Ecommerce Merchandising: 6 Strategies for More Sales

The six best strategies for Ecommerce merchandising to get more sales are listed below

1. Data-driven ecommerce merchandising
2. Homepage merchandising
3. Product grouping
4. Marrying search with merchandising
5. Visual merchandising
6. Seamless navigation across devices

An impressive 2.14 billion global digital buyers are expected to make purchases in 2023. This staggering statistic highlights the immense potential for businesses to grow their revenue through ecommerce. But how can your brand stand out and capitalize on this opportunity? Enter the world of ecommerce merchandising – a strategic approach to displaying and promoting products on your website, designed to drive sales and increase profitability.

Effective ecommerce merchandising is about more than just showcasing your products. It requires a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences, optimizing product placement, crafting compelling product descriptions, and leveraging data-driven insights. With the right strategies in place, you can transform the online shopping experience for your customers and propel your business to new heights.

In this article, we will explore six key strategies that can help you excel in ecommerce merchandising, along with crucial considerations and real-life examples of successful brands. By implementing these interconnected strategies, you will not only elevate your brand's online presence but also unlock the full potential of your ecommerce business

1. Data-driven ecommerce merchandising

Data-driven merchandising is the foundation of an effective ecommerce strategy. By choosing the right analytics tools and defining clear objectives, you can leverage customer behavior data to inform product placement and pricing decisions. Amazon's success, for example, is driven by its use of customer data to create personalized product recommendations. Brands should ensure data privacy and compliance with regulations when implementing data-driven strategies.

Here are some ways to leverage data:

• Analyzing customer behavior: Tools like Google Analytics can help track customer behavior patterns, enabling businesses to tailor their offerings to better cater to customers' preferences and interests.

• Monitoring inventory levels: Keeping an eye on inventory data allows businesses to maintain optimal stock levels, preventing stock outs or overstocking, and ensuring popular products are always available.

• Tracking website data: Analyzing website performance metrics, such as bounce rate, time on page, and conversion rate, can help identify areas for improvement and optimize the overall user experience.

2. Homepage merchandising

An optimized homepage is crucial for capturing customer attention and driving sales. By understanding your target audience and identifying key products and promotions, you can create a visually appealing and user-friendly homepage. Apple's homepage showcases featured products and promotional offers with minimalist design and high-quality visuals. Regularly testing homepage layouts and designs and ensuring clear calls to action and easy navigation will improve user experience.

Consider the following:

• Highlight best-sellers: Showcase popular products prominently on your homepage to drive interest and sales.

• Boost promotions: Utilize the homepage to promote limited-time offers or exclusive discounts, incentivizing customers to make a purchase.

• Create seasonal and holiday themes: Capitalize on timely events by incorporating seasonal themes and promotions into your homepage design.

• Simplify navigation: Ensure your homepage layout is intuitive, user-friendly, and easily navigable, helping customers quickly find what they're looking for.

3. Product grouping

Effective product grouping strategies hinge on understanding your product catalog, customer preferences, and potential complementary items. Fashion retailer ASOS, for example, groups products into "outfit ideas" and "complete the look" suggestions, encouraging additional purchases. By analyzing customer preferences and determining the most effective ways to showcase grouped products on your website, you can continuously refine your product groupings based on feedback and sales data.

Consider the following:

• Group by category, brand, or use case: Organize products logically to help customers navigate your online store more efficiently.

• Recommend product bundles: Encourage customers to purchase complementary items by offering bundled deals or discounts on related products.

• Highlight cross-selling opportunities: Feature relevant product suggestions alongside individual items to promote additional purchases.

4. Marrying search with merchandising (searchandising)

A robust search functionality integrated with merchandising can significantly enhance the shopping experience. Walmart's search engine, powered by machine learning, displays personalized search results based on user preferences, improving product discoverability and increasing sales. Investing in search technology that adapts to customer preferences and behavior, testing and refining search algorithms, and monitoring search performance will help you create a seamless search experience.

5. Visual merchandising

High-quality visuals and a visually appealing website design are essential for effective visual merchandising. Nike's online store, for example, uses high-quality images, videos, and interactive content to showcase its products, capturing customer attention and driving sales. Consistent visual experiences across different devices and platforms, as well as testing various visual elements, will ensure an engaging and effective presentation.

6. Seamless navigation across devices

Optimizing navigation across devices is critical for a positive customer experience. Zara's ecommerce website, for instance, offers seamless navigation and quick page load times across devices. Testing your website on multiple devices and browsers, ensuring mobile responsiveness, and optimizing website performance to minimize page load times will improve user experience and drive sales.

To achieve this, businesses should focus on:

• Intuitive navigation: Implement clear, well-organized navigation menus and site layouts to help customers find what they're looking for quickly and easily.

• Streamlined product pages/categorizing product pages: Create clean, easy-to-navigate product pages with concise information and clear calls to action.

• Quick page load times: Optimize website performance to minimize page load times, ensuring customers can browse your site efficiently without frustration.

Unlocking Ecommerce Success with Effective Merchandising Strategies

By implementing these six interconnected and comprehensive strategies for ecommerce merchandising, businesses can create a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for their customers. As a result, they'll be able to drive increased sales and boost profitability. Focusing on data-driven decisions, optimizing homepage and product groupings, integrating search and merchandising, employing visual merchandising techniques, and ensuring seamless navigation across devices will enable your brand to stand out in the competitive ecommerce landscape. Further, regularly reviewing and refining your merchandising strategies based on customer feedback and sales data will ensure continued growth and success for you in the ecommerce space.

Ready to optimize your ecommerce merchandising and unlock your business's full potential? Contact Zevi today to discover how our state-of-the-art search and discovery solutions and expert guidance can help you achieve your goals.