How to Show Your Product's Size in Your Online Store Photos
Another message comes in asking how big the product is. The dimensions are on the product page, under the specifications tab, but hardly anyone reads that far. According to usability research by Baymard Institute, 42% of shoppers try to work out a product's size by looking at its photos, and 56% start exploring a new product page through the photos rather than the description.
If your photos don't show size, then for a large share of your visitors, size doesn't exist. In this article we look at which photo every product page needs so size is clear at a glance, how to choose it for your type of product, and which mistakes make it more confusing than helpful.
Why dimensions in the description aren't enough
A figure like "12 x 8 cm" asks the shopper to picture the object, and almost nobody does. They look at the photo and draw a quick conclusion. The problem is that a cut-out photo on a white background gives no clues. With nothing around it, a table lamp and a floor lamp can look the same. Baymard also found that shadows and camera angles make the same product look bigger or smaller than it really is.
In their tests, users who only saw cut-out photos misjudged size, ruled out products that would actually have suited them and sometimes left the store. That lost sale doesn't show up in any report. What you do see are the messages from the people who were left unsure and bothered to write.
What a scale reference photo is
It's any photo where the product's size is clear by comparison with something familiar. There are four common ways to do it.
- In the hand. Works very well for small products such as cosmetics, jewellery, accessories or pocket electronics.
- Next to an everyday object. A mug, a phone, a book. Everyone knows how big they are.
- Worn or carried by a person. Clothing, bags, backpacks, glasses.
- Where it's used. A piece of furniture in the living room, a plant on a shelf, an appliance on the kitchen counter. The room itself provides the scale.
Photos with dimension lines
This is the product photo with lines marking its dimensions (height, width, depth) and the figure next to each one. It's very common on marketplaces, and for good reason: it puts the measurement where the shopper is looking, in the photos, instead of leaving it on the spec sheet.
It works best alongside a scale reference photo. The one with dimension lines answers "will it fit?", while the context photo answers "how big is it?", which is the question almost everyone asks first. If size is decisive for the purchase (a piece of furniture that has to fit a specific space, a suitcase that has to work as cabin luggage), it's worth having both.
How to choose the reference for your product
The best reference is whatever your customer would have next to the product when using it. For a serum, a hand. For a side table, the sofa it will sit beside. For a lunch box, a backpack or the kitchen counter.
If you sell products in several sizes (a plant pot in 15, 20 and 30 cm, for example), one photo of all three together answers the question faster than three product pages on white. And if your catalogue has products that are easy to mix up by size, like two almost identical lamps, the scale photo is what stops the customer buying the wrong one.
Mistakes that make the reference more confusing
- Using something of variable size as the reference. A plant, a cushion or a box won't work, because the customer doesn't know how big they are.
- Forced perspective. If the product is much closer to the camera than the reference object, it looks bigger than it is. The safest option is to place both at the same distance.
- A reference object that steals the attention. If the phone next to your product is more eye-catching than the product itself, the photo tells a different story.
- A scene that doesn't match real use. A jewellery box on a ten-seat dining table confuses more than it helps.
How many scale photos a product page needs
At least one per product, and that already covers the main question. The main photo can stay on a white background, which is also what most marketplaces require, and the scale photo goes in second or third position, where it's seen by people who have already shown interest.
If your catalogue is large, start with the products where size is part of the buying decision (furniture, home decor, bags, kitchenware) and with your best sellers. They generate the most questions, and a lost sale there costs the most.
When AI generates the scale scene
For many stores, taking a context photo of every product isn't realistic, and generating the scene with AI is the fastest route. But this brings a problem that happens to anyone using an AI image tool: the product can come out bigger or smaller than it really is compared with the rest of the scene. A mug the size of a jug, or a serum that looks like a shampoo bottle. It's exactly the mistake the scale photo was meant to avoid.
In Picgenio you can upload several photos of the same product (front, side, back) and enter its dimensions, and the generated image keeps the real proportions against the objects in the scene.
Frequently asked questions
Is it enough to put the dimensions in the description?
They help those who read them, but almost half of shoppers decide on size by looking at the photos. Ideally, have both.
Can the main photo be the scale photo?
On your own website, yes, as long as the product is clear. On marketplaces, the main photo usually has to be on a white background, so the scale photo goes second.
Does a video work to show size?
As a complement. According to Baymard, many users don't play product page videos, so they don't replace a scale photo.
Which object should I use as a reference?
Whatever your customer would have next to the product when using it, and always something of a known size: a hand, a phone, a mug, a book.
Sources
Baymard Institute: "In Scale" product images
Baymard Institute: current state of product page U