5 eCommerce Product Visual Trends to Watch out for in 2021
Author: Shikhil Vyas
There’s a reason why people prefer shopping online instead of going to a physical store. It’s much easier, it saves a lot of time, it offers a wide range of products, and it can also save money.
However, poor customer experience is something that hampers a company’s eCommerce. As per a report by Microsoft, as much as 58% of people stop doing business with a company because of poor customer experience. So how can organizations ensure good customer experience?
It can be done by optimizing the various touchpoints that customers have while interacting with a brand. Through good design and product visuals, companies can improve the customer experience so that they start perceiving the brand more favorably.
A good design communicates that your brand is modern and cutting edge. This helps retain customers, attract new customers, and set yourself apart from your competitors. Product visuals are therefore one of the most powerful marketing assets that a brand can have. If the recent acceleration of online shopping persists then product visuals are going to be more important than ever.
But what are the various product visual trends that we need to watch out for in 2021? Let’s discuss in this article.
5 eCommerce product visual trends to watch out for in 2021
- Creative animations
- 3D product visuals
- Augmented reality
- Multidirectional layouts
- Neutral color backgrounds
1. Creative animations for page transitions
Page transitions form the backbone of website navigation and user experience. These transitions can help create visual continuity and entertain the users while the page assets load. This creates a perception of fluidity and continuity, and thus boosts web page design.
Animations can change the entire feel of a website and the experience visitors have with it. It can be the defining factor between an engaging site and a total bore. Although many designers avoid animations because they believe it can make the website slower, it only happens when the animations are not implemented correctly.
In 2021, it will be the nifty page transitions that’ll have their moment. These will help engage users so they spend more time on the website.
Let’s check out a few examples of creative page transitions –
Google Pixel
Looking at these examples, it would be fair to say that animation is now more engaging than ever. It can not only grab attention but also make the shopping experience more delightful.
Just make sure that the animation is properly displayed across different devices, even on those that are not up-to-date.
2. Real-time interactive 3D product visuals
Since shoppers cannot go to physical stores much these days due to the pandemic, 3D product visuals are proving to be a boon. An interactive 3D visual brings products to life that’s otherwise difficult to achieve with 2D photography. It can be engaging, persuasive, and trustworthy.
Research even suggests that shoppers trust vendors a lot more when they can virtually interact with the product through rotating, zooming, etc. Moreover, customers are 11-times more likely to purchase a product when they can see it in 3D as opposed to those who cannot.
Since very few people have 3D displays, you cannot expect many designers to create truly 3D images. Instead, graphic designers need to utilize factors like movement, optical illusions, and perspective to create the appearance of 3D images on a 2D screen. This can be done by simply shifting a camera’s perspective or by using patterns and textures to contribute to the illusion.
These 3D visuals also allow customers to perform 360-degree rotations that improve product visibility.
3. Augmented reality to propel eCommerce
Have you ever used the IKEA app to preview how your new table will fit in the corner of your house? That’s the power of augmented reality (AR). Although AR has been around for a while now, it’s expected to become further mainstream in 2021.
As per research firm, MarketsAndMarkets, the market for AR is expected to reach $72.7 billion by the year 2024.
Moreover, IBM reported that in 2020, only 32% of customers were using AR for shopping. This means there’s a massive opportunity for businesses to leverage the power of AR.
The spending on AR mobile applications is also expected to grow. This suggests that not just IKEA, in 2021, we will see many other brands utilize the power of AR to provide immersive experiences to their customers.
Traditionally, AR features have mostly been the domain of big retailers with big budgets. However, things are going to change in 2021 and the year beyond.
4. Multidirectional layouts
Multidirectional grid layouts are an evolution of unconventional grid layouts where brands abandon homogenous grid structures in favor of different layout orientations.
Brands are experimenting more freely by creating product galleries that not only go up-and-down- but also go left-and-right, forward-and-backward, and even diagonal sometimes.
Such an intuitive approach in navigation allows users to move in any direction they want. Moreover, since it works really well on mobile devices, it is an added benefit because of the rise of mobile eCommerce.
At times, these multidirectional grids are accompanied by animation transitions which enhances the user experience even more.
5. Neutral color backgrounds
In 2021, we are going to see the comeback of light, bright, and bouncy colors. A new range of neutral color backgrounds like cool greys, warm cream, soft browns, and pale yellows, etc. will be seen in more eCommerce stores.
A big benefit of using such light backgrounds is that they keep the focus on your other visuals like your product photographs and videos. These backgrounds also present a softer, more pleasant user experience to the audience.
Conclusion
With the ever-growing popularity of eCommerce, we are seeing new ideas and new styles being implemented. The goal of all these visual trends is to ultimately improve customer experience. The better experience you can provide to your customers, the more chances of them coming back to you again.
In case you need some help in improving the visual aspect of your product photographs, you can get in touch with us. At Dresma, we help you grow your online business with AI-powered eCommerce images
