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Immersive Tech for Classified Ads can Increase Online Sales

In ecommerce, where items can’t be physically examined, product visualization plays a key role. Visual demonstration of a product is a powerful way to convey crucial information to online shoppers and influence their choices. Visual content is particularly important for classifieds’ users, who often doubt the sellers’ reliability and the quality of advertised items. Let’s see how classifieds can bring product images to the next level with immersive technologies, enhance both sellers and buyers’ customer experience and increase sales.

Why product images on classifieds matter and what issues sellers face when creating them: Product visualization plays a crucial role in the consumers’ decision-making process. According to Etsy’s buyer surveys, 90% of shoppers say the quality of photos are “extremely important” or “very important” to a purchase decision. Since classifieds are often used to sell secondhand items, it’s particularly important for buyers to not only view high-quality product images but also to examine the product from all angles. However, this can only be achieved if sellers create a lot of high-resolution images. In actual case, this often proves impossible, with sellers only able to upload up to 10 images, which they are forced to display in low resolution.

What’s more, many classifieds’ sellers struggle to create high-quality product images. To give you an idea, 40% of new shop owners on Etsy mentioned product photography is either somewhat difficult or very difficult for them. The point is that high-quality content production is challenging, expensive, and time-consuming, so many sellers either neglect photo quality or use stock images to demonstrate their products. As a result, consumers don’t get enough visual information and either switch to another seller or get products that don’t meet their expectations.

How immersive technology brings product imaging on classifieds to the next level: The key to perfect sales is in providing customers with high-quality product visualization that enables zoom-in views from different angles and allows for accurate product estimations. This is where 3D visualization of products comes into play, when a user can examine the item on one single page just by swiping or rotating it. Customers given the chance to interact with 3D images are able to make quicker decisions because they do not need to open a lot of photos and wait for them to download. Here are some examples.

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What’s more, such image file formats are protected from editing — the product is presented in a true-to-life visual and a shopper can be confident in their purchase. Additional interactivity of 3D content enhances buyer engagement and increases the time a consumer spends on a product page. This in turn boosts purchase probability. Classifieds that provide their sellers with the opportunity to integrate immersive content into a product page are the next generation of classifieds.

How Classifieds can Integrate 3D Capturing Functionality

Initially, classified ads included only photos, with other product demonstration formats overloading websites or being too complicated to produce. That is why we haven’t seen any breakthroughs in this field for a long time. Now, there are some tools on the market that allow classifieds to provide immersive content shooting functionality to their users. Based on Cappasity’s capabilities, let’s consider several scenarios specific to the integration of immersive 3D content production technology into a classified’s mobile app.

The first one is to fully integrate 3D capturing technology into a classified’s mobile app. For this purpose, classifieds can use Mertsy SDK technology.

The mobile app for a classified will feature a “Create 3D photo” button, which the seller must press in order to launch the 3D capturing mode. The seller simply circles around the object and when the shooting process is over a 3D image is automatically created. Thanks to the background removal feature, the seller can make 3D product visuals even more appealing, changing the color of the background or even adding a picture. When a 3D image is ready, the seller can publish it the same way as photos.

The solution allows sellers to shoot anything in 3D, from a ring to a car or even a house. There are multiple 3D capturing modes that can be integrated into a classified’s mobile app, including the capture of variously sized objects, digitization of vehiclesin 3D and creation of real estate panoramas.

When a classified is small or doesn’t have its own app they can choose another scenario — provide 3D capturing functionality through a third-party app. For instance, some classifieds use 3DShot, a standalone application that is based on the Mertsy SDK.

To create 3D content, sellers need to download 3DShot from the App Store or Google Play. They can then launch the app and start the shooting process by circling an object. When a full circle is completed the shooting process will stop automatically. The resulting content will then be saved to the user’s account, where the seller will be able to generate a link and insert it into the classified’s ad.

How 3D Content Increases Sales on Classifieds

After embedding immersive content, classifieds observe at least a 12% increase in conversion action: ads with 3D content receive better feedback (calls, messages). The ability to estimate the desired item from all angles is especially important for used car buyers: Autotrader discovered that a whopping 87% of customers find 360-degree photos indispensable when shopping for vehicles online. What’s more, according to Cox Automotive, 78% of shoppers are more likely to consider a vehicle with a 360-degree spin image compared to a vehicle without one.

While 3D visualization of a car can’t replace a history report, it gives confidence as to the condition of the vehicle, builds trust with the seller and is necessary when purchasing partially or fully online. 

CarSwitch, a used car marketplace, has integrated with Cappasity’s solution for classifieds to allow its consumers to examine vehicles as they would offline from the comfort of their homes. To digitize a car in 3D, CarSwitch specialists use the 3DShot app. After providing immersive experiences, CarSwitch noticed that cars with 3D images garner a much higher engagement and interest from buyers.

To sum up, 3D capturing technology provides the ultimate opportunity for classifieds that enhance both the buyers and sellers’ user experience. Classified platforms or apps making use of this technology will have the best chance of standing out from the competition. Such an investment will increase buyers’ engagement and product perception. The platforms will become more appealing to sellers, leading to an increase in sales.


Kosta Popov is CEO and founder of Cappasity, the company providing an easy and scalable platform for creation, embedding and analysis of 3D and AR content. He has 20+ years of experience and a successful track record as a software company CEO. Popov is an expert in 3D technologies, SaaS solutions and mobile applications and was named one of the top innovators by Intel Software.

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