Harnessing AI to Boost Sales for NYC Small Businesses

If you’ve ever worked in e-commerce marketing, you know the struggle: amazing products, incredible founders, and—unfortunately—some very blurry product photos.

I recently completed a contract at Sune, a startup by Qurate Retail Group. It’s an e-commerce and livestream shopping platform that highlights mission-driven brands. Many of these businesses, based in New York City and California, were inspiring, meaningful brands with founders that started off crafting in their own home.

Blurry Photos, Blurry Marketing Dreams

As part of the marketing team, I worked on ads for these brands. The problem? Many of these brands were run by just one or two people, and taking high-quality product shots wasn’t always easy. Often, the images we received had poor lighting, distracting backgrounds, or lacked the quality needed to make products stand out in ads. These small businesses often thrived on the stories behind their products. Whether it is a one-of-a-kind clothing line started in a tiny apartment or artisanal goods crafted in a home kitchen, these narratives capture customer interest. However, translating that charm through photography can be a challenge.

The Rise of Photoshop's Generative Fill Feature

Adobe Photoshop's generative fill feature completely transformed the landscape of product photography. This advanced tool uses artificial intelligence to fill gaps in images, correcting blemishes, and enhancing visual appeal. It enables you isolate items in your existing image and generates a new environment based on your prompt. This is what helped me transform product images significantly.

I could:

✅ Improve image clarity and lighting to better highlight product details

✅ Extend or refine backgrounds to create a more professional and cohesive look

✅ Remove visual distractions, ensuring the focus stayed on the product

✅ Add new environments and textures to the backgrounds

By making these adjustments, I was able to create high-quality visuals that not only improved the aesthetics of our ads but also helped these small businesses present their products in the best light—both literally and figuratively.

Here are some of the changes I was able to make:

It was incredibly rewarding to contribute to these brands' success, and it reinforced my belief in the power of AI as a tool for design storytelling and business growth.