- New AI technology reveals the 5 most visually appealing toys on Amazon’s digital shelf this year (based on an analysis of Amazon’s 2021 “Toys We Love” list).
- The toys with the highest predicted visual appeal with Amazon shoppers include:
- UBTECH Jimu Robot Mythical Series: FireBot Kit
- Little Tikes First Bathroom Sink
- Melissa & Doug Blue’s Clues & You! Wooden Cooking Play Set
- Disney Princess Royal Collection
- Magic Mixies Magical Misting Cauldron
- The same products can have drastically different levels of visual appeal across retailer websites based on the imagery used to represent them.
- The visual effectiveness score of the National Geographic Explorer Series Pottery Wheel product page is significantly higher on Walmart than it is on Amazon.
As the holiday season approaches each year, retailers and parents alike have one question on their minds: What toy will top kids’ wish lists this year?
To aid in the holiday consumer search for giftable toys, Amazon releases its annual “Toys We Love” list early each fall. The list encompasses what will likely be the hottest toys of Black Friday and Cyber Monday—but which of these products is most likely to visually appeal to Amazon shoppers on the digital shelf?
Analysis: The Top 5 Most Visually Appealing Toys on Amazon
Vizit analyzed images of each toy on the “Toys We Love” list in order to discover which product images are most visually appealing to Amazon Shoppers. The toys with the highest Vizit scores are more likely to capture attention and drive clicks from Amazon shoppers.
Winning Toys as Ranked by Vizit AI:
- UBTECH Jimu Robot Mythical Series: FireBot Kit | Vizit Score: 96.2%
The top-scoring toy on the “Toys We Love” list is this UBTECH Jimu Robot Mythical Series: FireBot Kit.
The Attention map displays the attention-grabbing regions of the image at first glance, while the Effectiveness map displays the regions of the image that boost appeal with Amazon shoppers. The metallic material of this product is both garnering attention and driving visual appeal with shoppers.
- Little Tikes First Bathroom Sink | Vizit Score: 94.2%
- Melissa & Doug Blue’s Clues & You! Wooden Cooking Play Set | Vizit Score: 92.3%
- Disney Princess Royal Collection | Vizit Score: 90.4%
- Magic Mixies Magical Misting Cauldron | Vizit Score: 88.5%
The Visual Appeal Divide Across Retailers
While certain products are highly visually appealing to shoppers on one retailer site, the same products can have drastically different levels of visual appeal across others based on the imagery used to represent them.
A prime example of this is the National Geographic Explorer Series Pottery Wheel. It is one of the least visually appealing products on the “Toys We Love” list based on its product imagery on Amazon. The product scores significantly lower on Amazon with an average Vizit Score of 25%, while overall it scores a 57.4% on Walmart, including a product hero image with a Vizit Score of 94.2%.
Amazon Listing: National Geographic Explorer Series Pottery Wheel
Average Vizit Score: 25.0%
The Amazon listing for this product consists of 6 images, which have an average Vizit score of 25.0%. For Amazon Shoppers, none of the images in this listing earn an “Effective” or “Very Effective” score. The product hero image for this listing—the first image consumers see of the product while scrolling through Amazon—is actually the least effective image in the listing, earning only a 1.9%.
See the full-size images on the Amazon product detail page.
Walmart Listing: National Geographic Explorer Series Pottery Wheel
Average Vizit Score: 57.4%
On Walmart’s website, the National Geographic Explorer Series Pottery Wheel uses an entirely different set of 6 images in its product listing, which together prove to be more visually effective than their Amazon counterparts. The Walmart images earn a 57.4% average Vizit score—significantly higher than the Amazon images for the exact same product.
See the full size images on the Walmart product detail page.
This comparison serves to show how important it is for retailers and brands to select the optimal product images for the digital shelf. Consumers shop with their eyes—and for brands, visually ineffective imagery can mean the difference between an “add to cart” and a consumer scrolling on by.
Holiday Shopping is More Online Than Ever
Online holiday shopping is predicted to grow by 10% in 2021, which means that brands have a bigger opportunity than ever to grab market share on the digital shelf this holiday season. Based on our analysis, the top 5 most visually appealing images on Amazon’s “Toys We Love” list will attract more consumer attention than their less visually appealing counterparts. As shopping patterns continue to move online, one thing is clear for brands: the risk of losing customers due to unoptimized ecommerce imagery is too big to ignore.
