5 Visual Content Trends That Will Shape eCommerce in 2022
Humans are visual creatures, and online shoppers even more so. Do you know that as much as 93% of online buyers consider visual appearance to be the key deciding factor in a purchasing decision?
Today, an average online buyer searches for products on Google, Pinterest, and even researches future purchases through YouTube videos. So, nothing can be worse for them than visiting a landing page and finding only stock photos there.
This means that eCommerce sellers need to put a lot of focus on visual content to engage in meaningful interactions with their customers. It’s essential for sellers to strategically incorporate visual content into their eCommerce sites and landing pages.
Incredible visual content helps –
- Improve product discoverability
- Increase customer engagement
- Enhance user experience
- Showcase the value of a product
- Solidify brand loyalty
- Increase online conversion
- Grab audience attention
These reasons are sufficient for brands to consider leveraging visual content.
As part of this trend, the year 2022 will be something to look forward to. In 2022 and beyond, product visuals will prove to be powerful marketing assets for brands.
An enhanced focus on visual customer experience along with a flurry of tech innovations will result in new developments in the space. So, in this article, we’ll look at 5 key visual content trends that will shape eCommerce in 2022.
Let’s begin.
5 visual content trends for 2022
Here are 5 visual content trends to look out for in 2022.
1. Shoppable images
Shoppable images are visual merchandising tools that help increase customer engagement by bringing the point of sale closer to customers.
Think of shoppable images as interactive visuals that not only display additional information about the products but also make it easy to buy products.
Here are some of the key features of shoppable images –
- High-quality images
- Detailed product information
- Buy-now functionality
- Easy social sharing
- Shoppable tags
Using shoppable images allows sellers to grab customer interest and turn visitor engagement into conversion.
Simply put, shoppable images add instant shopping functionality to your product images. This accelerates the purchase process.
This is not just in theory since studies show that 77% of customers find shoppable sites easier to navigate.
In the year 2022, we will see more and more sellers embrace shoppable content. Even consumers have become increasingly used to new forms of shopping experiences like this. So, it’s fair to say that by not using shoppable content, sellers might miss out on a lot.
2. User-generated content
User-generated content, also known as UGC, has quickly become an important component of building a successful eCommerce brand.
As the name suggests, UGC includes any form of content that’s been posted by customers. This may include not just user-generated product pictures but also reviews, testimonials, videos, etc.
UGC is important because it –
- Adds authenticity
- Serves a social proof
- Raises credibility of a brand
Almost all consumers look for photos and videos submitted by other customers who have already purchased a product. So much so that about 80% of customers find photos submitted by other customers more valuable than those shown by the brand.
UGC ultimately builds trust and gives customers the confidence to make a purchase. So, without a doubt, we’ll be seeing more and more brands adopt UGC in 2022.
3. Personalization
An abundance of supply has led to customers becoming pickier day by day. With customer choices becoming more sophisticated, personalization has proven to be an effective strategy.
Come 2022, personalization will only be pushed further forward. So, brands that deliver personalized content will have a significant advantage in today’s crowded market.
Moreover, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) makes it easier to personalize content. Think of presenting the right visual content at the right time to capture customer attention.
2022 will also witness the use of hyper localization based on specific customer information like region, demographics, currency, season, etc.
It’s, therefore, natural for customers to engage more with a brand that offers personalized visual content. Compelling, personalized visual content along with eye-catching promotions will maximize online conversions.
4. Augmented and virtual reality
The rebranding of Facebook to Meta suggests the incredible potential that augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) hold. The future is in AR/VR and the top tech brands are already transitioning towards the same.
In eCommerce, AR/VR technology is being used by online sellers to improve customer experience by bringing in-store experiences to life in an online format.
Here are a few ways AR/VR is helping eCommerce –
- Virtually try-on products before purchasing them
- Virtual make-up styling
- Virtually trying out furniture
- AR-based navigation in retail stores
- Interactive product demos
- AR/VR-based games for shopper engagement
In the year 2022 and beyond, we are only going to see an increased push towards AR/VR.
5. Infographics
Infographics are incredible in the sense that they can communicate complex information in an easy-to-understand manner. Since human brains are biased toward visuals more than written text, infographics can have numerous use cases.
In eCommerce, infographics help shoppers comprehend complex products or services. Beautiful infographics not only increase the understanding of shoppers but also give brands a competitive edge.
Other benefits of using infographics include –
- Helping users understand complex information
- Attracting backlinks
- Increasing sales
- Stirring up customer interest
- Highlighting product features
- Creating comparison analysis
- Increasing social shares
Conclusion
Although we only discussed 5 key trends, we will surely see a lot happen in the visual content space in 2022. It’s going to be an exciting year for visual content as more and more brands start leveraging technology to enhance user experience. So, let’s keep an eye out and see what 2022 has to offer.
On that note, if you are looking at improving your brand’s visual content, Dresma might help.
