Over the past few years, visual commerce has reached new and improved heights. It has changed the way people perceive visual content, giving brands a gateway to build on customer relationships through similarities between their product and the consumer.
It has changed the way people create and share content now. Most of the content on social media today is created and shared through mobile phones.
Needless to say, the typical buyer’s journey has also changed. From the ability to browse available products on the internet, to now being able to purchase a product they desire within seconds.
This gave rise to the eCommerce business. Ecommerce put simply, is the buying and selling of products electronically (on the internet). In recent years eCommerce has become essential for businesses to reach their prospective customers in the most effective way.
What is Visual Commerce?
A new revolution in the eCommerce industry which seems to be slowly making its mark is visual commerce. It aids user experience, making content largely attractive, easier to navigate around and more enticing from a consumer perspective. Visual commerce has the potential to showcase your products in such a light, that your customer feels the urge to purchase. Visual Commerce Solutions is one of many tools which target the following factors to capture high conversion rates; interactivity, connectivity, user engagement and managing ability.
What Value Will Visual Commerce Add To Your Business?
There is no denying that visuals tend to be more engaging and attractive than black text on a white background. Visuals are often held in one’s memory for a longer period of time than text would be.
Visual commerce platforms are all about utilizing those visuals to your advantage for commerce purposes – most commonly in relation to social media. These platforms can help you add value to your business by:
- Finding all the images related to the relevant products
- Adding context to those images
- Monetizing the visual content throughout the purchase funnel and on the channels that matter to the brand
What Kind of Images Will I be Able To Find and Share?
Consumer-Generated Content has been an emerging trend over the past few years. Marketers are pushing user-generated content on their social media to display loyalty and create more brand awareness.
UGC is valuable to businesses. The content is thought to be unique, honest and trustworthy, therefore it’s perceived in a very positive light by the viewer. However, in recent months the authenticity of this marketing method has been questioned, many influencers post content relating to products they’ve never used before.
Content can be curated from different contributors, here are some of the places you might find user-generated content:
- Social Influencers
- Business Catalogues and Web Images
- Your Employees and Store Associates
- Bloggers and Publishers
- Creative Partners and Vendors
- Stock Photos
Leveraging content from different contributors not only provides a wide choice of content but also helps maintain a dynamic and exciting display for consumers.
It also presents the opportunity to influence the type of content your customers share. The posts you share set a benchmark for the customers, this is then transferred onto your customer and they will often replicate visuals which they’ve seen before.
How Will It Impact My ROI?
Every new marketing strategy steers in mainly two slants – increasing user-count and maximizing RoI. Visual Commerce helps develop both user-count and return on investment.
Good quality visuals can drive sales by providing a positive user-experience and displaying your products in action. These images have the power to guide users from the awareness stage to the revenue stage effortlessly.
Where is the Industry Heading?
It is recommended to invest in strategies that are innovative, one of which being visual commerce. As the marketing industry progresses, visual commerce will be at the forefront of implemented strategies, making eCommerce increasingly efficient to both customers and marketers.
Conclusion
When it comes to eCommerce, it’s all about product appearance. A simple, clean-cut representation of your product is a no-brainer. Visual commerce adds another dimension to the way in which you market your products. It is capable of transforming the user experience, making online shopping an enjoyable journey as opposed to a task.
It is evident that visual commerce holds great potential. Although it’s in its primitive stages, the method will soon be implemented across the board, changing the way we all shop online.
This article was written by Amanda Morris, a technical writer with a passion for technology, marketing and innovation. Get in touch with Amanda here.
