Traditionally, for eCommerce portals, products photographed against a white background have been the rule of the game. It was always considered that customer attention is maximized when the focal point is only the product and there are no distractions.

While this remains largely true, customers are now habituated to the cliché models of product presentation. This possibly leads to decreased customer engagement and low conversions, raising the question – is there anything else that can be done with product presentation to make customers take notice?

In this blog, we will look at some of the things eCommerce store owners can do to drive up customer engagement.

1) Life Shot Product Pictures

When photographing light-colored objects or objects with silver/white surfaces, the white background and the foreground object don’t contrast with each other. There is a high possibility that the end customer cannot make out the details of the product when viewing the product page. This translates into a potential loss of sales opportunity.

It is a good idea to include a life shot – a picture of the product taken in a real-life situation. The camera then has more colors to meter correctly and the product stands out better. Such real-life shots should always be in addition to the product detail shots.

i95Dev’s customer – Montana Silver Smiths does this brilliantly. Their product catalog consists of several light-colored or silver products. While retaining the standard white background picture, they also add a life shot for every product.

2) Product Videos

E-commerce studies suggest that 80% of the people who visit an eCommerce store remember the videos they have seen and about 60% of the people are closer to completing a purchase when they can view a video.

While static product photographs on a white background are the basic form of product display, the differentiator in today’s world is product videos. A short video with narration explaining the practical uses of the product makes for a great viewing experience.

i95Dev’s customer, QHouseKids, does this smartly. Strategically placed videos on their product description pages draw attention and increase engagement.

3) 360-degree Interactive Product Photos

E-commerce customers cannot touch and feel products before making a purchase. Hence, they rely on product images and descriptions to compare products.

One way to stand out is to include 360-degree interactive photos as part of your product description. This helps customers understand product dimensions and form better than static images.

Tools such as Snap36, WebRotate360, and Arqspin allow businesses to create 360-degree images and host them across platforms like eCommerce stores, marketplaces, and digital displays.

Best Buy Canada has incorporated high-resolution 360-degree images in their product description pages to enable interactive product evaluation.

4) Dark and Colorful Background is a Stunner

While white background images are common in most eCommerce stores, experimenting with different background colors can make your products stand out.

Products with fine textures, shapes, outlines, and light colors are highlighted better with dark backgrounds and shadow lighting.

Mission Bicycle, a custom bicycle shop based in San Francisco, showcases their bikes against different colored and textured backgrounds to highlight product uniqueness.

5) Props Help Accentuate the Product

Product images with props can evoke an emotional response from customers. This is especially useful when you have multiple product images and the budget to style them properly.

Props should emphasize the product’s size, shape, and color while maintaining a consistent theme across your store.

Crate and Barrel uses props effectively in their rugs catalog to enhance product appeal without overwhelming the product.

While white background images are still important in eCommerce, adding videos, lifestyle images, props, and interactive visuals helps differentiate your products from competitors and increases customer engagement.