Ecommerce
Tactic

Use Visuals in the Early Stages of Choice

Customers prefer visual options in early stages of choice.

Three image links to shoes, pants, and shoes categories

Overview

On your homepage, depict products with thumbnail graphics.

...it would be beneficial to have the upfront information about the store and its products presented in a visual manner [on the homepage]...Then, at the point of actual consideration for purchase, on the product offerings pages a more text-based interface should cause consumers to slow down, review each option more carefully (Townsend & Kahn, 2014, p. 19)

  • Townsend, C., & Kahn, B. E. (2014). The “visual preference heuristic”: The influence of visual versus verbal depiction on assortment processing, perceived variety, and choice overload. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(5), 993-1015.