New photography service aims to support jewellers

A new photography business is aiming to help high street and online jewellery retailers increase their sales through the launch of a new packshot photography service. Summerleigh Photography, launched by professional jewellery photographer Lucy Davies, specialises in packshot imagery for digital retail platforms and printed promotional materials. Packshot photography typically refers to clear images of a product on a white background, regarded as an “important stimulus” for generating sales. Research shows that online conversion rates increased by 88% with use of this photography. Now, Davies hopes that her affordable and accessible service will help high street and online retailers compete with major jewellery brands. She has worked in the jewellery industry for more than 15 years and has a degree in Photography. Most recently she led business photography and marketing activity at Raw Pearls. Davies said: “With the ‘browse first, shop after’ mentality of today’s consumer generation, high quality product photography is imperative to increasing footfall in jewellery retail stores. In fact, 62% of consumers research online ahead of visiting a store to shop. “Online jewellery sales however continue to grow and if you run an e-commerce website, high quality product photography is a key conversion tool with rates increasing by 88% when quality packshot imagery is used. It’s what the customer sees first, and over half feel imagery is more important than product descriptions.” She added: “In the consumer's mind there is also a strong link between the quality of image and the quality of product. “This is why packshot photography has been used successfully by major brand retailers for many years, but this type of photography hasn’t been as easily accessible to smaller independent jewellery retailers.” “I want to support these businesses by giving them access to an affordable service that can have a real impact upon their sales growth.” Miranda Raw, director of Raw Pearls, said that her business was now “benefiting firsthand” from Lucy’s photography. She said: “Raw Pearls’ reputation has been built upon delivering the finest quality pearl products for our customers. “Yet it can be difficult to encapsulate this quality visually, which is a problem many retailers will recognise. This is where Lucy’s photography has been truly transformative.” She added: “Her product imagery has been fundamental in increasing our sales and that of our customers in what is an increasingly digital marketplace. She produces consistently high-quality images and importantly understands the jewellery retail industry.”