The Effect of COVID-19 on the Online
Shopping Experience
Pandemic Shopping Trends
The COVID-19 Pandemic has most Americans confined inside their houses – working from home and shopping online because their favorite retailers have shut their doors. Online shopping, in particular, has retailers seeing their sales increased by double and even triple-digits. You would be correct in assuming that these increased online sales have made e-commerce shopping more frequent. In turn, many retailers are relying heavily on how they present their products on their websites. One way to improve the shoppers experience is to incorporate 360 degree Photography into their online product displays.
Digital Product Content and Online Shopping
Retailers have improved the online customer experience by providing digital product content on their websites. This product content includes pictures of products to help shoppers make educated and accurate purchasing decisions. The proper presentation of product pictures can make all the difference in helping shoppers transition from considering a product to actually purchasing it. Often times, shoppers will see a product in the store and end up buying it online at a later time. Knowing how the product looks and feels in person heavily influences a shopper’s decision. But what if they have never seen the product in person? What if the product was inside of its box? This is where 360 degree photography can come in handy.
360 Degree Product Photography
360 degree rotating product photography enables online shoppers to have a closer look at a product online. The ability view a variety of angles contributes to a shopper’s decision to make a purchase rather than leaving it in their cart or their wish list. This in-depth viewpoint is even more relevant nowadays due to exponential increase of online shopping. Amazon’s stock price, for example, experienced an all-time high as it increased 28% in April.
COVID-19: Unprecedented Times
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, shoppers could easily observe products they considered purchasing. The pandemic has changed how shoppers shop. With tightened regulations in retail stores due to physical distancing measures, shoppers are either hesitant to go in stores or simply can’t because their favorite stores are closed. The in-store shopping experience has drastically changed because of COVID-19 and thus forced online shopping to rapidly adapt. 360 degree photography allows retailers to emulate an in store shopping experience, even if they are in the comfort of their own homes. 360-degree photography is becoming increasingly imperative to influencing t shoppers’ purchasing decisions.
Returning to Stores in Phases
Shoppers will slowly return to their favorite retail stores, so what will happen to online shopping? The truth is, it will still be just as popular as it has always been. The opportunity to use 360 degree photography in retail websites will be a feature that can be increasingly useful for shoppers. After all, they can look at massive amounts of products across multiple websites in a matter of minutes. Why not give shoppers a way to look at products online as if they were in the store themselves?