Picture superiority effect
Images are remembered better than words.
Where it applies
Four of the eight page areas.
How to use it
Four ways to put it to work.
- Show several clear images per product, including in-use and scale shots.
- Attend to image quality as well as the number of images.
- Pair key feature claims with a simple picture or icon.
- Repeat in text anything shoppers must act on.
What the research found
Pictures are remembered better, and better photos went with more bookings.
On Airbnb, listings with professional photos had about 9% higher occupancy.
The recall advantage for pictures is long established in the laboratory. With adverts, Childers and Houston found it held when people attended to appearance and at delayed recall, but not always for immediate recall. In marketplace listings, more and better images went with higher conversion, and on Airbnb, listings with professional verified photos had about 9% higher occupancy (Zhang and colleagues).
Key research
Five sources, each checked.
Last reviewed
Paivio & Csapo (1973) Picture superiority in free recall: Imagery or dual coding? Cognitive Psychology Read the source Nelson, Reed & Walling (1976) Pictorial superiority effect J. Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory Read the source Childers & Houston (1984) Conditions for a Picture-Superiority Effect on Consumer Memory J. Consumer Research Read the source Di, Sundaresan, Piramuthu & Bhardwaj (2014) Is a picture really worth a thousand words? On the role of images in e-commerce WSDM Read the source Zhang, Lee, Singh & Srinivasan (2022) What Makes a Good Image? Airbnb Demand Analytics Leveraging Interpretable Image Features Management Science Read the source
Before you use it · UK law
Images must show the product as sold; a picture that exaggerates size, finish or contents is misleading advertising.
This is simply a pointer to check, not legal advice. Seek legal advice before you put this principle into action.