The Costs of Poor e-Commerce Product Photography
Attempting to save money with DIY photography? The results could be doing more harm than good.
E-commerce product photography is at the forefront of the minds of retailers trying to stay competitive online. Gone are the days when companies could rely solely on their store locations for revenue. Now, digital matters—and the way you present your product on the web matters even more.
Research shows that by the year 2040, 95% of all purchases will be made online. That translates to greater overall competition for your e-commerce site—and a greater need for visual appeal on your product pages.
In the coming years, a lack of professional e-commerce product photography will be what sets you apart from your competition, and that’s not an ideal position to be in. To avoid this coming to pass, retailers must ensure that their e-commerce site is outfitted with purposeful product photography.
Still not convinced? Let’s dive into some research to see just how much poor e-commerce product photography can cost your business.
The Cost of Returns
Returns are costly. By 2020, return deliveries in the United States are forecasted to reach a cost of $550 billion, compared with $350 billion in 2017.
Online returns have a lot to do with that high number. Brick-and-mortar stores report return rates of only 8–10%. E-commerce businesses, however, report return rates of up to 20%; this number increases to 30% during the holiday season.
Considering that 42% of online shoppers have returned a purchase made online within the past six months, these numbers are worrisome for those in the e-commerce space. On top of that, 41% of online shoppers purposefully purchase similar products, intending to return all but one.
One important reason why e-commerce consumers return purchases is because the actual product didn’t look like its product photo online. This may not seem like a big deal until you learn that these types of returns account for 22% of all online returns. For this reason alone, e-commerce product photography should be a priority for e-commerce sites. With each return costing an online business $15 on average, the numbers can quickly add up.
The Cost of Future Tech
We’ve all heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the digital space, pictures are worth more than just words. A study conducted by the AI visual commerce company ViSenze found that “62% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers want visual search capabilities more than any other new technology.”
Visual search is search technology that uses images instead of words for online searches. The Intent Lab, a research partnership between Performics and Northwestern University, reported that 85% of respondents to a survey on visual search placed “more importance on visual information than text information.”
This means that e-commerce product photography needs to be not just accurate and appealing, but strategically taken with visual search in mind. Gartner states that early adopters of visual search will “increase digital commerce revenue by 30%.” A 30% increase in revenue offers a significant boost in profit that’s well worth pursuing as an e-commerce business or distributor.
The Cost of Poor E-Commerce Product Photography
A great product photo taken by a professional product photography company follows different standards than a product photo taken by an amateur photographer. That’s because professional photographers working within the e-commerce space are experts in taking product photos that turn leads into customers.