Never show just a closed container. If it's a lotion, show the smear. If it's a
By John Aspinall ✱ · April 2, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Never show just a closed container.
If it's a lotion, show the smear.
If it's a supplement, show the capsules.
If it's a powder, show the scoop.
Your customer can't touch, smell, or open your product on Amazon.
⤷ Your hero image has to do that job for them.
I tested this with a mint chocolate protein puff brand.
The original hero image showed a sealed wrapper.
Clean, professional, forgettable.
It was losing a head-to-head ProductPinion test against a competitor.
We made 3 changes:
→ Extracted the bar from the wrapper so shoppers could see the actual product
→ Added a realistic photo of a mint leaf and a piece of chocolate to visualize the flavor
→ Increased the green hue to reinforce the mint association
The new image won the subsequent poll 27 to 23.
Not because the product changed.
Because the shopper could finally imagine eating it.
This applies everywhere:
→ Selling a candle? Show the flame and a wisp of smoke.
→ Selling a face cream? Show a smear of the product with visible texture.
→ Selling a coffee? Show the beans or a steaming cup next to the bag.
→ Selling something with a scent? Put a realistic photo of the ingredient (lavender, eucalyptus, citrus) right next to the product.
The more sensory your hero image is, the more it closes the gap between "browsing online" and "standing in a store holding the product."
Amazon is a visual-only medium.
The brands that help shoppers imagine the experience are the brands that get the click.
Is your hero image showing a closed container or an experience?