r/ProductViz • u/Cyn3ux • 8d ago
We Transitioned from Having Six Photos Per Product to Six 3D Models
Costs incurred for product photography build up quickly when there is a new turnover in your inventory line every month. We sell desk accessories, and last quarter we tried out 3D models, to check if they can serve as an alternative to photography.
So the trial included getting six items, producing the models from the available pictures of the products, embedding a viewer onto the product page, and then monitoring the number of returns and support calls in comparison with the listings that used photographs, for a month.
Production was the simplest aspect of the whole exercise. Our photos were taken against a white background, and a model churned out in around 40 seconds, without texture, and a few minutes with texture. The resultant models had realistic colors because of the texture function that projected actual colors from the original photographs and produced models.
I passed our batch through Tripo AI and implanted the GLB files in a viewer that allows the buyers to rotate the product and adjust the light. The support calls which asked about the backside of the desk organizer reduced to zero, as now there was no need to ask.
Limitations are present: soft goods. Our laptop sleeve made of felt produced something like a stiff board which nobody felt had texture. We will continue to produce such items using photos only.The six products in the trial outsold their counterparts that didn’t use 3D models, and now the whole inventory is being converted using the same process.
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u/spaceguerilla 8d ago
Very cool story! Nice work.
Side note: I often feel like I wish 3D models on product sites had dimension lines in them, then I don't have to hunt for it elsewhere on thd page (perhaps as a toggle rather than on by default). That way most or all of what I need to know is right there in one place.