Products that Need 360 Spin Images for eCommerce

360 spin images for eCommerce come with a wealth of benefits for online retailers, but some products lend themselves to this marketing tool more than others. To determine what those products may be, it helps to put yourself in the consumer’s shoes. When and why would you prefer to get a full, 360-degree view of the item you’re considering to purchase? We’ll dive deeper into those scenarios later, but to start let’s talk about how the need for a 360 product viewer came to be a key ingredient for online marketing plans.

 

desk 360 degree spin

 

The Shift from Brick-and-Mortar

Up until about 10 years ago, online shopping was a luxury. We did nearly all of our shopping onsite, in store, where we had an opportunity to peruse every product available on the shelf. We could pick the inventory up, touch it with our hands, and of course, spin it at will to get an up-close look at every angle in detail. This was still an option pre-pandemic, but even before the lockdown arrived retailers had gained a lot of steam in the shift from a primarily in-person shopping experience to a digital one.

 

Why Your eCommerce Store Needs a 3D Product Customizer-3

 

Consumer expectations have increased along with the advent of newer, more flexible eCommerce experiences. For example, just five short years ago the average consumer was content to receive three image options of the product they were viewing. By last year, that expectation had leaped to eight. Beyond more image options, consumers have grown to expect a more immersive, interactive browsing experience that mirrors the brick-and-mortar experience as closely as possible. For many products, that includes the full 360-degree product viewer we appreciate during an in-store shopping experience.

Today, consumers are likely to pass on potential purchases that don’t empower them with a hands-on experience that enables them to spin the merchandise at will. Marketers who fail to keep up risk being left behind. Even when the pandemic comes to pass, consumers will carry the expectations they’ve developed well into the future. Let’s take a look at a few categories that offer the perfect products for 360 spin images for eCommerce.

 

Automotive

Purchasing a new vehicle is no small decision. For starters, they’re a big-ticket item. There aren’t many consumers out there who are prepared to invest tens of thousands of dollars into a product without first getting the most information possible. Furthermore, cars and trucks are designed with purposeful details in every square inch. Beyond the engineering and reliability of a vehicle, car shoppers want to get a full, 360-degree view of how their ride will look on the road, and in the parking lot. How are the edges sculpted? What do the brake lights look like from behind? How does the grill look from the standing position? All of these are considered when searching for a car, whether the shopper knows it or not.

 

car 360 degree spin

Think about how you would approach the inventory on a dealer’s lot on a Sunday afternoon. You’d walk the lanes, then walk around the car for close-up views of every last detail. Of course, what really seals the deal with a car is the test drive, but until that’s an option in eCommerce, 360 spin images are as close as we can get to the real onsite experience.

 

 

Clothing and Fashion

When it comes to clothing and fashion, looks always come first. Comfort isn’t far behind but the primary consideration when window shopping for threads is how we’ll look to our peers, colleagues, and even strangers. This makes it imperative that the consumer receive a full view of the fashion item that captures their fancy. Again, let’s imagine how a shopper in search of the right sweater or dress might test things out. They would literally try things on for size in the fitting room and walk toward, across, and away from a full-length mirror. This means they expect the same flexibility when shopping online, or at least the closest experience possible. 360 spin images give consumers a chance to turn clothing items around at will just as they would if they were turning themselves around in front of a mirror.

 

360 degree shoe spin

 

Furniture

There’s a reason we can see the viewing area at a furniture retailer and a showroom. Customers get a literal showcase of what they have to offer and can walk around the couches, armchairs, and dining room sets to imagine how they might fit into the décor they have at home or envision for the future. Much like cars, these items come with relatively high price tags meaning shoppers want to see as much as possible before making a decision. Furniture retailers that are moving far ahead of the curve are also adding mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences to help shoppers see exactly how items will appear in their spaces but at the very least, they need to offer 360 spin images to compete.

 

couch 360 degree view

 

Jewelry

Watches, rings and necklaces are rarely a casual purchase. Shoppers want, and deserve, to feel that the product they’re purchasing is precisely what they have in mind before making a decision. Usually, a jewelry purchase is a symbolic gift, or at least intended to become an heirloom. These items are designed with more minute details than nearly anything else sold online—when you imagine a jeweler, what’s the first thing you see? A magnifying eyepiece. All of this means that consumers are going to expect extreme close-ups from every conceivable angle, which is only possible when online jewelers offer 360 spin images for eCommerce.

ring 360 degreen spin

 

Streaming Series’

Today, with the advent of bingeable TV series online, TV shows are more than a story — they’re an experience fans want to explore further. Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, and Invisible are just a few shows that have created worlds their viewers want to explore. This phenomenon means that TV shows aren’t just entertainment. They’re products available for purchase with viewing time. Modern serialized stories are experiences people want to share via social channels and offering 360 spin images that perfectly reflects the world they’ve come to know so well is the perfect opportunity for them to do just that.

If you’re a marketer for any of these products, or others that could benefit from modern 360 spin images for eCommerce, Threekit is the perfect partner to help you make that happen. The team at Threekit is always working to stay ahead of the curve in the eCommerce marketplace, so they can keep their clients there as well. If you’re ready to give online shoppers the full view they deserve, get in touch with us today for a consultation or demo.