layouts to virtually design their kitchens.
In February 2024, the home improvement giant debuted a new spatial computing app called “Lowe’s Style Studio.” Designed exclusively for Apple Vision Pro, which is controlled by a user's eyes and hands, and offered via the App Store, Lowe's Style Studio allows customers to enter an immersive 3D kitchen scene.
From there, customers can explore preset styles curated by Lowe’s professional designers, and customize hundreds of real-world materials, fixtures, and appliances – all available at Lowes.com or in store – to fit their personal taste.
According to Lowe’s, the Style Studio offers nearly 80 billion possible combinations. Following an initial June 2024 pilot at select stores in North Carolina, New Jersey and California, the retailer will now pilot a revamped version of the tool at five stores in the Austin, Tex. market.
[READ MORE: Lowe’s to test in-store virtual kitchen design with Apple Vision Pro]
The pilot begins Saturday, March 15, and runs for a limited time. It will offer 45-minute consults where a Lowe's associate will help a customer navigate through kitchen options including sinks, cabinets, ranges, countertops, flooring, and much more using Apple Vision Pro.
Spatial computing seamlessly blends digital content in the physical space, enabling users to interact in stunning resolution, using intuitive input controlled by a user's eyes and hands.
Anyone joining the session, including friends, family, and decorators can follow along on an iPad that mirrors the 3D experience. Customers can then digitally save and share their selected styles and product lists at the end of the session. These can also be saved to the customer's Lowes.com account for future reference at home.
The Austin pilot will also feature the premiere of a teleport feature that allows users to view their kitchen from different viewpoints within the room. Customers will be able to jump to new views using a flick of their finger, allowing them to stay in their seat throughout the experience. Lowe's plans to roll out Lowe's Style Studio in additional stores during 2025.
"By combining the power of Lowe's Style Studio with our passion for helping customers, Lowe's is transforming the retail experience like never before," said Lowe's chief digital and information officer Seemantini Godbole. "This immersive in-store technology leverages the spatial computing technology of Apple Vision Pro to make it easier for customers to visualize, plan, and shop their dream kitchens—all in one seamless experience."
Lowe's Style Studio is available in the App Store for Apple Vision Pro.
Lowe’s Innovation Labs continues next-gen technology efforts
Lowe’s Style Studio was built by its Lowe’s Innovation Labs proprietary tech hub. Other solutions developed by Lowe’s Innovation Labs include an end-to-end room scanning, measurement and estimate tool called "Measure Your Space," as well an interactive virtual model, or “digital twin,” of its stores that enables employees to visualize and interact with nearly all of a store's digital data.
In addition, Lowe’s Innovation Labs created the retailer’s Lowe’s Product Expert custom GPT tool that delivers home improvement product recommendations via generative AI, which is based on machine learning (ML) and can create new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos and music.
Based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's operates over 1,700 home improvement stores and employs approximately 300,000 associates.
