The goal of the product detail page is to persuade the shopper to add an item to their shopping cart. In selling fashion online, retailers relay on product photography, product attributes and description copy to present a product to its best advantage. Some retailers rely on all three elements to optimize product presentation. Others simply rely on photography and bare attributes such as fabrication and country of origin. Often, this is due to budget constraints in obtaining effective copywriting resources. Experience has shown that product attributes combined with effective description/selling copy will differentiate your product, earn customer consideration and promote conversion. They become even more important when product photography is limited.
In the first example below, the product photography is limited to just one front shot. Not ideal, as customers tend to see before they read. Hence, product attributes and copy description have a heavier role to play in selling the product.
In the second example below, the retailer does an amazing job presenting the product through photography. All critical views - front, side, inside, all points of interest and a sense of scale - are shown. In addition, the photography is supported with effective product attributes and copy description. Notice that the copy description is also brand-right in terms of voice.
In the third example below, the retailer provides not only a complete set of photography showing every single detail of the product, but robust and comprehensive product attributes and description copy as well. This retailer clearly makes a strong case for why you need to provide the customer with all the important product attributes including: material, use, drop, exterior, embellishment, bottom, closure, interior, dimensions and weight. On top of that, the customer can also access a glossary of terms to better understand and technical terms used, as well as read other customer's opinion about the product through customer ratings and reviews.
Having said all that, below is my list of best practices for using product attributes and description copy to make the difference between consideration and conversion:
- Define the key attribute requirements at the product category level
- Extract the key attributes from the enterprise merchandising systems
- Edit, add or remove attributes at the item level as necessary
- Sequence the attributes top-to-bottom from most important to least important
- Link attributes to similar products
- Provide a glossary to explain any technical terms used
- Layer in strong and branded description copy that creates a strong call-to-action
- Play with the customer's motivation by speaking to his and her needs, wants and desires
- Call out features and benefits to help the customer picture himself/herself using the product
- Leverage customer ratings and reviews to sell the product (if available)
- Review the entire product page with photography, attributes, and copy description to make sure that, with all the elements combined, you are ready to rock the sales
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