If they're buying it for the feeling, use video

There's a category of product where static photography will always underperform - and it's not the one most brands expect.

Research found that for products bought primarily for enjoyment, feeling, or experience - fashion, food, beauty, travel, lifestyle goods - video and GIFs made people willing to pay 79% more than static images of the same product.

For functional products (a drill, a washing machine, accounting software), the format made no meaningful difference. Static images are fine.

Why movement sells feeling

Dynamic media is closer to real experience. When someone imagines using a product, they think in motion - pouring the drink, wearing the dress, spraying the perfume. A video makes that imagination effortless. A static image makes the buyer do all the mental work themselves.

And when imagination is easy, price sensitivity drops.

What type of video works

Slow motion performs exceptionally well for premium products. Slow-motion product shots - a fragrance bottle being spritzed, fabric moving in the wind, a drink being poured - increased sales by 22%, ad clicks by 18%, and willingness to pay by 11% in separate research.

The key: make it feel premium, not produced. Overly polished, corporate video feels less personal than something that feels almost hand-held - real, spontaneous, close to the product.

The audit question

For each of your key products: is the primary reason someone buys this functional (it does a specific job) or experiential (it makes them feel something)?

If it's the second, and you're still relying on three static photos - that's a meaningful gap.

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Research: Roggeveen, A.L., Grewal, D., Townsend, C. & Krishnan, R. (2015). Journal of Marketing, 79(6). Babson College & University of Miami.