Overview

Image Lock is a merchandising feature that lets you control which product image appears as the hero image in search results and browse pages, without modifying the upstream product feed or requiring any frontend changes.

By default, a product's hero image is determined by its catalog feed. This default image may not always be the most relevant or engaging choice for every search query or category context.

For example, when a shopper searches for gym wear or lands on a specific category page, a product photographed on a white studio background may be the right default for a general catalog listing, but a lifestyle image of the same product may drive higher engagement.

Image Lock lets merchandisers select any image from a product's existing image set and pin it as the hero image, at a global level or scoped to a specific search query or browse category.

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Prerequisites

Before you can use Image Lock, ensure the following conditions are met:

1. Image Lock is currently a limited availability feature, released behind a feature flag. Contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or [email protected] to request access.
2. You must have an active boost strategy or merchandising rule set up for the relevant search query or browse category before the Image Lock option becomes available.
3. Image Lock works only with images already present in your product feed. You cannot upload new images or use images from outside the feed.
4. You need edit-level access to the Unbxd console to create, modify, or delete image lock rules.

Workflow of Image Lock

Workflow Image Lock follows a priority hierarchy when determining which image to display. The most granular rule always takes precedence.

flowchart TD
    ReadMe[Query or Category Level Lock] --> Guides[Global Level Lock]
    
    Guides --> Editor[Feed-Level Hero Image]
    
    style ReadMe fill:#ffd3a8,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style Guides fill:#ffd3a8,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
		style Editor fill:#ffd3a8,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

Image lock works on the below rule:

1. When a shopper triggers a search or lands on a browse page, the system checks whether any Image Lock rules apply to the products in the results.
2. If a matching rule exists, the locked image URL is moved to the first position in the product's image array during response building. The frontend reads the first image in the array as the hero image, as it always has, so no frontend changes are required.
3. Products with no active lock rule are completely unaffected.

Set up Image Lock

Image Lock is available for both Search and Browse, to set it up, log in to Netcore Unbxd console and navigate to Search (or Browse) > Merchandising > Image Lock

Image Lock can be set up in three ways:

Set a Global Image Lock

A global lock applies the selected image as the hero image for a product across all search results and browse pages, unless overridden by a more specific rule.

In the Global Rule section, search for the product you want to lock using

• Name
• SKU
• Product ID

Follow the steps below to set a Global Image Lock

1. Click on the product to open the Image Selection Modal. All images currently associated with the product in the feed will be displayed.
2. Select the image you want to set as the hero image. A preview will show how it will appear in a search result card.
3. Click the Lock icon to confirm. A lock icon will appear on the product card in the console, confirming the global lock is active.

Set a Query-Level Image Lock (Search)

A query-level lock overrides the global lock for that product when a specific search term is used.

1. In the Query/Category Rules section, create a new rule and enter the specific search query string, For example, gym t-shirt. Search for the product within that rule.
2. Open the Image Selection Modal and select the image you want to display for this query context.
3. Click Apply to save the rule.

Set a Category-Level Image Lock (Browse)

1. In the Query/Category Rules section, create a new rule scoped to a specific category handle, for example, juniors-golf-shop.
2. Search for the product within that rule and open the Image Selection Modal.
3. Select the image and click Apply to save the rule.

Edit or Remove an Image Lock

Log in to Netcore Unbxd console and navigate to Search (or Browse) > Merchandising > Image Lock.

• Edit:

To edit an existing lock, open the rule, select a different image, and save.

• Delete

To delete a lock, remove the rule. However, the product will automatically fall back to the next level in the priority hierarchy:

Deleting a query/category lock > falls back to global lock (if set), otherwise feed default.

Deleting a global lock >falls back to the feed default hero image.

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Good to Know

If you perform a bulk upload or CSV/JSON import, Image Lock settings may not be retained after the operation. It is recommended to avoid using bulk import/export workflows if you have active image locks in place.

Troubleshoot and FAQs

Q: Does Image Lock require any changes to our frontend or feed?

A: No. Image Lock works entirely at the response-building stage. No frontend SDK changes or feed modifications are required.

Q: Can I lock different images for the same product across different queries?

A: Yes. You can set a global lock as a baseline and then add query-specific or category-specific locks for the same product. Each rule is managed independently, and the most granular rule always takes precedence.

Q: What happens if a product has only one image in the feed?

A: You can still apply an Image Lock, the single image will be displayed and marked as locked. The lock will be saved and shown as active in the console.

Q: Can I use Image Lock for both Search and Browse?

A: Yes. Image Lock is available for both Search and Browse within the Merchandising module, and each follows the same setup workflow.

Q: Does Image Lock support A/B testing?

A: No. A/B testing is not supported for Image Lock in this release.

Q: Will Image Lock affect products that don't have a lock rule set?

A: No. Products without any active lock rule are completely unaffected and incur no performance overhead.

Q: What happens when I delete a query-level lock?

A: The product falls back to the global lock if one exists. If there is no global lock, it reverts to the feed-level default hero image.