Online shopping, known as e-commerce, is gaining more popularity due to the ease it offers buyers. The guarantee that you can order a product and get it the same day or the next from the comfort of your home is appealing to many.
E-commerce also offers the opportunity to shop for varieties of items even outside your locality.
However, unlike years ago, the e-commerce industry is becoming more competitive. As a business owner, it can be frustrating to see your e-commerce website not performing as expected despite doing everything right.
E-commerce merchandising is a powerful strategy to grab customers’ attention and entice them to spend.
What is e-commerce merchandising?
E-commerce merchandising is the strategic display and organization of goods in an online store to entice site visitors to buy. Marketing, branding, product placement, use of high-quality images, and competitive pricing are all part of merchandising.
Merchandising aims to improve customers’ experience, increase competitive advantage, and drive sales.
All of these can be achieved with ease by using dedicated tools. For instance, the Fast Simon merchandising feature can help monitor your customers’ behaviors to get them to ‘add to cart’ and gently persuade them to make a purchase.
5 simple ways to leverage merchandising for more sales
With new e-commerce sites popping up daily, standing out to grab your customer’s attention is essential. E-commerce merchandising can help you stand out.
Below are some ways online sellers can leverage merchandising for more sales:
Mobile optimization
Over 80 percent of adults in the US own a smartphone, and one-third of internet users purchase something online using their mobile phones every week. M-commerce sales in 2023 were about $511.8 billion, and it is expected to exceed $604 billion in 2023.
You should have a mobile-optimized store to leverage e-commerce merchandising for sales maximization.
If your company’s budget can afford it, do not hesitate to get a dedicated e-commerce mobile app for your business.
Search engine giant, Google, recommends a site load speed of two seconds for e-commerce sites. Fifty-three percent of users will leave your mobile site if it takes more than three seconds to load.
Personal recommendation
Deploying tools to monitor user’s behavior to personalize their online shopping experience is another strategy to leverage e-commerce merchandising.
Even though the GDPR policy requires seeking users’ consent before using their data, over 90 percent of shoppers are willing to share their behavioral data.
Even if you operate a dropshipping, leveraging customers’ data for personal recommendations can make online buyers’ shopping experience cheaper and more convenient.
You may not notice a significant increase in website traffic with the deployment of personal recommendation features, but according to experts, your sales revenue will skyrocket.
Create multiple landing pages for users based on their purchase journey. While your homepage is a fantastic landing page, creating multiple landing pages can help tailor the shopping experience for each customer.
For example, if your business offers three different product models, you want to create a landing page for each model. If a prospective customer is searching specifically for a specific model, it makes sense that they would find a personalized landing page for the model before your homepage.
Seasonal deals
The eCommerce calendar is full of promotional opportunities. Buyers usually prefer to take advantage of discounts. Some people wait the whole year until a specific time, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, to make certain purchases.
During the holiday sales between November 1 and December 31 in 2022, online sales grossed $211.7 billion, a 3.5% increase compared to 2021.
Despite many businesses taking advantage of holiday sales, it is a strategy that works for all.
Ensure to display your products in tune with the holiday season strategically. Moreover, no one will be interested in purchasing a Christmas tree during the Easter holiday.
Predictive search
Sometimes, online shoppers have an idea of what they want but not a definite name. Predictive search, also called autocomplete search, makes the browsing experience faster and more convenient for prospective buyers.
For example, when they type “refrigerator” on your site, suggest additional terms like “refrigerator with free shipping” and “refrigerator wallpaper.”
An efficient predictive search tool can help increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction. It can offer correct product recommendations even when customers enter misspelled names or model numbers.
Product grouping
With the daily addition of new products to your eCommerce website, it can become more difficult for buyers to find products they want on your site.
Separate products into categories so that whenever a customer is in a category, they can see related products at a glance.
Include a filter option to allow customers to segment products on your site based on their preferences, such as color, price, brand, style, size, and usage.
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