This may sound obvious, but it can’t be overstated: customers want to understand what it’s like to use and interact with your products. This is why lifestyle imagery is key. For starters, photos of people using your products show your products at scale. Customers gain a sense of the item on the body or in a room, for example. They can see the length of a hemline, the size of a backpack on an actual person, or the look of a coffee table next to a sofa.

But before you feel pressured to hire a team of professional photographers, remember: lifestyle imagery doesn’t have to come from your own content. Instead, you can also leverage user-generated content (UGC). Some brands are entirely built upon the idea of UGC.

Take Andie Swim, the company that makes “swimwear by women for women.” On the product details page for the Amalfi suit, they feature three professional product shots and a short video of the suit. Very nice. But then they take it further. As viewers scroll down, they see several images of customers – just like them – wearing the Amalfi suit. The suit isn’t only worn by someone who is 5’11” and 130 pounds; it’s also worn by a shopper who is 5’6” and 165 pounds. These images let people see the suit on a body that’s more comparable to their own.

The UGC approach also creates community, as people around the world share images of the suit with #andieswim hashtags. It builds loyalty, and it lets potential buyers see what the suit looks like on various body types. The lifestyle photos from customers also establish a greater sense of connection with the brand.

For retailers with larger budgets who are ready to grow, the next level of product visualization involves 3D models and animation. Merchants can also scale these elements to match their needs.

We’ve written about the merits of product configurators before. To recap, not only do configurator tools allow your customers to create their own products; as a retailer, you learn a lot about what your shoppers want as they customize your products. On the topic of product visualization, configurators let people rotate their item to see what they’ve created from every angle. This is done either as a 2D or 3D model.

This kind of ecommerce product visualization doesn’t require animation, and it still gives a really nice, full picture of the final item. People have the opportunity to interact with the photo and view it from all aspects. There’s a lot of opportunity in offering this kind of customization. It does, however, come with its own set of questions. What are all the possible options? How do the various options look together? How are these combinations going to look together?

Once you’ve cracked these answers, you have a way for customers to build something that they can take ownership of and see it right in front of them.

3D models and animation represent the most complex, as well as expensive, approach to visualization. Yet they have their value – and their future. Innovative companies like Threekit are making this level of visualization more common.

Awhile back, we interviewed Daniel Beauchamp, the Head of Augmented and Virtual Reality at Shopify, and he was especially excited to see the 3D world of product visualization enter the mainstream. This kind of visualization lets customers see products from every angle. With augmented reality, they can take it a step further and place the product in their own home. The potential here is big. For merchants eager to take visualization to this level, the first step is make 3D models of your products. (Either in-house or with a company like Threekit.) Then, no matter how you choose to engage in 3D selling, whether it’s through virtual or augmented reality, you’ll have the key components ready.

As you think about product visualization for your online store, remember that there are low-cost ways to step into this world and still have a big impact. You can communicate with user-generated content and include more customer-inclusive imagery. Or you can promote your products through video, especially if you need to show technical complexity or product volume. Lastly, moving into 3D imagery and animation can really give your shoppers a full, immersive view of your product line.

No matter which approach you choose, put the effort into showing your products as thoroughly as you can. The number one goal is to give your customers all the visual information they need to finalize their purchase.