Why Custom Photography is Important For Ecommerce Sites
Like most business owners, you have probably heard about how crucial eCommerce photography is to an eCommerce store, but why? Before we answer this, let’s briefly discuss what eCommerce photography is by defining product photography first. Product photography is the art of creating a perfect picture to represent the product in an attractive way to a potential customer while showcasing how it would appear to the naked eye. Product photography is designed for product pages and social media, whereas eCommerce product photography, also referred to as eCommerce photography, is intended to be displayed in eCommerce stores. With technology changing how we shop and mobile devices becoming more prevalent, a good product photo has never become more crucial than it is now for a business.
eCommerce stores give the disadvantage to customers of not seeing the product first-hand. Therefore, your product image is the first impression you give them about your product and brand. Supplying high-quality images now becomes a crucial part of your business. High-quality images can portray a product as being high in quality and allowing for trust to build between you and your customers. You want images that bring your brand to life and provide its own uniqueness. Uniqueness allows for brand confidence and contributes to increased conversion rates of up to 30%. With this being said, it’s best to avoid stock photography, especially when trying to maximize profits. Stock photography eliminates not only the possibility for unique product images but also the USPs of a product. With a USP, you gain the potential to stand out amongst competitors. Product photography aims to provide your customer with a clear image of what they can expect to receive. Product images play such a significant role when it comes to buying decisions.
Product photography can also be used in many areas of the marketing realm, from product pages to social media to advertising, and all are essential. Marketing your product images allows your business to capture customer attention through various outlets but within a time limit. Think about how many seconds you have to capture one’s attention, eight seconds. The average person reads about 36 words in this amount of time, which is not much if describing a product. But with an image, you can provide a clear picture of the product in just 13 milliseconds and simultaneously cater to over half the population who are visual learners. A visual learner learns by reading or seeing the pictures for themselves. Our world is becoming more visual-based, so the more unique visual content displayed, the better. Did you know, posting product images on your social media sites has a 40% chance of being shared?
eCommerce photography typically displays the product with a neutral background and no other objects. However, lifestyle photography is becoming a more prevalent style in eCommerce photography. Lifestyle photography showcases the product in a scene created and styled around the specific use of the product or brand. Sometimes models are brought in to help represent the idea. A lifestyle photograph’s overall goal is to place the product in the context of an everyday consumer, allowing them to see the product in use or how it’s intended to be used. These types of photos are not only a part of a person’s purchasing decision but also whether a consumer keeps a product or sends it back for a refund. Research shows that 78% of online shoppers prefer lifestyle photos.
The importance of product eCommerce photography has been proven through research. For example, at least 75% of online shoppers rely on product photos, with 90% saying that picture quality is one of the most important factors in determining their purchases. Purchases are more likely to occur when a person can see the product they are purchasing in great detail. Hence, the reason why high-quality images can be so crucial.
Pictures are also a time-saving tool for consumers. As creatures of habit, we naturally focus on pictures, so high-quality pictures with uniqueness have a higher success rate of getting noticed and making a good first impression.
Let’s imagine you are the consumer looking at a product on your eCommerce store, but you notice that you need help understanding the product with the images provided. The low image quality presenting the product doesn’t allow you, as the customer, to feel good about your purchase, leaving a bad taste in your mouth. You may be worried about the product quality you will receive, forcing you to shop around. First impressions of this nature will turn potential customers into your competitors. Let’s say you find a product similar to what you previously saw but on a different eCommerce store. Although the product has its differences, eCommerce photography allows you to look at the product as if it were in hand and shows
high quality. Now you feel confident in your choice and decide to purchase. A positive impression such as this is what makes the business grow. Research shows that eCommerce stores could lose three-quarters of their customers without images. So when marketing, remember that 70% of companies will invest in content marketing that includes product photography, making it crucial for your business to have high-quality, unique eCommerce photography.
Overall, product photography is just as important for your eCommerce store as it is for marketing. High-quality images display a quality product with greater detail for customers to have better purchase visualizations. A consumer needs to see the product as if they would if they were standing there. Images can build brand awareness and trust of its customers, keeping a higher retention rate. And let’s remember the image’s most important role: to capture the consumer’s attention within 8 seconds. The more accurate the pictures and description, the fewer returns a business will receive. You can maximize your business’s growth potential with the right product images and use. Don’t think of eCommerce photography as a waste of money, think of it more as an investment into future profits!
