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With consumers flocking to e-commerce sites, elements such as photos, logos, and artwork are taking on greater importance in helping to generate clicks and transactions. Recognizing that online retailers posting product pictures sell more than those that don’t, Square Inc. late Wednesday introduced Square Photo Studio, an app that enables Square sellers, and sellers using Square Online Checkout, to photograph items and post those images to their Web sites.
Product images are important for e-commerce merchants of all sizes because they help consumers make a purchasing decision, experts say. E-commerce retailers have found that 94% of first orders for an item included a product image, according to Square. In comparison, just 11% of first orders were made when the product listing contained no product image.
Product images are especially important to small and mid-size retailers that also have an online sales channel. “Taking good product photos is difficult and time-consuming,” Aaron Lefkove, owner of Bluebird Wine and Spirits and a Square merchant says in a prepared statement. Square’s new app, he says, saves him time he would have otherwise spent on setting up lighting and a camera, taking and editing photos, and then uploading the images.
To post photos to an e-commerce site, merchants using the new app follow the prompts for taking the photo, then isolate the product photo from the background. Once those tasks are complete, they can choose backgrounds, shadows, and colors for the product display. Finally, sellers can connect the product image to the item in their Square product catalog. Alternatively, merchants can create a new item listing and post it to their catalog.
“Access to fast, affordable, and professional product photography is a vital component of a successful online store,” a Square spokesperson says by email.
