The Ultimate Guide to Commercial Virtual Staging

Here's an overview of the topics we'll cover today:

• What Is Commercial Virtual Staging?
• How Much Does Virtual Staging for Commercial Real Estate Cost?
• 5 Benefits
• When to Use Virtual Staging for Commercial Real Estate

Commercial virtual staging uses digital tools and software to create realistic, furnished interior designs of commercial properties, allowing buyers or tenants to visualize the space's potential without the need for physical furnishings.

Commercial spaces are usually shown empty, which makes it hard for buyers or tenants to picture how they could use the space.

Virtual staging solves this by showing a realistic, furnished version of the property, helping people see its potential and make faster decisions. On top of that, the basic staging service can be expanded with add-ons or more advanced options built around the same idea.

Add-on services include:

• Item Removal — This service lets you digitally clear out bulky furniture or any leftover items from previous tenants, making it possible to showcase the property either unfurnished or with virtual staging.
• Image Enhancement — You can elevate the quality of your photos by adjusting their contrast and brightness, correcting any tilt to ensure they're perfectly straight, and boosting color vibrancy, such as making the grass greener or the sky bluer.
• Twilight Sky Backdrop — This service transforms outdoor photographs by adjusting the backdrop to resemble the enchanting glow of twilight, making the images stand out with a romantic and visually appealing atmosphere.
• Wall Change — This option lets you give walls a new lease on life in pictures, changing their color or texture digitally to refresh the scene.
• Floor Change — With this feature, you can switch up the floor's color or texture in photos, easily giving any space a different feel.

There are also more advanced services, such as:

• 360° Commercial Virtual Staging — This takes the concept of regular virtual staging — where digital furniture and decorations are added to pictures — a step further. Instead of staging static photos, the furnishings are added to panoramic 360° photos, allowing for a more dynamic and all-encompassing view of the commercial space.
• Commercial Virtual Renovation — You can digitally finish under-construction commercial properties or refurbish already existing properties  to highlight the space's potential to future buyers or lessees.
• Commercial 3D Floor Plan Renders —  An excellent method for presenting off-plan commercial projects, where the entire property is constructed in 3D, including finishings and furnishings, to provide a comprehensive visual representation.

Digital staging can also be integrated with 3D virtual tour technology for a more immersive and interactive experience, allowing potential buyers or tenants to explore and engage with the space in a dynamic, lifelike manner.

The pricing varies depending on the company you choose to work with. It's typically calculated per image and can range from $24 to more than $200. For instance, at VirtualStaging.com, we provide this service at a cost-effective flat rate of $24 per image. It's interesting to note that despite commercial properties often being larger than residential ones, the price for virtual staging is the same for both types of properties.

Additional minor modifications, such as changes to walls or floors, will cost slightly more, around $4.80 per change.

If you're interested in more substantial changes—like visualizing a renovation or the completion of an unfinished project—you need to look into virtual renovation services. For commercial interiors, these services are usually priced at around $90 per image and offer a detailed preview of the potential renovation outcomes.

1. Targeting the Right Audience

The biggest benefit of commercial virtual staging is that it lets you show the same space in different ways, depending on who you’re trying to attract. You can change the style and layout digitally to match what different buyers or tenants are looking for-whether it’s an office, a retail store, or something else. For example, one loft can be shown as a modern tech office or a calm yoga studio.

This flexibility makes the property more appealing to a wider range of people and helps you find the right fit faster.

Targeting the right audience goes a long way in streamlining the marketing and sales process. It enables real estate professionals to market properties more effectively, reaching out to potential clients with visuals that speak directly to their needs. In an era where visual content dominates marketing strategies, being able to show a highly customized and targeted vision of a property can make a substantial difference in how quickly and effectively a commercial space is leased or sold.

2. Shows Versatility

Virtual staging lets you show the same space in different ways—depending on who you're targeting. One setup might show a cozy café with tables and warm lighting, while another shows a sleek office with desks and meeting rooms. You can even stage it as a boutique retail shop. These digital makeovers help buyers or tenants picture how the space could work for them, which is often more convincing than just describing it.

3. Lowers the Overall Cost

Virtual staging provides a significant cost advantage over traditional staging methods, drawing a substantial portion of its value from its economical nature. Traditional staging involves various expenses, from furniture rental to transport, setup, and removal costs. Not only are these costs high, but they can also be potentially wasteful, as physical staging often depends on generic setups that may not appeal to every potential client.

On the other hand, with commercial virtual staging, you can craft targeted, high-quality visual representations without having to make significant physical changes or investments in actual furnishings and decor. This translates into lower costs and faster completion times, making it an efficient and economical choice for property owners and agents.

The economic advantage that virtual staging offers becomes even more significant when compared to retrofitting or renovating commercial spaces. Preemptive physical renovations can be risky and expensive, and it is often challenging to accurately predict what will appeal to a diverse range of potential tenants. Additionally, any renovations undertaken may not fit the requirements of eventual tenants, leading to wasted efforts and further remodeling costs.

With virtual staging, you can present multiple possible setups, allowing potential tenants to view the space in a way that aligns with their business needs. Not only is this more economical, but it also provides the leeway to make changes based on tenant feedback, effectively reducing waste.

4. Accelerates Sales or Leasing Process

According to a study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 81% of buyers’ agents acknowledge that staging made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property. Virtual staging takes this a step further by offering potential buyers or lessees the ability to view various configurations of the property, designed specifically for their needs. This added versatility can help to create a stronger connection and incite faster decision-making.

Virtual staging provides an immersive and engaging experience, often allowing the client to tour the property digitally. The captivating power of these virtually staged environments helps to paint a more realistic image of how the commercial space could look, leading to a more compelling selling point.

Furthermore, given the flexibility and cost-efficiency of virtual staging, multiple designs can be created and modified quickly. This helps keep up with the market dynamics and caters to any specific requests from prospective clients, thereby shortening the sales or leasing cycle.

There are key situations where virtual staging proves particularly beneficial in the realm of commercial real estate. These scenarios include staging empty spaces, digitally decluttering commercial areas, finishing under-construction properties, and visualizing potential remodels and retrofits.

1. Staging Empty Spaces: Virtual staging presents a fantastic opportunity when you need to sell or lease an empty commercial space. Potential buyers or tenants can find it challenging to visualize how the empty space can be utilized effectively. Virtual staging can transform these empty spaces into vibrant, functional settings, thus enabling prospects to visualize and understand the potential the space holds for their specific business needs.

2. Digitally Decluttering Commercial Spaces: Sometimes, commercial properties can look cluttered and unappealing, especially if they previously housed a business and have been left in disarray. Digitally decluttering these spaces serves to remove unnecessary items and create a clean slate, making it significantly more visually appealing to potential buyers or tenants.

3. Finishing Under-Construction Properties: Commercial spaces that are still under construction can particularly benefit from virtual staging. Potential tenants or buyers might find it hard to make a connection with a property that is visually unfinished. Virtual staging can fill in the gaps, providing a finished, polished picture of what the commercial property will look like once construction is complete.

4. Virtual Remodels and Retrofits: Virtual staging can also be beneficial when you want to illustrate possible remodeling or retrofitting options. If a space needs updating or prospective buyers are interested in customizing the space to suit their business needs, virtual staging can provide them a glimpse of what the modified space can look like. This assists them in making an informed decision and aids in achieving a faster sales process.

Additional Considerations

How long does the process take?

The time taken to complete a commercial virtual staging project can vary based on the complexity of the task at hand, and the capacity of the staging company. Typically at VirtualStaging.com, a basic virtual staging can be completed in 4 to 8 hours. However, if you're opting for additional modifications or add-on services, the timeline might extend by a few more hours.

Is it possible that clients might feel misled by staged spaces?

Indeed, there's a risk that clients may feel misled if the physical space doesn't align with digitally enhanced images. However, this can be mitigated by informing clients upfront that the images have been enhanced. At VirtualStaging.com, we always prioritize transparency with our clients, which is why we offer the option to add a custom disclaimer to any of the digitally staged or renovated photos. This leads to clarity from the start and ensures clients understand they are looking at a digitally enhanced representation of the property.

Try Virtual Staging for Commercial Real Estate Now

To wrap up, implementing commercial virtual staging in your real estate marketing strategy is an excellent move to attract potential clients and ease the decision-making process. 

It is a cost-effective and versatile tool that can give visual appeal and demonstrate the potential of any commercial space. 

By incorporating technology that offers realistic, tailored, and immersive previews of the property, you significantly increase your chances of securing a quicker sale or lease. With all these undeniable benefits, now is the ideal time to try commercial virtual staging.