How to sell a product online vs. in-store

The Problem: How do you sell a product online when the customer cannot touch or feel the product? It is much harder to tell size, quality, or why an item is more expensive than a like product. You need to tell the story using photography, including both product and lifestyle images, as well as copy.  This is an issue when you are running a fast paced online business and putting up over 10,000 styles a day. How does one scale?

 The process: First, you need to partner with your vendors to help get this job done correctly. Retailers do not have bandwidth to take this task on by themselves.  Once you get the right photography, lifestyle shots, and copy, it will make it easier and more enjoyable for the customer to shop.  Customers do not read long copy, so the information needs to be concise and easy to understand.  

The Solution: Product photography is crucial to the telling of the story.  With the knockout shot on the left, every container looks the same and you cannot tell how big something is.  The lifestyle shot on the right not only tells the customer how to use what they are getting, but how big it is. When a container has six apples in it, it is easier to understand and relate to the size.The copy also needs to be concise and to the point. This holds true for items that need further explanation. Face it, customers need to see how it works, or what it is supposed to look like. When you show a lifestyle shot you not only tell the story better, but will greatly increase your sales vs. a knockout product shot.