3D Ecommerce: What It Is and How to Use It

3D ecommerce uses three-dimensional models to bring products to life on online shopping pages. Shoppers can rotate, zoom, and view products from any angle, and in some cases, virtually see them in their own space before buying.

Since adopting 3D modeling and augmented reality (AR) on its product pages, Rebecca Minkoff has found that shoppers who viewed a product in AR were 65% more likely to make a purchase. Similarly, Oakywood went from months with almost no custom orders to around 200 to 300 per month after adding 3D scanning to their product pages.

This guide covers how 3D ecommerce works, which product types benefit most, and how to add 3D models to a Shopify store.

What is 3D ecommerce?

3D ecommerce employs three-dimensional product models on online retail pages. This allows shoppers to interact with products, much like they would in a physical retail space, before buying. 

Some implementations extend into augmented reality (AR), where shoppers place a virtual product in their physical space using a phone camera. They can then see how a sofa fits in their living room, or how a bag looks on their shoulder.

Types of 3D ecommerce

3D ecommerce takes several forms, each offering a different level of interaction:

• 360-degree spin. Shoppers rotate a product model to view it from any angle, replicating the in-store experience of picking something up in a store.
• Augmented reality (AR). Shoppers place a virtual product (furniture, accessories, apparel) in their physical space using a phone camera. 
• Virtual reality (VR). Shoppers browse products inside an immersive virtual environment using a headset.
• 3D configurators. Shoppers get to customize a product in real time. They choose materials, colors, and dimensions, and see the result rendered as a 3D model before ordering.

How does 3D ecommerce differ from traditional product photography?

Traditional product photography shows products attractively for ecommerce stores, campaigns, and catalogs, while 3D ecommerce lets shoppers explore them interactively. While this form is static, displaying a product from fixed angles, 3D models let shoppers control the viewing angle themselves, exploring details a still image might not show.

AR and configurators go further. Instead of showing what a product looks like in a studio or styled lifestyle shot, they show what it looks like in a specific context. That could mean a customer’s home, on their body, or built to their specifications.

Why 3D ecommerce works

3D ecommerce works because 3D and AR give online shoppers more information about a product before buying. Shopify store owners who’ve implemented both have seen the direct effect on conversion and order volume.

How do 3D and AR affect buying decisions?

3D and AR affect buying decisions by raising purchase intent, since shoppers who can interact with a product before buying it show higher intent. At Rebecca Minkoff, shoppers who viewed a product as a 3D model were 44% more likely to add it to cart than those who hadn’t. Of those visitors, 27% were more likely to place an order. 

“When people have the intent to shop without physically being able to touch and see a product, the more options you can give them to create that confidence is helpful,” says Sarah Sheldon, Rebecca Minkoff’s senior director of global ecommerce and digital.

After moving from an Etsy storefront to Shopify, including implementing Shopify AR, Oakywood was able to increase average order value (AOV) by 458% in Germany, 232% in Switzerland, and 84% in the UK. 

“We rebranded the store last year, we switched over to Shopify Plus, then we added the customisers with Precismo,” says Mateusz Haberny, founder of Oakywood. “[Customers] reach out post-purchase to say the AR model was a game changer and the thing that made them purchase those products.”

The product categories that benefit most from 3D

3D and AR work best where fit, scale, or detail is difficult to judge from photos alone:

• Furniture and home goods. AR lets shoppers place a piece in their home before buying, removing the guesswork around size and proportion. 
• Fashion and accessories. Bags, shoes, and jewelry involve texture, hardware, and construction details that traditional photography can miss. 3D models let shoppers examine stitching, clasps, and material finish up close.
• Custom and configurable products. 3D configurators let shoppers see their exact specifications rendered in real time before placing an order, which is particularly valuable for made-to-order items where returns aren’t practical.

How to add 3D models to your Shopify store

There are three ways to create 3D models with Shopify: 

• A built-in scanner in the mobile app
• Certified creators in the Shopify Partner Directory
• Third-party 3D software

Create a 3D model with Shopify’s built-in iPhone scanner

The Shopify mobile app includes a built-in 3D scanner for supported iPhones and iPads. It creates a model in 10 to 15 minutes through three scans, with no external software required. The finished model uploads directly to your product media.

How do you hire a Shopify Partner to build 3D models?

Hire a Shopify Partner to build 3D models by finding certified 3D model creators in the Shopify Partner Directory, which suits complex or high-fidelity products. Partners typically need product photos from multiple angles and measurements in millimeters. This route suits merchants who need precise, detailed models for luxury or technically complex products.

Accepted file formats

Shopify accepts 3D models in two formats:

• GLB. The standard format for 3D models on Shopify. Files up to 500 megabytes are accepted; files over 15 megabytes are auto-optimized. An ideal GLB file is around four megabytes.
• USDZ. Apple’s format for AR on iOS devices. Shopify auto-converts GLB files to USDZ to ensure compatibility across Android and iOS.

How do you configure your 3D viewer without writing code?

Configure your 3D viewer without writing code on the Products page in the Shopify admin, where you can adjust lighting, background color, camera angle, and zoom for each model. Available lighting controls include environment filters and exposure settings.

What is augmented reality in ecommerce?

Augmented reality in ecommerce is a technology that lets customers use a phone or tablet camera to overlay a virtual product onto a real-world environment. 

How AR lets Shopify customers place products in their own space

When a shopper taps “View in your space” on a Shopify product page, the AR viewer launches through their device camera. They can move the product around, change its position, and view it from different angles within their environment.

Cambridge Satchel uses this functionality to let shoppers see how their bags look before buying. “The fact that we can offer this kind of AR experience with our budget puts us on a level playing field with people who have much greater resources than we do,” says founder Julie Deane.

AR vs. VR

AR and VR serve different purposes, and most ecommerce stores don’t need both:

• AR overlays a virtual productonto a shopper’s real environment using a phone or tablet camera. No additional hardware is required, making the experience more accessible.
• VR places shoppers insidea fully virtual space using a headset. It creates a more immersive experience, but requires hardware.

For most store owners, AR is the practical starting point. VR is better suited to brands building dedicated virtual showrooms or experiential retail environments.

How does 3D ecommerce vary by product type?

3D ecommerce varies by product type, with different categories using 3D and AR in different ways. The sections below cover the three categories where 3D has the clearest commercial application.

How do furniture and home goods use 3D and AR?

Furniture and home goods use 3D and AR to address scale and proportion, which can be the primary purchase barriers for furniture. A sofa might look right in a product photo, but wrong in a buyer’s living room. AR removes that uncertainty by letting shoppers place a to-scale model in their actual space before ordering.

Oakywood uses Precismo’s 3D scanning technology via Shopify AR to let shoppers generate a 3D model of a custom piece and see it displayed in their home. 

How do fashion, footwear, and accessories use 3D models?

Fashion, footwear, and accessories use 3D models to convey texture, hardware, and construction details that are difficult to show in flat photography. 3D models let shoppers examine material finish, stitching, and structural details from any angle.

Rebecca Minkoff added 3D models and AR functionality to more than 50 product pages. Shoppers who viewed a product as a 3D model were 44% more likely to add it to cart. Those who viewed a product in AR were 65% more likely to make a purchase.

How do 3D configurators help with custom and configurable products?

For custom and configurable products, a 3D configurator lets shoppers see their exact specifications, including materials, colors, and dimensions, rendered in real time before placing an order. This is particularly useful where returns aren’t practical and shoppers need confidence in their choices before committing.

What are the challenges of implementing 3D ecommerce?

The main challenges of implementing 3D ecommerce are creating the models themselves and making sure your store's theme supports them. When you use Shopify, you can address both without custom development.

Managing production cost and timeline

The right approach to 3D models depends on your product complexity and available resources:

• DIY with the Shopify mobile app. This suits merchants with straightforward products who want to move quickly.
• Level up with a Shopify Partner. For complex or high-fidelity products, hiring a certified 3D model creator from the Shopify Partner Directory produces more precise results. 
• Third-party 3D software. Stores with in-house design capability can create models using software such as Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush, or Substance Painter, then export to GLB format for upload.

How do you check theme compatibility and set up 3D on Shopify?

To set up 3D on Shopify, make sure your theme supports 3D product media. Store owners whose current theme doesn’t support it have two options: switch to a compatible theme or modify the existing theme via Shopify developer documentation.

Once the theme supports 3D media, uploading a model follows the same workflow as adding any product image—through the Products page in the Shopify admin. Shopify auto-converts GLB files to USDZ, so a single upload covers both Android and iOS without additional steps.

How to measure 3D ecommerce performance

Conversion rate and return rate give you an idea of whether your 3D models are working. Both are best measured by comparing products with 3D media against comparable products without it.

Conversion rate and add-to-cart impact

The clearest signal that 3D is working is movement in add-to-cart and conversion rates among shoppers who interact with 3D models or AR, compared to those who don’t. To measure this in your own store, segment conversion data by shoppers who engaged with 3D or AR product media versus those who viewed standard images only. Most analytics platforms support event tracking on product page interactions.

Return rate reduction

3D and AR give shoppers a more accurate picture of a product before buying, which can reduce returns driven by unmet expectations around size, scale, or appearance. Tracking return rates for products with 3D models against comparable products without them gives a cleaner read on impact than overall store return rates.