The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” continues to be relevant in the digital world too. E-commerce sellers across various platforms are finding that images are key to increasing customer engagement and sales.

In a study conducted by Forbes, 50% of online shoppers reported that  “large, high-quality product images are more important than product information, descriptions or even reviews.” The Etsy seller handbook underlines this fact as 90% of its surveyed customers stated that quality of images is extremely important or very important, and influenced their purchase decision. What makes this more compelling for a seller is the fact that this is ahead of “cost of the item”, “Shipping cost” and “reviews''.

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Product photos are not all about driving sales alone. They impact customer engagement and building trust with your audience too. Engagement starts with a good first impression, and the first thing your customers see is an image. A product photo that stands out captures their attention, increasing the chances to click through and reveal the rest of the story.

Engaged customers are 7 times more likely to respond to brands promotional offers, buy 90% more frequently, spend 60% more per transaction and are likely to spend 300% more over the course of a year (Rosetta).

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Let’s dial back a little and take a cue from traditional brick and mortar retail. What’s so different about browsing online? You can’t pick an item up to inspect, touch it to feel the texture, or hold it for “the feel”. And how convinced are customers about a purchase that simply doesn’t “feel right”?

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, this “experiential limitation” is the reason why 83% of consumers go online to research products, but end up purchasing them in-store.

Add to this, product photos influence returns too. 22% of online product returns happen because “the ordered items looked different in person, than in the listing”. (Weebly)

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So how do we address this critical “experiential limitation” in today's crowded e-marketplace, where all of us are talking more and more about the shopping experience?

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The solution - great product photos!

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Bluehour understands this better than anyone else. Founded by photographers, the ai-driven solution has built-in guides, background removal, lighting optimizer, sizing options, catalogue manager and keyword generator, making product photography simpler, impactful and economical - both in terms of money and time.

This leaves business owners and sellers to do what they do best - list great products and sell more!

Head over to our post on “how to take great product-photos for your e-commerce listing” to read a quick primer.

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