title: "Gain More Sales: eCommerce Product Image Display Tips and Tricks" date: 2024-09-12 slug: /ecommerce-product-image-display-tips word_count: 1300 images: 9

Gain More Sales with These eCommerce Product Image Display Tips and Tricks

Running an eCommerce business demands top-notch product photos to boost sales. Stunning pictures grab customer attention and make your brand unforgettable — giving you a genuine edge over the competition.

Product photography influences, attracts attention, motivates, and persuades potential customers. Your product images are one of the most effective marketing tools available and can make or break your eCommerce business. We've prepared some tips to help you display your products in the best way possible and drive more sales.

Table of Contents

• Add a Size Comparison Within Your Product Photos
• People Don't Always Sell More Products
• Use Customer-Generated Photos
• Consider How Important Image Size Is
• Supporting Products Can Be Very Important
• Provide Relevant Product Image Detail
• FAQs

1. Add a Size Comparison Within Your Product Photos

It's important to give visitors a way to understand the actual size of your products. Gauging size from a simple photo can be surprisingly difficult.

Size comparison photos solve this by showing how small or large the product actually is. Visitors want a reference point before they commit to buying. Every product should have some form of size comparison guide.

A great example is a flower retailer that illustrates both the size of the flower at purchase and how tall it will grow when fully matured. A comparison with a human figure can be applied to virtually any product — giving customers the context they need to buy with confidence.

2. People Don't Always Sell More Products

A common mistake eCommerce sites make is filling their entire site with photos of happy people alongside products. Whilst smiling models can sometimes create positive associations, it's not always the case — and it can backfire.

Many products don't benefit from smiling people in the photo. Photoshopped models in particular are a negative — most consumers are now completely immune to this type of image. Models can become a distraction, taking focus away from the actual product.

For instance, if you're selling a sofa, you want the consumer to imagine themselves sitting on it. A model who doesn't match the customer's self-image can actually reduce purchase intent.

Want your product photos to do the selling? Send us your images for a free sample edit and see how professional editing puts the focus where it belongs — on your product.

3. Use Customer-Generated Photos

The best way to sell a product is through a genuine customer review — and one of the most powerful reviews is a photo of the product in use by a real customer. It's social proof that converts potential buyers into actual buyers.

Whilst customer-submitted photos may not be studio-perfect quality, they appear more authentic than polished shots. Customer-generated images remove the artificial lighting and carefully placed props, making the product look much more genuine.

Potterybarn.com makes excellent use of this approach with their "Share Your Style" feature, encouraging customers to share photos of products in their own homes.

4. Consider How Important Image Size Is

Image size is a key factor when designing an online shop. Many experts suggest that bigger product photos lead to better conversion rates. However, that's not always the case — it depends on what you're selling.

For search or specification products (electronics, tools), bigger images tend to work better. For design or experience products (furniture, fashion), the perceived value can actually decrease with oversized images.

The best approach? Run your own split tests to determine which image size works best for your specific eCommerce site and product category.

5. Supporting Products Can Be Very Important

Inspirational product photos show the item you're selling in a practical, real-world setting. These lifestyle shots typically feature other products that customers can find on your website.

Whilst the main product is usually highlighted, consider linking to the supporting products shown in the image. This redirects customers to complementary items, increasing average order value.

IKEA are masters of this approach — their room-setting images showcase multiple products in context, each one clickable and purchasable.

6. Provide Relevant Product Image Detail

Potential buyers want informative product photos that show relevant details. The more useful information you provide in the photo, the better the engagement. Avoid adding details that simply pad out the listing without adding genuine value.

Compare the approaches of Pottery Barn and Amazon for category pages. Pottery Barn focuses closely on their product range, packing relevant detail into each image. Amazon, due to the sheer scale of their product range, relies on standardised gallery images that aren't optimised for any particular category.

This is a great illustration of why it's not always wise to copy the biggest sites' approaches. What works at Amazon's scale doesn't necessarily work for a focused eCommerce brand.

Ready to make your product images work harder? Start your free trial with Pixel by Hand and let us optimise your product imagery for maximum sales impact.

In Conclusion

It's easy to have your product photography done professionally, post the images to your site, and leave them. But that's a missed opportunity.

The images on your site are probably the most important tool you have for driving sales. Great images directly affect the bottom line. You need to be constantly split testing images and the ways you display products.

Don't take image best practices at face value. Take inspiration from the ideas above and carry out your own split tests — after all, every site is different.

About Pixel by Hand

We are a professional product photo editing service with over 10 years' experience and 380+ eCommerce clients worldwide. We work with businesses across the globe perfecting their images for eCommerce websites.

If you run an online business and would like to improve your current product images, send us a selection and we'll show you how we can enhance them. All sample edits are completely free.

FAQs

How many product images should I have per product?

Aim for 5–8 images per product as a minimum. Include a main hero shot, multiple angles, close-ups of key details, a size comparison image, and at least one lifestyle or in-context shot. More images generally lead to higher conversion rates.

Should I use white backgrounds or lifestyle backgrounds?

Both serve different purposes. White backgrounds are the standard for main product images and marketplace listings (Amazon requires them). Lifestyle images showing products in context are excellent as secondary images and for social media marketing.

How do I encourage customers to submit photos?

Offer incentives like discount codes, loyalty points, or entry into competitions for customers who share photos. Make the submission process simple — a direct upload option on your product page or a branded hashtag for social media works well.

What image file size is best for eCommerce?

Keep product images under 200KB for fast loading without sacrificing visible quality. Use JPEG for standard product photos and PNG when transparency is needed. WebP format offers the best compression-to-quality ratio for modern browsers.

How often should I update my product images?

Review and refresh your product images at least quarterly. Update immediately when products change or when you notice competitors using superior imagery. Regular A/B testing of different image styles helps you continuously improve conversion rates.