Tips from Top CPG Web Design Agency, Barrel, on How to Fly Off the ‘Shelf’.
Walk into your favorite store, and you instantly know why you like it. The layout makes sense. The lighting feels right. You can find what you need—fast—and maybe even discover something you didn’t know you were looking for.
So, how do you duplicate that same physical experience, but online? The answer lies in digital shelf optimization. It’s the strategy that shapes how products are discovered, experienced, and purchased in a fast-scrolling, low-attention e-commerce world. Attention spans are short on the digital shelf, and competition is just one click away. Here, visuals and UX are doing the heavy lifting instead of interior design and good lighting.
In today’s e-commerce landscape, beauty and performance go hand in hand. Attention is scarce. Expectations are high. And for CPG brands, standing out takes more than sleek packaging and a nice logo—it takes smart creative and seamless UX working in sync.
At The Line Studios, we know how powerful the right imagery can be. But even the best visuals can fall flat without the right digital experience behind them. That’s why we teamed up with Lucas Ballasy, Partner & CEO of Barrel–a top web design agency for CPG brands like The Outset, McCormick, Sweet Loren’s, Kite Hill, Dr. Jart+, Once Upon a Farm, and more.
Together, we’re breaking down what CPG brands need to know—straight from the teams building the online experiences that drive discovery, build trust, and turn clicks into conversions.
“Brands can’t rely on being ‘good enough’ anymore,” says Ballasy. “The sheer volume of new brands and products launching every week means attention is harder to earn and keep.”
1. Digital Shelf Optimization Starts With Scroll-Stopping Creative
In an endless scroll world, milliseconds matter. Your imagery is your first impression—and if it doesn’t stop the scroll, you’ve already lost.
“Clarity, creativity, and conversion all need to be dialed in,” says Ballasy. “You don’t get a second chance.”
Brand Example: The Outset
For Scarlett Johansson’s skincare brand, Barrel built a clean, editorially driven site experience. Polished photography pairs with looping video demos to show products in use, building trust immediately—and driving a 41% increase in returning customers.
Brand Example: Glossier
Glossier’s minimal, texture-focused visuals feel effortless but are deeply strategic—inviting users to imagine the product experience without over-explaining.
Brand Example: Magic Spoon
This cereal brand leverages bold, nostalgic design with a modern twist. Their homepage visuals feel like packaging come to life—paired with sharp product comparisons that turn visuals into selling tools.
Brand Example: Sweet Loren’s
Sweet Loren’s uses vibrant photos of raw and baked cookie dough, shot in real kitchens, to eliminate hesitation around usage, texture, and ingredients.
Quick Win: Focus every visual on answering a customer’s question — whether it’s about size, use, or feel. Don’t just show the product; show how it fits into their life.
2. Empathy-Driven UX Turns Browsers Into Buyers
Your website isn’t just a storefront—it’s your packaging, signage, and salesperson all rolled into one. It needs to anticipate customer needs before they even realize them.
“A strong DTC site does three things well,” says Ballasy. “It communicates the brand’s ‘why,’ educates the customer, and makes conversion easy.”
Brand Example: Allbirds
From intuitive navigation to a frictionless mobile checkout, Allbirds makes every touchpoint feel seamless. Their clean, clutter-free UX lets shoppers browse, compare, and purchase with ease—especially on mobile.
Brand Example: Function of Beauty
Function of Beauty’s interactive quiz builds trust while simplifying the path to purchase. Through playful questions and personalized results, it guides shoppers to the perfect haircare formula — no endless browsing or guesswork required.
Brand Example: Native
Native’s site is built for clarity. It organizes products by category and use, keeps ingredient information upfront, and makes bundling easy. The site feels effortless — fast-loading, mobile-optimized, and designed to keep shoppers moving forward with confidence.
Quick Win: Design with empathy. Fast load times, thumb-friendly navigation, clear hierarchies—every micro-interaction should feel frictionless and obvious.
3. Great E-Commerce Creative Answers Before Customers Ask
The most effective brands don’t wait for questions—they build the answers into their creative.
“Imagery gives context—showing size, texture, ingredients, or use cases—answering unspoken questions that could otherwise cause hesitation,” says Ballasy.
Brand Example: The Nue Co.
Rather than forcing users to search, The Nue Co. groups products by need—sleep, gut health, stress—and pairs clean visuals with quick-hit benefits to accelerate decision-making.
Brand Example: Oishii
Premium strawberries might seem like a niche play—but Oishii’s high-end editorial visuals, paired with UGC unboxings, turn every site visit into a brand experience that feels both exclusive and relatable.
Quick Win: Use visuals as your silent FAQ. Answer common questions about size, usage, ingredients, and results through imagery — without making customers dig for details.
4. Strong Storytelling Supports Seamless Conversion
There’s no real divide between storytelling and conversion today—they’re two sides of the same coin. The best sites weave emotion and functionality together without breaking flow.
“When storytelling comes from a place of understanding the customer—how they think, shop, and make decisions—it naturally supports conversion,” Ballasy says.
Brand Example: Ritual
Ritual’s site walks the line between education and conversion beautifully. Ingredient sourcing, animated benefit timelines, and video testimonials sit right next to subscription CTAs—making it easy to trust and buy.
Brand Example: McCormick
McCormick uses recipe content and culinary inspiration to keep shoppers engaged. Helpful tips and curated bundles meet you right in the navigation—turning everyday spice shopping into a flavorful, story-rich journey.
Brand Example: Ghia
Ghia’s site is a mood. With poetic copy, atmospheric imagery, and a lifestyle-forward layout, it invites exploration without slowing momentum. Every page balances storytelling with clear CTAs, making the add-to-cart flow feel seamless.
Quick Win: Storytelling that stays grounded in customer needs speeds up—not slows down—the path to purchase.
5. Iterate Relentlessly: Your Customers Will Tell You What Works
No e-commerce experience is “set it and forget it.” The best brands create living ecosystems of feedback, testing, and optimization. “Brands that move fast, test constantly, and genuinely listen to their customers will win,” says Ballasy.
Where to mine feedback for visual strategy:
- Customer service tickets
- Product reviews
- Social media DMs
- Cart abandonment surveys
And act on what you learn:
- If customers are confused about sizing? Add comparison shots.
- If usage isn’t clear? Add demo videos.
- If features aren’t resonating? Adjust product highlight graphics.
Quick Win: Every customer hesitation is an opportunity to create smarter, more conversion-driven content.
6. UX and Creative Aren’t Separate—They’re Better Together
Too often, brands build UX and creative in silos — and the experience ends up feeling disjointed. Winning brands treat UX and photography as a single, unified system.
“Design can’t just wrap around the photography—it has to elevate it,” says Ballasy. “And photography should be planned with layout, mobile behavior, and storytelling needs in mind.”
At The Line Studios, we bake UX strategy into content creation from day one—so every photo, GIF, and short-form video moves the customer closer to a decision.
Quick Win: Ask early: Where will this creative live? What job does it need to do? How does it help the customer move forward?
Final Takeaway: The Shelf Is Digital—But the Customer Is Human
From Glossier to Allbirds to Magic Spoon, the brands winning in digital shelf optimization are the ones building fast, intuitive, story-rich experiences designed around real human behavior.
- They lead with bold imagery.
- They remove friction with intuitive UX.
- They evolve based on what customers actually say and do.
“The brands that win are the ones that stay curious about their customers and never stop evolving based on what they learn.” —Lucas Ballasy
The team behind The Line Studios and Barrel believe powerful content and seamless UX aren’t extras—they’re essential. Together, we help brands own the digital shelf—and turn attention into action. Because in today’s e-commerce landscape, it’s not enough to look good. You have to work smart, move fast, and meet your customer exactly where they are.
Ready to make your brand unforgettable on the digital shelf?
Let’s talk about how strategic creative and UX can help you grow—faster, smarter, and more sustainably.
Start a conversation with The Line Studios or Barrel NY.
