SSE researchers highlight online visual merchandising in new report

Despite the rapid growth of online retailing there is still not much knowledge about how retailers should best display products online. A new research report, authored by researchers at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) and the Swedish Research Institute (RISE), addresses this research gap. The report, published by The Swedish Retail and Wholesale Council, also provides practical guidance for online retailers.

The results highlight the important role of product pictures in online retailing, but also how difficult it is for consumers to evaluate products in online stores. The reason for this is that many properties of products are difficult to determine by looking at online product pictures.

The report is based on a research project conducted by Hanna Berg from SSE together with Annika Lindström and Siv Lindberg from RISE. In several experiments, the researchers compared consumer responses to visual merchandising online and offline. Eye-tracking technology was used to register consumers’ eye movements. The companies IKEA, ICA and Rapid Images also participated in the research project.