Question on Product Image Usage for UI Inspiration

Hi Shop Mini team,

Within our Shop Mini, we’re exploring a UI pattern that uses collage-style visuals (e.g. story cards / posters) for inspiration and navigation. These would use Shop merchant product images purely as UI elements inside the Mini — not linked to merchant product pages, checkout, or seller attribution, and not used outside the app.

Before proceeding, could you confirm whether:

  • Using merchant product images in this non-shoppable, non-attributed UI context is allowed, or

  • If we should instead use stock or generated imagery for these surfaces

Thanks in advance!

Hey! Thanks for checking before building.

Short answer: we’d recommend using stock or generated imagery for these surfaces.

While it’s technically within the Mini (so not violating the “can’t export data outside” guideline), using product images in a non-shoppable, non-attributed context goes against the spirit of how we want Merchant Materials used.

The concern is user confusion and context…tapping a product that doesn’t go anywhere breaks expectations and displaying products without linking to their shop/checkout removes the commercial purpose.

If the goal is visual inspiration/mood boarding, stock imagery or AI-generated visuals would be a safer path that won’t hit review friction.

Hope that helps!