PEP South Africa scales its e-commerce content creation

Founded in 1965, PEP is a South African institution and the country’s largest single-brand retailer. From men’s, women’s, and kid’s fashion over school supplies and cellular devices to home goods – you’ll find it at PEP.

Our partner, Enhance Retail, interviewed the PEP team about how investing in Profoto StyleShoots technology helped scale PEP’s e-commerce content creation and improved the web experience for their customers.

Keeping up with ever-increasing content demands was a challenge

Before becoming a customer of our partner Enhance Retail, the PEP studio team needed help to keep up with an ever-increasing content demand. “We have hundreds of products within our business, and products are constantly changing on our website. So for us, it’s so important to get the product online in time with a better lead time,” says Razeem Ismail, Digital Photographer at PEP.

Scaling their content creation and achieving faster time to market

PEP invested in Profoto StyleShoots Horizontal in 2018 before acquiring Vertical one year later. By incorporating our unique automated solutions, the studio team quickly scaled their content creation while maintaining high image quality with a minimal need for post-production. “What caught our attention with [Profoto StyleShoots systems] is the fact that you’re able to deliver high-quality images with as little post-production effort as possible. It saves you time and money at the end of the day,” states Peter Fortune, Head of Digital Experience at PEP.

“You can achieve 200+ images in a day,” says experienced studio photographer Razeem. By incorporating Profoto StyleShoots automated technology, PEP’s photographers and stylists can shoot and instantly review deep-etched images, saving both time and money for the photography team and business as a whole.

Optimize web experience thanks to Profoto automated solutions

Implementing Profoto StyleShoots technology has improved the studio team’s photography process and enhanced the web experience for customers. “Our customers spend more time on our website. They’re viewing more pages per session,” says Peter.

Consistent, high-quality product images help PEP customers compare and find the products that best suit their needs. With the ability to generate instant images, PEP can update its website quickly, providing customers with the necessary visuals. This has led to increased customer engagement, longer website visits, and a reduced bounce rate: “Our bounce rate has reduced, which means that customers [...] are finding what they’re looking for.”