5 Ways Bad Retouching Can Sink Your Brand’s Reputation

First impressions last till the end. Your product images are often the first point of contact with potential customers, especially when selling online. A crisp, professional photo can attract buyers, but a poorly edited one can send them straight to your competitors. What’s worse, a negative word-of-mouth campaign can ensue, which can seriously damage your brand’s value.

Bad retouching is indeed a costly mistake that can erode trust, hurt sales and put your brand’s reputation at stake. Here are 5 signs that signal that something bad is happening with your product photo retouching.

1. Decreasing Sales

The product quality must reflect in the image. If the images showcase issues, such as uneven lighting, sloppy cutouts, or unnatural colors, then the credibility of the products in question will be at stake.

It is like the image screams “low quality” even before a buyer intends to click the ‘buy’ button. According to a survey, about 70% online buyers say high-quality visuals are a top factor in their purchasing decisions. Decreasing sales mean that buyers are not at all attracted to the images that you display on your online portals.

2. Increasing Returns

Sometimes, the reverse of the above happens. Buyers are too excited to buy products because of the flawless (but unrealistic) images they might see on your website.

They may get disappointed when the products arrive as what they now have in their hands are a way too different from what they have seen on your website. Over-editing indeed leads to unrealistic expectations, which are likely to break trust of the brand. This eventually results into increasing product returns.

3. Growing Bounce Rates

Low quality images on your website will cease to attract potential buyers. Visitors landing on your page will leave quickly without making any attempt to inquire more about the product.

This will result into increased bounce rates, which is not good for search engine optimization. High exit rates often affect the website visibility on search engines. What’s more, the money you spend on ads and marketing campaigns are likely to go waste with little or no traffic improvement.

4. Swelling Negative Reviews

Buyers who have been misled by poorly edited images are likely to tell others. They will take to review sites and social media platforms to vent their angers. It is a fact that consumers prefer to read online reviews before making purchase decisions.

Growing negative reviews can severely damage a company’s sales potential and undo months of brand-building efforts. It is important for a brand to give top priority to image quality control.

5. Losing Customers to Competitors

If you are not keeping pace with the industry growth trajectory, you are missing the bandwagon. This simply means that you are handing customers to rivals who prioritize polished, professional images.

Many big companies enforce strict image guidelines for their online catalogs, which often pay with higher conversion rates. Be mindful of jagged edges or inconsistent backgrounds if you really want to compete with the market’s big players.