Online design optimization is the act of making sure your online marketing lives up to its fullest potential, helping drive your brand’s growth and market share.

Most grocery stores currently marketing online have created a shopping experience that consists of consumers wading through countless thumbnail-sized photographs of their products. These thumbnails are often a bad reproduction of your packaging and create inconsistent representation across your brand.

To be fair, standing out online can be just as challenging as on a shelf. If done properly, e-commerce gives private brands the upper hand. A strategy as simple as putting your private brand products at the top of the page means you can engage your customer first. However, if your package doesn’t stand out, they’ll skip right past you.

An IRCE report concludes that, for 75% of customers, the quality of the images is the most important driver of purchasing decisions.

This is where optimization becomes vital.

Tips for online design optimization of thumbnails

• Highlight the most important characteristics of your product
• Simplify your design so these characteristics stand out (i.e., the amount of granola bars in a box)
• Remove any information that does not increase sellability

If amplifying some information by removing other information concerns you, remember that the thumbnail’s job is just to bring people to your product page, where you have room to highlight other important information.

Optimization is just as important on the product page as the thumbnails. It is here, on the product page, where consumers make the decision whether or not to buy an item.

Tips for online design optimization of product pages

• Have more than one image of your product, with alternative views
• Have a clear emphasis on features and benefits
• Remove any unnecessary information cluttering the package
• Test readability on all devices, including phones

Optimizing online design serves one purpose for retailers: it makes it easier for consumers to pick your products in the growing online marketplace. It’s one of the quickest and most cost-effective changes you can implement right now.