Lowe’s to Launch New Spatial Commerce Experience in Its Mobile App

Home improvement retailer Lowe's will launch a new spatial commerce experience leveraging LiDAR Scanner technology available in iPhones and iPads to help its customers get detailed room measurements.

Few home improvement projects can move forward without data about a home's space, which can be tough to gather. This new experience is a glimpse into Lowe's vision for spatial commerce, a future where emerging technologies put home data at customers' fingertips, making home improvement more accessible.

Measure Your Space^BETA is an intuitive, end-to-end room scanning, measurement and estimate experience in the Lowe's iOS mobile app. It’s expected to launch before the end of Lowe’s Q1 2022 in the form of a commercial beta launch available to iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max and iPad Pro users via the app. 

iPhones and iPads with the LiDAR Scanner use purpose-built sensors and software to sense depth and map dimensions of a space and the objects in it. Lowe's new spatial commerce experience will leverage this technology to get detailed room measurements. Lowe's customers will be able to access the feature by pressing the Measure Your Space ^BETA button on the product detail page of select flooring products in the Lowe's iOS app. The app will guide them to scan a room, automatically generating a floor plan, room measurements and a personalized estimate. They will then be able to access this information in their app from anywhere.

"Home improvement can be complex, but at Lowe's, we're investing in emerging technologies like LiDAR, AI and mixed reality to make home improvement simple and intuitive," said Seemantini Godbole, Lowe's executive vice president and chief information officer. "We see a future in which the devices customers already own can sense, understand and compile information about their home, putting it in their hands the moment they need it. We call this future spatial commerce, and we're excited to bring it to our customers."

Lowe's is delivering this seamless experience through its home improvement mobile app, which the retailer said visits to were up more than 35% this year. Measure Your Space ^BETA is developed by Lowe's Innovation Labs, Lowe's innovation hub focused on building experiences that will shape the future of home improvement, and Streem, an AR and AI company. This offering follows Lowe's for Pros JobSIGHT powered by Streem, an augmented video chat service launched last year in the midst of the pandemic to allow Pros to conduct virtual home visits with customers.

[See more: Lowe's Launces Augmented Video Chat Service to Help Pros Manage Jobs]

"Lowe's and Streem together are applying the use of complex augmented reality tools to create a simple, user-friendly app experience with the unique ability to make DIYers' lives easier," said Ryan Fink, Streem president and co-founder. "This partnership is proving the value of spatial commerce today by using guided AR and AI experiences to empower consumers with the practical tools and data they need to dream, plan and accomplish home projects."

Lowe's new offering starts with flooring, one of the most popular home improvement projects. Over time, the intent is to expand the experience to include other features, such as the ability to visualize flooring changes in real-time, with the potential to incorporate other product categories and expand to additional smartphones and devices.