Everything looks, feels, and sells better when it’s in its right place. If you’re wondering what we mean, think about the following two scenarios for a retailer who wishes to increase sales for a modern looking toaster:
A. The toaster is presented against a plain backdrop
B. The toaster is presented on a white marble kitchen countertop, surrounded by a bowl of fruit, other kitchen appliances, and is neatly placed exactly where you’d expect it if it were in your own kitchen.
From whatever image that your mind conjures for these scenarios, you can already see how much more enticing situation B would look to a shopper’s eye. But, from the retailer’s point of view, you can also imagine how expensive it would be to set up this kind of photoshoot for every single item across various backdrops and settings. And, that’s just for a toaster. What about a 65” TV that should be displayed mounted to a wall in a luxury home?
Luckily, there’s no longer a need to physically create these environments or even stage them because of innovative use of digital twins. Digital twins make it possible to place renditions of any item in any kind of lifestyle setting so that retailers can maximize their sales, minimize their costs, and showcase their products in the best of setups.
In this article, we’re going to share all that an ecommerce seller stands to gain when they leverage digital twins for lifestyle imagery. But first, let’s answer our favorite question.
What is a Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real-world object.
When it comes to eCommerce and retail, digital twins can be used instead of physical objects for multiple purposes, such as: packshots, product shots, 360º videos, augmented reality, interactive marketing, and of course, lifestyle photography.
By now, you may be wondering why anyone would want to go this route if they have the inventory anyways and can just take photos or stage lifestyle shots.
We’re on our way to answer why.
The Advantages for Lifestyle Photography
Digital twins that can be used to create 3D content are akin to the gift that keeps on giving. You create each product’s digital twin just once, and then you have numerous ways to use it to boost your sales. Consider the following benefits:
Lower Costs
Planning and executing photoshoots, especially when they entail locations and models can quickly add up. Not only are you paying for everyone’s time, including the photographer, but you are also having to pay to transport all the goods and people from location to location. If you’re staging the environment in a studio, you’ll likely rely on a creative director to make the vision come to fruition. You can skip all of this by using digital twins and virtual environments (or existing stock imagery or model shots). Once you have your 3D asset ready, it can be input into any setup. Without having to create anything else, it’s possible to adjust the color, layout, and positioning of the product.
Speed to Market
Given the fact that you no longer have to spend weeks or months planning photoshoots and staging environments, you can get your products to market more rapidly. While this is saving time in itself, it’s also providing your business with a competitive edge because you’re not stuck chasing your competition to start selling new products.
Creative Freedom and Testing
Another fun part about using digital twins and their output of 3D content for lifestyle photography is that you can always test new imagery. For example, if you notice that you’ve had ads running or banners on your website that are marketing a new product in its intended environment, but sales aren’t booming, perhaps you need to switch it up. Instead of having to go back to square one, you can simply switch out the product’s color, adjust the lifestyle photography background and create an entirely new campaign without very much added effort. This way, you can always optimize your marketing to reach your target audience in the most meaningful and eye-catching ways.
Illustrate Product Use
If you’re selling a product that has different uses that appeal to different end users, you’ll want to showcase them all to maximize your bottom line. To exemplify, if you’re looking to sell a table, you can show how it would look in an office versus a home.
Cross-Selling Opportunities
If you are looking to sell multiple items that work well together (i.e. a bed plus a nightstand, or a kitchen plate set with matching cups), then 3D modeling can cross off all the checkmarks together. By staging complementary products together, shoppers can see how everything works and may be more likely to add multiple items to their cart, even if they had intended to just shop for something in particular.
Hexa Enters the Picture
This all sounds great, doesn’t it? Now that you know the plenty of opportunities that exist when it comes to using 3D models for lifestyle marketing, you’ll likely be wanting to take your next step.
With Hexa’s 3D tech stack, all you need to get started is a single product image, product URL, or design file. With this data, our team and system will provide the output you need to market your products seamlessly and without hassle. Along with content creation, Hexa can help manage and distribute your 3D content. You can get started with as many or as few products as you like.
(Life)style However You Like
By using 3D content, you can be on your way to create whatever reality you wish to portray for any product. Using 3D models for lifestyle imagery makes it possible to remove many constraints, alleviate time and budget barriers, and open your world to the countless creative possibilities that exist.
Interested in seeing how agile and easy-to-create lifestyle imagery could become a reality for your own product line? Hexa is ready to assist!
. דרך התפריט ניתן להגדיל קונטרסט, ולהדגיש קישורים.