Jeff Strauss, Head of Imaging at Photoroom and former Amazon, Gap and Wolt imaging leader, outlines why weak visual infrastructure could limit ecommerce growth before ad spend has a chance to perform
With Amazon Prime Day to be extended to four days for the first time, retailers are preparing for one of the biggest ecommerce demand spikes of the year. Yet while US retail media spend is forecast to reach $71.09bn in 2026, a growing share of performance may be determined before media budgets are even deployed. New data from Photoroom found that 87% of shoppers say product visuals are the most important factor in a purchase decision, while 51% would switch marketplaces if product information and imagery were clearer elsewhere.
For Jeff Strauss, Head of Imaging at Photoroom, who has spent more than three decades building imaging operations at Amazon, Gap and Wolt, Prime Day highlights a broader challenge facing retailers. As AI, retail media and marketplace competition accelerate, the businesses that win are increasingly those able to turn products into accurate, sales-ready content at scale before high-intent shoppers arrive.
To help retail leaders assess where revenue may be leaking before media spend has a chance to perform, Jeff outlines his success blueprint for retailers trying to turn AI and media investment into stronger ecommerce performance:
Treat Product Content as Infrastructure, Not Creative Output
Product visuals now sit at the centre of discovery, comparison, conversion and retention, making them part of the infrastructure that supports retail performance. For CFOs and ecommerce leaders, visual production should be assessed by how well it protects revenue, speeds products live and reduces the hidden costs created by poor listing quality.
Measure Speed to Shelf as a Revenue Metric
Prime Day demonstrates how much retail performance depends on readiness. Retail operates around defined windows of demand, from major promotional events and seasonal peaks to fast-moving marketplace trends. If imaging is not ready when those windows open, the cost is not just operational inefficiency but missed revenue, weaker campaign timing and reduced ability to capture customer intent at the moment it is highest.
Build AI Into Operational Workflows, Not Standalone Tools
Retailers should look beyond whether AI can create more images and ask whether it is improving how production actually happens. The strongest gains come when AI is embedded into workflows, quality standards and listing requirements, allowing one product input to scale into multiple accurate formats without weakening speed, control or consistency.