Digital Catalogs In Ecommerce

With the number of online purchases growing steadily every year, many product manufacturers adopt ecommerce to follow the trend. However, simply putting the items out there is not enough to drive sales at the desired rates. First of all, it’s important to understand that there are many factors involved in the process of deciding to make an online purchase. For instance, visual attractiveness and navigation of the website, the amount of information about the products, availability of customer support and convenient shipment and return policy.

Now, what does it mean? It means that the customer needs to be guided through the ecommerce website, with all their needs considered along the way. And if the manufacturer fails to do that, it will be all too easy for the customer to just leave the website and find what they are looking for someplace else. Something that can help here is the potential buyer having high brand awareness and the right expectations of the products. This is why digital catalogs in ecommerce are so important. At first, they retain the initial attention and interest of the customers, and then take them on a journey, at the end of which they are now more likely to make a purchase. Maybe even a bigger one than they originally intended.

Sounds good? Well, if yes, then it might be useful to start looking for a CGI studio right away. But first, let’s learn some more about the vital benefits of using digital catalogs in ecommerce for product manufacturers.

#1. Digital Catalogs Set the Mood

Products that benefit from digital catalogs in ecommerce the most are furniture and decor, household items and home appliances. And let’s be honest from the start here, nobody buys those without some thorough prior thinking. Which means the manufacturers must do their best to appeal to the customer’s personal preferences.

Filling digital catalogs with lifestyle 3D renderings of products like furniture allows to showcase the items in realistic surroundings. In physical stores, one can normally see an array of curated sets and various room settings amounting to a whole mansion in square footage. So why not do this for ecommerce websites? In fact, it is needed even more in this case, since the buyers have to rely on visual materials alone when shopping online.

Moreover, there is a lot less money and effort required to create impressive lifestyle settings for digital catalogs compared to physical stores. And the results are just stunning. Using CGI, it is quite easy to create different scenes tailored to the tastes of particular audience segments, ultimately reaching all of them. This way, it is possible to efficiently market the same item to everyone from college students to middle-aged stockbrokers.

#2. They Help To Cross-Sell Products

When customers see a beautifully arranged interior in a digital catalog for ecommerce, they might get interested in what makes the interior so appealing besides that centerpiece sofa they are planning to order. As a result, they might add a few more items to their cart. Therefore, featuring multiple secondary products in a digital catalog image can boost online sales without the buyers feeling like they are being pushed to purchase more.

The reason for this is rather simple. Most people struggle with furnishing and decoration of their homes, and the results of those efforts aren’t always pleasing. So, a well-made digital catalog for ecommerce can actually help them to make a choice they are going to be truly happy with.

#3. Digital Catalogs Are Essential for Multichannel Marketing

Most product brands use social media and online ads to direct people to their ecommerce websites. However, some of them make the mistake of serving beautifully staged images to their customers on different platforms, but not in the online store itself. In such cases, the potential buyers can feel lost when they go to the website and see none of what was in the ads or social media posts.

So, to run a successful furniture website, for example, the manufacturer needs to ensure a seamless experience across multiple platforms for the potential buyer. Consistency inspires trust and makes it easier for the customers to navigate through the ecommerce website, knowing exactly what they are looking for. For the best results, the content in the digital catalog must always be updated and match that on the other platforms, as well as the actual product range available on the website.

#4. They Show Products in Context

With white background images only, it can be difficult to say for sure if an item will fit into an interior as intended. And in the case of furniture and household appliances, the expectations of the purchased items are usually quite high and any drawback can lead to a profound disappointment in the brand itself. Needless to say, that’s a terrible scenario for the manufacturer, who might experience drops in online sales due to negative reviews.

Digital catalogs in ecommerce allow the buyers to see how items of different sizes look together. For instance, whether that coffee table they like really looks too small next to the sofa they purchased last month. Online catalogs are also perfect to show what different materials look like in real-life surroundings. And that means a possibility of an upsell. Say, a customer is looking into regular ceramic sinks and suddenly notices that a concrete one would look way more stylish in their bathroom. Oh, and the taps could be fancier too.

#5. Digital Catalogs Increase Brand Awareness

This is more of a long-term benefit. Every brand wants that customer loyalty, not everyone knows how exactly it forms. Well, it all starts with communication. The style of visual materials must be carefully curated to convey brand values. Potential buyers need to be able to recognize immediately from that style whether the products that are being offered are suitable for them in general.

Then, a good digital catalog for ecommerce can define the price segment of the brand even before the customer actually sees the prices. Here, it’s important to not send any mixed messages. Putting mass-produced, mid-range items into luxurious surroundings can be an example of one. And vice versa. When everything is done right, using high-quality, on-brand digital catalogs in ecommerce helps to build brand awareness among customers. Which, in turn, leads to steady online sales rates and positive reviews in the long run.

Now, hopefully, enough was said in favor of digital catalogs for ecommerce to prove it is impossible to sell online without them. They help to get the customer’s initial attention, guide them naturally through the product range and form brand awareness and loyalty after a purchase. Basically, this means they support and improve the whole online sales process. And all that’s needed to create this powerful and helpful tool is some computers with 3D rendering software and a team of professional CGI artists.

Are you interested in digital catalog-making services for your brand? Then contact us at CGIFurniture and get the best online catalogs in the shortest possible time to boost your sales!

Ana Wayne

Content Writer, Copywriter

Ana loves writing about CGI technology in product and interior design. She swears by mid-century furniture style, soul music, sci-fi movies, and loves tasting delicious street food when traveling abroad.