Have you ever wanted a product that's exactly right for you? Not almost right. Not close enough. But perfect.

A product configurator is an interactive tool that lets users customize products to their exact specifications before buying. It's the difference between accepting off-the-shelf products and creating what you truly want.

When car shoppers select their ideal color, interior, and features online before visiting a dealership, they're using a product configurator. When furniture buyers adjust dimensions and materials to fit their space perfectly, that's a product configurator capturing our attention and boosting sales.

Companies gain data-driven insights into what people actually want, while customers maximize control over their purchasing decisions.

Types of Product Configurators

The two main types of product configurators are visual configurators and parametric configurators, each serving different needs and industries.

Businesses implementing configurator solutions have reported:

• A 40% reduction in product return rates

• A 30% increase in average order value

This happens because customers get exactly what they want, reducing dissatisfaction and encouraging the addition of premium features during the configuration process.

Most modern configurator systems incorporate elements of both visual and parametric approaches. This creates hybrid solutions that combine user-friendly interfaces and technical precision.

Visual Product Configurators

Visual product configurators provide an interactive, image-based experience. Users can see their product take shape as they make selections.

These systems rely on 2D or 3D rendering technology to create realistic representations of the product.

For instance, when a customer uses a visual configurator to design a custom sneaker, they can change colors, materials, and even add personalized text.

Each change appears instantly on screen, creating an engaging shopping experience. Immediate visual feedback helps customers make informed decisions.

Visual configurators address a fundamental customer need: seeing exactly what they're getting before they hit that "buy now" button. Industries such as fashion, home decor, and automotive benefit from visual configurators because appearance is a critical factor in purchase decisions.

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Parametric Product Configurators

Parametric product configurators focus on technical specifications rather than visual appearance. These systems use rules-based logic to ensure all selected components work together properly within defined engineering parameters.

For instance, a parametric configurator for industrial equipment might allow a customer to specify power requirements, operational environment conditions, and performance metrics.

The system then calculates the necessary components and validates that the resulting product will function as needed. This approach builds solid foundations for complex technical products where performance matters more than aesthetics.

These configurators are proven solutions in manufacturing, electronics, and industrial equipment sectors. For example, when configuring custom server hardware, a parametric configurator ensures that selected processors, memory, and storage components are compatible and meet the customer's performance requirements.

The system can automatically adjust other specifications when one parameter changes, maintaining overall product integrity.

Examples of Product Configurators

Product configurators are capturing our attention across numerous industries, whether that’s B2C (business-to-consumer) or B2B (business-to-business).

B2C product configurators let consumers directly customize products for purchase. B2B ones allow businesses to customize complex products by selecting the required configurations - the business may not offer this customization to their customers.

An example of a B2C product configurator is Ellio, a company that sells e-bikes. They used Convert_ to create a product configurator so that their customers could customize their e-bike before purchase.

Embed Ellio product configurator

Another example of a B2C product configurator is for tiny house builders. This lets customers personalize their tiny home by choosing the:

• Floor plan

• Kitchen

• Floors

• Upgrades

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Some more recognizable examples come from car manufacturers like Tesla, BMW, and Toyota.

Interactive product configurators invite their customers to customize everything from exterior colors and wheel designs to interior materials and technology packages. As you make selections, the digital car model updates in real-time, showing exactly what your personalized vehicle will look like.

Beyond these consumer examples, B2B product configurators ensure industrial clients select the best combinations when buying complex equipment. This includes manufacturing machinery, HVAC systems, and commercial kitchen installations.

These specialized tools engage technical buyers as they navigate thousands of possible component combinations, ensuring all selected parts work together correctly.

Product Configurators vs. CPQ Solutions

A common point of confusion is the relationship between product configurators and Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) systems. While related, they serve different functions.

Product configurators focus specifically on letting users choose different options to create custom products. They handle the configuration aspect, but may not include pricing calculation or formal quote generation.

In contrast, a CPQ system is a more complete sales process tool. They include aspects like:

• Configuration capabilities plus pricing rules

• Discount management

• Quote document generation

Many businesses start with a standalone product configurator and later integrate it into a complete CPQ solution as their sales processes mature.

Combining product configuration with automated pricing and quoting shortens the sales cycles compared to using separate systems.

• The role of a product configurator is to translate customer preferences into valid product specifications.

• A CPQ system extends this functionality to cover the entire sales transaction process.

Benefits of Using Product Configurators

Product configurators have revolutionized how businesses interact with customers and manage their production processes. The core strength of product configurators lies in their dual benefit: they simultaneously improve customer experience and business operations.

• Customers - They transform shopping from a selection process into an interactive co-creation experience.

• Companies - They generate streamlined production workflows, reduce waste, and maximize profit margins through more efficient processes.

Increased Customer Engagement

Product configurators transform browsers into active participants in the design process.

When customers interact with a configurator, they spend an average of 4.5 times longer on websites compared to standard product pages. This extended engagement creates emotional investment in the final product.

The psychological effect of this time investment is significant. People value things they invest time in and help create, a phenomenon known as the "IKEA effect."

Product configurators leverage this psychological principle. They give customers ownership of the design process, allowing them to take control and make informed decisions.

The real-time visualization and immediate feedback create a powerful shopping experience that bridges the gap between online shopping and physical retail. Your customers can see exactly what they're getting, which increases engagement with your products.

Reduction in Order Errors

Order errors cost businesses billions annually. Product configurators dramatically reduce these errors through built-in rule engines that prevent technically impossible combinations from being ordered in the first place.

The mechanics behind this error reduction are sophisticated. Modern configurators use constraint-based programming to dynamically update available options based on previous selections.

For instance, when a customer selects a specific engine type for a vehicle, incompatible transmission options are automatically removed from selection. This helps prevent order errors.

Automation also cuts down on manual workforce mistakes. This error reduction translates directly to cost savings.

Beyond the direct cost savings, there's also the solid foundation of improved customer satisfaction from getting orders right the first time.

Streamlined Manufacturing Processes

Product configurators bridge the gap between sales and production, creating significant operational efficiencies. By capturing precise specifications during the ordering process, they eliminate the need for back-and-forth communication between sales teams and engineering departments.

The direct impact on manufacturing includes:

• Reduction in order processing time

• Decrease in engineering hours spent on custom orders

• Reduction in overall production costs

Configurators can automatically generate complete product specifications, bills of materials, and CNC machine instructions in some cases, leading to these improvements.

Saving time means your business can handle more orders with the same staff, effectively increasing production capacity without more staff.

Data Collection and Market Insights

Perhaps one of the most overlooked benefits of product configurators is their ability to function as powerful market research tools. Every customer interaction generates valuable data-driven insights about preferences, popular feature combinations, and price sensitivity.

This data goldmine allows your business to:

• Identify trending feature combinations

• Discover underperforming product options

• Test new features before full production

• Understand regional preference variations

For example, a furniture manufacturer could use configurator data to identify which features customers value most. This information drives their product development roadmap, ensuring new products align with actual customer preferences rather than assumed needs.

The benefits extend beyond product development.

Marketing teams can use configuration data to create more targeted campaigns focusing on the most popular features. Sales teams gain insights into which options to highlight during consultations.

Even supply chain managers benefit by identifying which components and materials are most frequently selected, allowing for more accurate inventory planning.

Increased Sales and Revenue

Product configurators drive revenue growth through multiple mechanisms. Personalization is a massive factor.

According to McKinsey, 71% of consumers expect companies to personalize interactions. When personalization is missing, 76% of consumers become frustrated.

Custom experiences have a direct impact on business growth. The same study found that personalization drives performance and better customer outcomes. Companies that grow faster drive 40% more of their revenue from personalization than their slower-growing counterparts.

Configurators typically increase average order values compared to standard product listings as well. This happens because customers can see the value of upgrades in real-time as they make selections.

You can expand market reach with configurators, making complex products more accessible. Traditional custom product sales often required expert salespeople to guide customers through options.

With configurators, anyone can customize products without sales assistance. This opens products to new market segments previously intimidated by complexity.

• Companies increase conversion rates

• Average order values increase

• Customer acquisition costs decrease

Creating Product Configurators with Convert_

Convert_ is a powerful no-code platform that helps you build and customize complex product configurators, without any technical skills.

Our tools are highly customizable, embed into any website, and offer seamless integration.

The software does all the heavy lifting for you. Get a user-friendly, drag-and-drop builder for creating powerful configurators - without coding skills.

Embed product configurator

Here are some features you can use to build product configurators:

Layered Images

Our layered images feature lets your customers configure and visualize products right on your website. Create visual product configurators that load quickly (another reason your customers will love them).

Layered images get toggled on and off depending on the choices your customer makes. On the back end, they’re easy for you to set up and edit.

These images make product configurators such a powerful visualization tool.

Conditional Logic

With conditional logic, you can create product configurators in line with your business rules (no matter how complex they may be).

Your configurator will instantly adapt to choices your customers make. If certain feature combinations don’t go together, the tool will hide these when users make specific selections.

This lets you create complex decision trees and pricing structures, all packaged in a user-friendly product configurator. No matter how complex your business rules are, our software can handle it.

Dynamic Pricing

Our product configurators give you the ability to set up dynamic pricing. You can adjust prices for your products in real-time.

Some examples are:

• Supply and demand - you can increase prices when demand is high and supply is limited, decreasing when demand is low or supply is abundant.

• Competitor pricing - you might monitor your competitors’ pricing strategies and adjust prices to maintain a competitive edge.

• External market factors - you may set up your configurator to full data from external sources, like the steel price index, to update pricing automatically.

This gives you much more control and helps you maximize revenue.

Payments

You can add a payment button to your product configurator and let customers buy on the spot. This helps you strike while the iron is hot.

Users can choose the configuration they want, visualize the product, see the price, and pay instantly. Letting customers configure products, calculate prices, and make payments all in one place streamlines your sales process.

Our product configurators help you personalize the customer experiences and boost conversions.

These are just some of our powerful features. Convert_ can do so much more.

Getting started is easy. Sign up for a free forever plan, choose a template, and customize it to suit your needs.