Brands are looking to new, innovative technologies to help them stay ahead of the competition and craft the story of their products in a visually appealing way. One such emerging technology is 3D, offering a variety of features to eCommerce brands like product and lifestyle imagery, product configurators, augmented and virtual reality experiences and more.
Within the world of 3D furniture imagery, lies the expertise of digital stylists. Oftentimes with a background in photography, digital stylists have seized 3D’s popularity as an opportunity to serve companies in a niche space, creating stunning imagery at scale without breaking marketing budgets.
Digital stylists play a pivotal role for online retailers by revolutionizing the way products are shown and allowing customers to visualize and personalize their living spaces while shopping. These virtual design experts leverage cutting-edge technology to help brands showcase how various furniture pieces, color schemes, and decor elements will come together. By offering tailored design recommendations and creating immersive shopping experiences, digital stylists empower consumers to make more informed decisions and feel confident in their home decor choices.
In the fiercely competitive world of eCommerce, the role of digital stylists has become indispensable in providing a seamless, personalized, and visually engaging shopping journey for customers.
The Rise of eCommerce
The Growth and Significance of eCommerce
In recent years, eCommerce has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from a convenient shopping alternative to a global economic powerhouse. This digital revolution has not only changed the way we shop but also reshaped the landscape of businesses worldwide.
The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst, accelerating eCommerce growth exponentially. As consumers sought safer and more convenient ways to fulfill their shopping needs, online retail became an essential part of everyday life. The significance of eCommerce is evident in its ability to bridge geographical boundaries, allowing customers to access a vast array of products and services at their fingertips.
With an estimated 2.14 billion digital buyers worldwide as of 2021, the eCommerce sector is showing no signs of slowing any time soon.
Competition and Challenges for eCommerce Businesses
The eCommerce space is crowded, with a multitude of businesses vying for the attention of online shoppers. With the potential to become time-consuming and expensive, standing out amongst the competition is more difficult than ever.
In the face of these challenges, success in the eCommerce industry requires a strategic vision, flexibility, and a commitment to delivering outstanding visual content.
The Role of Digital Stylists
Defining the Digital Stylist
A digital stylist, in essence, is a creative professional who specializes in curating and enhancing the visual appeal of products in the digital realm. While many digital stylists have backgrounds in photography, unlike their traditional counterparts, they harness the power of cutting-edge technology, such as 3D visualization platforms like imagine.io, to craft immersive and compelling visual content. So what exactly do they do?
Create Visual Magic: Digital stylists use advanced software and tools to transform ordinary product imagery into captivating, lifelike representations that inspire shoppers. They manipulate lighting, textures, and materials to ensure that the digital renderings are indistinguishable from reality. This meticulous attention to detail sets the stage for an extraordinary online shopping experience.
Craft Aesthetically Pleasing Environments: Just as a traditional stylist would meticulously arrange props and set designs, digital stylists construct virtual scenes that complement the products they're showcasing. These scenes are carefully curated to evoke emotions, tell stories, and provide context, enriching the online shopping experience.
Enhance User Engagement: Digital stylists understand the power of visual storytelling. Through their expertise, they engage consumers by conveying the product's features, benefits, and intended use. They essentially guide the consumer on a visual journey, making the digital shopping experience informative and enjoyable.
Bridging the Gap: Traditional vs Online Shopping
The transition from traditional in-store shopping to online retail has been driven by convenience, accessibility, and an ever-expanding array of choices. However, this shift comes with its own unique challenges.
Online shoppers do not have the luxury of physically interacting with products, feeling textures, or experiencing the ambiance of a physical store. That is why detailed product visuals are integral to every product page.
Digital stylists ensure that product images are not only aesthetically pleasing but also informative and personalized. They use their expertise to capture the essence of a product, highlighting its features and benefits through carefully composed visual content. This empowers online shoppers with a comprehensive understanding of the product they're considering and allows them to feel greater control over their purchase.
Digital stylists help brands take complete control of their visual identity. By crafting world-class, customizable content, retailers can distinguish themselves in a highly competitive digital world. This not only captures the attention of potential buyers but also fosters brand loyalty and trust.
As architects of the modern online shopping experience, digital stylists blend creativity with technology to transform product listings into engaging encounters. As we move further into the digital age, the role of the digital stylist will continue to evolve, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the world of eCommerce.
Benefits of Digital Styling for eCommerce
As brands move their focus to creating content digitally, they look to the pros to make their imagery as strong as possible. eCommerce retailers who use digital stylists to assist in creating their visuals ultimately see an improved click throughs and product engagement and thus, increased sales and reduced returns.
But the benefits go beyond a better looking image library. Whole photoshoots, that used to take full teams to produce and multiple days to shoot, can now be done completely in-house, take mere hours, and dramatically lower costs. Brands can now scale their content faster than ever before. They can create imagery for multiple marketing campaigns and collections with ease; all thanks to the expertise of digital stylists.
