Imagine yourself inside a shopping store with clean and bright displays, spotless shelves illuminated by LED lights. Beautiful, isn’t it? As the owner of an online eCommerce platform, you need to create a similar feeling online via merchandising. Your online sales depend on more than just your ecommerce website design and colors. You need to up your game when it comes to online merchandising.
However, when it comes to merchandising, you need to be smart about it. During the third quarter of 2022, 71% of the ecommerce transactions took place on smartphones and generated 61% of online shopping orders. So, you need to consider different devices that customers are using to access your online store when developing your merchandising strategy.
Main Elements of E-commerce Merchandising
Profitable ecommerce businesses use a blend of merchandising strategies to achieve maximum online results in terms of traffic and sales. Successful ecommerce websites are simple and easy to navigate through so customers can find the products they are looking for with ease. Here are three basic elements of ecommerce merchandising.
1). Homepage Merchandising
Homepages are the central hub, no matter where customers start their journey. So, homepages have to look good. Most ecommerce websites use a similar template, i.e., at the top, prominent images (otherwise called hero images) that attract the visitors. Similarly, at the bottom of the wep page, there are several categories and product images that serve as portals into the core-site.
2). Product Pages
Informative and well-organized product pages bring the website to life. Compelling and high-quality images make it easier for customers to find their desired products and make the purchase. Product pages are where conversion happens! It’s the part of the website where visitors turn into customers. Successful ecommerce stores use good photographs to make products more tangible.
3). Category-based Merchandising
Category pages are like aisles in the store. Theses contain related products, which makes it easier for customers to find items they are looking for. With category based merchandising, your customers will not have to spend hours searching for a product throughout the site. Well-organized and structured category pages at top online shopping websites in UAE, like Noon, uses highly structured and detailed categories, making it easier for customers to navigate through.
Merchandising Strategies for E-commerce Platforms
Ecommerce merchandising is a lot like traditional merchandising with somewhat similar tactics. Here are a few strategies to improve the merchandising of your ecommerce stores.
a). Store Layout
Online ecommerce stores don’t have physical floor plans to work with, but they need to consider their websites like online stores and organize it into sections, departments, and sub-departments. CTAs and pop-ups need to be implemented to highlight special offers and sales. When it comes to site navigation, customers expect a predictable layout with a drop-down navigation on the side, etc. This leads to higher conversion rates.
b). Product Grouping
Have you ever visited the store for milk and came out with other products like chocolates, syrups, and cereals? That is the power of product grouping. When it comes to ecommerce stores, product grouping is unlimited. Ecommerce stores can group products by simply using tags like makeup essentials, kitchen classics, etc. Another fantastic feature about grouping is that you can also share them via emails.
c). Branding
Corporate branding is a holistic concept, and companies usually start with a logo for all visual branding. When it comes to ecommerce stores, it is all about brand narrative, i.e., telling a story through your brand. It doesn’t have to be excessive or over the top, but your branding needs to be consistent throughout the website.
d). Personalization
Personalization has been around for a long time because customers love and feel appreciated with personalized shopping experiences. Personalization also helps foster brand loyalty and make customers come back for more. Ecommerce stores can offer a customized shopping experience to its customers based on their shopping history.
Ecommerce merchandising will make your life easier and enhance the customer experience. Customers are often multitasking when browsing through an online store, so if you play your cards right, they will place an order. Most of the companies spend most of their budget on marketing or advertising campaigns. However, they fail to understand that the most reliable path to customer retention and boosting sales is to offer them a simple platform that makes the entire shopping experience feel like a breeze.
By implementing these merchandising tactics in your online ecommerce store, you can retain your existing customers and attract new ones at the same time!
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