In the past 100 years, Lowe’s has transformed from a small-town hardware store to a large-scale retailer of building and home improvement products.
Now a giant in the industry, it is at the forefront of home improvement, serving millions of customers across the United States and Canada. It is also delivering trailblazing solutions that help metaverse developers and enhance customer experience within and beyond the home improvement industry.
From the Real World Into the Metaverse
The company’s growth is propelled by its relentless pursuit to constantly meet the changing demands of its consumers. To adapt to the digital shift, Lowe’s leveraged modern technologies to deliver personalized digital experiences to its customers. Lowe’s Measure Your Space and Holoroom How To use augmented and virtual reality to enhance the home improvement and shopping experience.
Now, Lowe’s is extending the same support it has given its customer builders in the real world to the metaverse developers of the virtual world. As its first step into the metaverse, Lowe’s is granting AR and VR developers and creatives free access to its product library of 3D digital assets. According to the company, they are the first home improvement retailer to do so. This step is in line with its vision of a future where augmented and virtual environments are integrated into our daily lives.
Metaverse developers, interior designers, modelers, and creatives can browse through Lowe’s product library and download digital assets from Lowe’s Open Builder.
Lowe’s Open Builder: An Asset Hub for Metaverse Developers and Creators
Among the top challenges metaverse developers face are ecosystem interoperability and the lack of accessible tools for developers. Lowe’s addresses these two challenges with the creation of Open Builder and allowing metaverse builders and other users free access to it.
Lowe’s Open Builder is a product of years of developing tools, building a 3D pipeline, and creating a digital asset library. These developments by Lowe’s Innovation Labs were primarily designed for product visualization using Lowe’s mobile app and other service offerings for digital users.
However, Lowe’s saw the need to support the growing community of metaverse builders in this pivotal stage in metaverse development—hence, the launch of Open Builder as a free asset hub for all creators.
Free Access and Permission to Use 3D Assets
There are over 500 3D digital assets in Lowe’s product library. These include décors, seasonal and outdoor living furniture, kitchen and bath accessories, lighting fixtures, and lawn and garden accents. Interoperability is not an issue as they can be used across different environments: both metaverse and non-metaverse.
The 3D assets can be downloaded in USDZ or GLB format and used in metaverse projects, game development, creative design, and other applications. They can also be edited as long as the fundamental character of each image is not changed. All 3D digital assets from the product library can be downloaded for free through Lowe’s Open Builder.
Along with the launch of the hub, Lowe’s is releasing a limited number of wearable NFTs to Decentraland users who have a MetaMask wallet linked to their account. The first 1,000 users to outfit their avatars with hardhats, boots, and other themed accessories get one of the wearables for builders sent for free via airdrop.
Towards a New World of Infinite Possibilities
Lowe’s is the first home improvement retailer to open access to its product library. As other companies follow suit and emerging technologies mature, we can expect metaverse development to advance further. When this happens, a world of infinite possibilities will open— a world where the real world and the metaverse blend seamlessly.
