Displaying Products Compellingly

Photos sell

For retail sites, compelling photos may help tip the shopper into making an impulse buy. For B2B sites, the photo helps answer questions that buyers may have about a product. Repeat buyers of a particular product may not care about the photo, but purchasing agents will definitely be interested in examining the photo if they're looking for a new product area, or a new vendor.

Photo Sources

Getting good product photos is expensive but vital. You may be able to get free photos from manufacturers or distributors. I've found, however, that many of them outsource their catalogs, and the cost of pulling photos from the outsourcer can be prohibitive. If the manufacturer or distributor has photos for resellers available on a CD, it may the least expensive source. Product catalogs or brochures from manufacturers and distributors may contain pictures you can use. (See the sidebar: "Tips for Scanning Photos from Catalogs.")

You can find professional photographers who specialize in product photos, but they tend to be pretty expensive, and often retain rights to the photos. If you have a lot of products to photograph, try doing it yourself and scan the prints. Consider purchasing a digital camera. If you do it yourself, however, make sure you know what you're doing. Take a photography class from your local community college to get some expertise. Good product photos are not snapshots, but carefully composed photos that display the product to best advantage. Compelling photos don't happen by accident.

Photos to Increase Sales

Just what kinds of photos will increase sales over your current graphics? Consider these:

• Photos of Happy People Using Products. It's much more visually interesting to see a photo of a dog fitted out in a colorful leash, walking eagerly with his master, than to see the leash collapsed in a heap. You know why photos of pretty girls or handsome hunks help sell products. How about on your site?
• Several photos to display product features. Consider using a series of photos to display various product features. When you're browsing in a brick-and-mortar store, the product carton will often show off selling points with photos and text. The great thing about the Web is that photos -- once they're taken and prepared for the Web -- aren't expensive to display. Space usually isn't a problem. You might create several links from your main product page to show special aspects -- each page with an order button to take the order. You can also use a series of photos to show how to assemble an item, or use a product; education helps you sell the product.
• Zooming. One of the drawbacks of online stores is the shopper's inability to examine the goods closely. Why don't you invest in a series of photos that zoom in to show product details or cloth texture. The low tech way is to create a series of image-mapped photos, each displaying a higher magnification. But if you have many products you need to show in this way, you'll want to opt for a zooming picture technology such as FlashPix (http://www.flashpix.com). A good example of this is can be seen in Macy's men's clothing (http://www.macys.com). Also see WCT Issue 18 (http://www.wilsonweb.com/wct2/issue18.htm)

• 360 Degree Panning. QuickTime VR is the most common virtual reality technology at present, and many shoppers already have the plug-in. Recent statistics on my home page showed that 41% of visitors with a Netscape browser have installed the "QuickTime Plugin," and 30% have QuickTime Plugin 4x. Ford Motors uses this technology to allow 360 degree viewing of its cars. Why don't you examine a Ford Mustang? http://www.fordvehicles.com/vehiclehome12.html This kind of photography is expensive, but for high price-tag items may be worth it. It's mostly done with still photos taken every 15 degrees around the object, and the pictures fitted together. Usually a single or narrow plane is chosen to keep file size lower, but it's possible to pan 360 degrees around the object, and up and down 90 degrees, if file size isn't a major factor.



• 3D Modeling. Land's End uses Your Personal Model (http://wwwservices1.landsend.com/mvm/default.sph/MVM.exe?FNC=quickquest__Alogin_htm) to allow shoppers to create a virtual manikin with their body shape, and then see how various items of clothing looks on the model.
  
  Another technology for 3D modeling is the MetaStream format from Metacreations (http://www.metacreations.com/metastream/). AIRCHAIRco.com, Inc. uses MetaStream to help shoppers look at the company's unique Airchair product from all sides (http://www.airchairco.com). The plugin is relatively small, 600K, and the image streams from the server so file size isn't a big problem. This is also used by NASA for models of the space shuttle and by Lego to display their Mindstorms toy line (http://www.legomindstorms.com/home/3dmodels.asp).

Where to Start

Since photos -- or the time to take, scan, and prepare them -- are expensive, you may not want to tackle your whole inventory. Why don't you start with your best selling products, or perhaps a new line that you're introducing. Then when you have time (When is that?), go back and re-do some of your original product lines.

You'll find that the energy expended on improving your product photos will have a significant impact on sales. Now's the time to begin upgrading your pictures.