Top 7 Ways to Use Customer Photos to Improve Product Discovery on Shopify
Customer photos are one of the most effective ways to help shoppers discover products they did not originally plan to buy. Real images from real customers create trust, reduce hesitation and show your products in everyday situations that matter to buyers. When used correctly, customer photos can play a major role in product discovery across your entire Shopify store.
In this guide, we will walk through the top 7 ways merchants are using customer photos to increase browsing time, improve product visibility and drive more conversions.
1. Display a Customer Gallery on Your Homepage
Your homepage is one of the most visited pages on your store, which makes it the perfect place to highlight customer photos. A well curated gallery instantly communicates authenticity and gives shoppers a glimpse into your community.
This also encourages visitors to click into photos, explore products that appear in them and browse categories they might not have considered.
With our app, you can embed a fully customizable gallery section that automatically updates as new customer photos are approved.
2. Add UGC Sections to Product Pages
Product pages are where many buying decisions happen. Adding customer photos directly to these pages helps buyers see:
Real world sizing
Different colors and variations
How the product looks in natural lighting
How other customers styled or used it
These visual cues often help customers find the right version of a product or discover related items shown in customer photos.
Our app allows you to display product specific photos on each product page without any coding.
3. Use Product Tagging to Create Shoppable Photos
When you tag products in customer photos, you turn regular UGC into interactive shopping experiences. Customers can click on a tag and go directly to the product page.
This improves product discovery in several ways:
Shoppers find items featured in photos even if they were not looking for them
Customers can browse multiple products from the same image
You create a smooth transition from inspiration to purchase
Our app includes an easy product tagging system so you can build a fully shoppable UGC gallery.
4. Add Filters to Help Customers Browse by Attributes
Filters make any gallery more powerful. Instead of scrolling endlessly, shoppers can instantly sort customer photos by:
Color
Style
Product type
Collection
Size or fit
Custom attributes submitted by customers
This helps customers narrow down their interests and discover products that match their preferences more quickly.
Our app supports custom attributes, which means you can create filters based on what matters most to your brand.
5. Create a Dedicated Customer Gallery Page
A standalone gallery page encourages customers to explore your catalog through real customer content. This page can serve many purposes:
A destination for social traffic
A hub for community engagement
A place to drive visitors from email or social media campaigns
A visual browsing experience for shoppers who prefer real world inspiration
With our app, you can build a fully responsive gallery page that fits seamlessly into your Shopify theme.
6. Promote Customer Photos in Email Campaigns
Email is an excellent way to improve product discovery. Featuring customer photos in your campaigns helps you:
Showcase products in real life
Highlight new arrivals through UGC
Increase open and click rates
Encourage repeat purchases
You can use customer photos to create themed collections or to spotlight niche products that deserve more visibility.
Most email platforms allow you to add customer images directly, and our app helps you organize and moderate the photos you want to use.
7. Use Customer Photos to Improve On Site Recommendations
Product recommendations feel more meaningful when they include UGC. Instead of showing plain product cards, you can show related items that appear in customer photos.
For example:
Customers viewing jeans can discover tops seen in related UGC
Shoppers browsing a specific collection can see real outfits or sets
Visitors on the homepage can explore trending products based on recent customer uploads
Our app collects, organizes and tags submissions so you can connect them with your recommendation strategy.
Final Thoughts
Customer photos are more than nice visuals. They are a powerful tool for helping shoppers discover products in a natural and inspiring way. By integrating UGC throughout your store, you can increase browsing time, boost engagement and guide customers toward products they might have otherwise missed.
If you want a simple and effective way to collect customer photos, tag products and build beautiful galleries, try our app:
