LookDepot is the exclusive licensed distributor of an automated product photography system called StyleShoots for New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Since 2014, LookDepot has been offering a table-style horizontal StyleShoots machine for flat-lays and non-clothing items or a vertical version for mannequins, accessories and general product. Both can be operated via iPad by a single, untrained and unskilled individual, to create high-quality and consistent product images with the background automatically cropped out.

Now, a new product called StyleShoots Live adds video capability to LookDepot’s range. Cost and time has historically been a barrier to producing high-quality video content, but StyleShoots Live will enable these retailers to generate high-quality video content in-house.

“StyleShoots Live will remove that barrier allowing fully-edited video and stills to be created formatted for online, all social media channels and in-store digital signage in a matter of minutes,” says Mackie.

StyleShoots Live pieces together videos based on customisable pre-sets and templates. StyleShoots’ proprietary Style Engine™ technology handles cuts, aspect ratio, transitions, fades and exports your video in many formats. The stylist and art director can manage the process of creating the stills and video and making the selects.

Mackie says product videos are increasingly important to online retailers, particularly those in the fashion category. Current LookDepot customers include The Warehouse Group, Cotton On and Billabong.

“Video shows clothes from multiple angles and how the light interacts with the fabric, shoppers can gain a better impression of the texture, fit and colour,” he says. “This makes them less surprised when their package arrives and less likely to return the product.”

Bricks and mortar retail continues to thrive on customers who need to feel clothing or try it on before buying it, but compared to a still image, high-quality product video is the closest a retailer can get to bridging the gap between digital and physical retail, Mackie says.

Larger retailers can purchase StyleShoots Live or the Vertical and Horizontal still-image StyleShoots machines outright through LookDepot. The company’s team of installation specialists will install and provide training and on-going support.

Asset Factory offers access to the same technology through a rental operation, allowing the SME retail market to hire the machines on an flexible time basis. The Asset Factory team works with a diverse range of customers from fashion apparel and accessories, sports and technical apparel, lingerie, jewellery, home ware, gifts, food and wine through to the medical and hardware industries.

A StyleShoots product shoot is much the same as any other, says Jo Mackie, Asset Factory director, but the company’s technology allows the brand owners to manage the process, removing the costly need for a photographer, videographer and editing suite.

“To shoot you simply follow the interface prompts based on your chosen style and the machine controls the motorised camera setup,” says Jo Mackie. “After, your footage is saved by product for easy file management.”

LookDepot offers further services including:

• MockShop. This visual merchandising software lets the user build fully merchandised interactive 3D stores, to automatically generate planograms which provide a complete visual guide to every fixture in the store, to visually analyse your product data, and to create storyboards and range books in minutes.
• ShopShape. This tablet-based visual merchandising software allows users to send clear instructions and visual guidelines to store managers, plus track compliance, campaigns and instructions.
• Pimberly. Pimberly is a powerful cloud-based Product Information Management (PIM) system for connecting suppliers and distributors. It makes accessing, storing, organising, publishing and sharing product information to multiple channels simple – ensuring it’s all consistent and up to date.

The benefits of offering product videos online

52 percent of shoppers are more confident in their purchases when shopping with video content.
57 percent are less surprised when receiving products after having seen a video and will be less likely to return.
81 percent more time is spent on sites from consumer audiences watching a video.
62 percent of consumers discover new products through watching videos on their social news feeds.
73 percent more visitors who watch videos of products will buy them.

For sales enquiries contact LookDepot at [email protected] or +64 9 3773559.