The Coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. As we enter the “new normal,” what steps can e-commerce teams take to increase image production without seeing costs skyrocket?
Werun Tomorrow Creation (2MC), a leading provider of high quality imagery to the e-commerce sector. In the last few months we have had thousands of conversations about product images with customers from a broad range of e-commerce fields. This has provided us with valuable insight into current market needs.
What’s become clear is that the old ways of producing product images are not suited to the realities of business in a post-COVID world. Yet it seems that no one is addressing these problems.
In the coming months, 2MC imaging specialist John Bramaan will be writing regular posts and answering questions on how to make more product images, faster, and for less money. He’ll also be taking a closer look at some of the innovative solutions that leading companies are employing as they face the increased challenges of running an e-commerce business today.
But as an industry professional with valuable insight of your own to share, we’d also love to hear your opinions on the future of e-commerce images at this challenging time. I hope you’ll join John and us as we get this conversation started!
Slow, inconvenient, and hugely impractical at scale, the old ways of producing e-commerce product images were already showing their limits long before the global Coronavirus pandemic. But with many supply chains now disrupted, and much of the world under shelter-in-place orders, this situation has only become a lot worse in the last six months.
Great lifestyle images illustrate multiple benefits of ownership.
In this, the first in a series of articles on the future of e-commerce product imagery, we map out some possible solutions for online businesses looking to consolidate their position in a post-COVID world.
The Great E-Commerce Implosion
One of the most notable outcomes of COVID-19 in terms of consumer habits has been a full-scale shift from brick and mortar to e-commerce. Walmart, for example, just announced that their online sales during the second-quarter of 2020 rose by an incredible 97%. While disturbing for traditional retailers, this kind of news is clearly very encouraging for anyone who does the bulk of their business online.
Or at least it should be.
However, a major problem that many e-commerce businesses are experiencing right now is simply getting product images of their inventory online fast enough. And when it comes to e-commerce, not having product images is like not having any product at all.
We’re in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime shift in consumer habits towards exactly your business model, and you’ve got no (images of your) stock? The timing couldn’t be worse!
What’s the solution?
While clearly there’s no magic fix, here at Tomorrow Creation (2MC) we’re confident that the skills and technologies already exist to provide e-commerce companies with a way out of this predicament. It’s just a question of finding the right methods for your particular needs.
That being the case, over the next few months we will be publishing a series of articles exploring precisely this question.
We really want this to turn into a two-way conversation, though, so we’d be honored if you’d join me in thrashing out some of these problems as I look into the post-pandemic future of e-commerce product images. In particular, if you’re in the e-commerce sector yourself, we’d be really keen to hear how you are managing to get product images made during the COVID crisis, so please do get in touch if you have a success story to share.
What Do I Know About Product Images?
My background is in traditional photography. In a career spanning over twenty years, I have shot everything from hard news to short films and global advertising campaigns; collaborating with prestigious luxury fashion houses and household-name consumer brands. I also hold postgraduate degrees in both photography and philosophy and teach photography on several university degree courses.
Today, though, I work more as a journalist, copywriter, and consultant on the topics of photography and visual marketing, with a particular emphasis on visual branding and content-creation for clients within the DTC design and fashion sectors. In my role at 2MC I’ve been working closely with business director Conor McCabe to bring the company’s extensive knowledge and expertise of the digital imaging realm to a wider audience. Between us we have an almost 360-degree understanding of the contemporary imaging landscape, and we believe that many within the e-commerce sector could likely benefit from our know-how at this critical moment in time.
With that said, we’re also aware that many of you reading this will have extensive experience of your own within the field of e-commerce product images. Perhaps from quite a different vantage point to ours. And if you feel like you’ve got valuable knowledge to share, we would really love to hear your thoughts!
So, yes, this series of articles is intended to serve as a resource for those looking to get a better idea of where we’re headed with e-commerce product images in the immediate future. But, just as equally, Conor and I are hoping that it will serve to spark a conversation between ourselves and any readers with insights or opinions of their own. Indeed, as the series evolves, we look forward to establishing an ongoing conversation with as many of you as possible.
2MCGlobal is led by a Western management team with global experience working with major corporations. We know the competitive pressures faced by businesses Worlwide. We understand what it takes to nurture a brand. Recognizing the impact that imagery has on marketplace perceptions.
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