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E-Commerce Merchandising in 2023: The Smart Seller’s Guide

In this article, we’ll discuss some key components of ecommerce merchandising and how you can apply them to your website.

Marissa Noble Hemingway
Marissa Noble Hemingway
sr social media manager
Marissa Noble Hemingway
sr social media manager
December 14, 2022
-
1
min

E-Commerce Merchandising in 2023: The Smart Seller’s Guide

In the world of ecommerce, sales are essential for your business to be successful. And merchandising is the key to ensuring you nab those sales.

Traditional brick-and-mortar stores have used merchandising to boost sales with visually appealing layouts that entice customers. Think of Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, or any typical retailer with a window display. It gets customers in the door. And, upon entering the store, these retailers design a floor layout to allow shoppers to find the products they want to buy.

Ecommerce merchandising follows in these footsteps by applying the same principles, but to your digital storefront rather than a physical location. Great online merchandising grabs your customer’s attention and leaves a lasting impression that makes them want to investigate your online store and come back to it after they’ve made a purchase.

In this article, we’ll discuss some key components of ecommerce merchandising and how you can apply them to your website.

 

Why Ecommerce Merchandising Matters

Ecommerce merchandising is a bit of art and a bit of science brought together. Just like an attractive storefront window display, well-done ecommerce merchandising will give your digital storefront more allure.

The goal of ecommerce merchandising is to create a frictionless shopping experience for your customers. Follow this checklist to ensure it is:

  • The photos for each product should be clear and in-focus
  • Each product should have a name and a description
  • All links should keep the shopper moving forward toward the checkout

The easier time your customers have in your store, the more likely they are to come back and recommend it to their friends.

{{studio-ad="/external-components"}}

The 5 R’s of Ecommerce Merchandising

Ecommerce merchandising is ever-evolving, advancing, and driving traffic to different types of businesses with great success. Enter the 5 R’s or Ecommerce Merchandising– a helpful set of rules to ensure you keep your customers happy and your sales numbers high.

Right People

Targeting the right people is how you’re going to convert sales. Visitors come to your store for a reason, and you want them to feel welcome. Create buyer personas to work off of and find the ideal target for your products. Then expand your personas to find out how to reach a broader audience that will still be interested in your products.

Right Products

Offering the right products to your customers is fundamental to them ultimately making a purchase. The first step? Understand your customers’ needs and wants (as explained above) in order to pinpoint the right products for them. It also helps to stay on top of consumer trends and provide shoppers with popular items and new product releases.  

Right Place

Putting your products in the right place in your online store is one of the biggest takeaways of ecommerce merchandising. You want your products laid out in a way that nudges shoppers to the right item, and then some.

Think of your local grocery store. Typically, essential items are placed further into the store so that customers need to walk past other products that might catch their eye and wind up in their shopping cart. This is how you want to approach the layout of your own online store.

Right Time

The right time to sell to customers varies. So let’s dive into what’s called the customer’s journey.

Think of it like this: your customers are traveling through your store on a quest to buy. You don’t want to scare them off before they’ve had a chance to get their bearings. You need to warm them up first with reviews. Solid product photography. And details, first. Then, insert a prompt to sign up for your email list. Maybe it’s a deal for 15% off their first order upon signing up. 

Right Price

Pricing can be tricky, and optimizing pricing is a constant balance of external and internal factors.

Come up with a good margin without being too expensive. And, check your competitors because chances are your shoppers already have so they have a sense of what they should be paying for the item.

Our Pro Tips

So, you’ve got a pretty good idea by now about the ins and outs of ecommerce merchandising. Here are some of our tips on how to take your online store up a notch:

1. Make sure your homepage is eye-catching

Most of your visitors are going to land on your homepage whether it’s from a Google search or a social media channel, so it’s really important to make a great first impression. Your homepage is your digital storefront– the window to your business. It’s where you need to communicate your value proposition, both visually and verbally, to your visitors.

You want your customers to know what your brand stands for in an instant. Do this by putting your best products collections on display, with lifestyle imagery and light copy to set the vibe. Appealing photography and on-point storytelling will set your business apart from competitors and give shoppers a reason to make purchases.

2. Create amazing product collections.

If your homepage is a window into your storefront, your product collections are a window into your brand and what it has to offer. Good collections invite customers to dive deeper into your store and into an array of items they’re interested in. They allow customers to discover new products and they boost revenue with complimentary items.

Optimize your collections with the right meta-tags and titles so that search engines can deliver your customers exactly where they need to be to make a purchase. And don’t be afraid to build collections outside of your typical ‘Sale’, ‘Men’s’, ‘Women’s’, and ‘Kids’ collections.

For instance, ‘Best Sellers’ or ‘New Arrivals’ are great ways to drum up interest in products that visitors might not have discovered without the prompt. Just like in a brick-and-mortar store, put your most popular collections prominently on your homepage. 

3. Choose a color palette.

A color palette in the world of ecommerce refers to the range of colors used on a given page, not just for certain products. Color is a powerful tool and can be used to enhance collections and the spaces around your products. Color can be used to influence the behavior of shoppers.

An example can be a cozy autumn color palette for your page background that shows off the fall season and compliments the product colors to make them pop and grab attention. A visitor to your store might subconsciously want to feel warm and cozy right now so they make a purchase based on how the colors made them feel.

 

 

4. Keep it easy to navigate.

When merchandising, you want visitors to be able to easily browse your product pages. Think of a brick-and-mortar store that has a lot of space to walk down aisles, prices prominently on display, good lighting, and product visibility. You want the same for your digital storefront.

You need to have your store organized so that it’s easy for shoppers to find what they’re looking for and understand what they’re looking at. For instance, you can have your collections listed on the top or side of every page so that customers can navigate to different areas on the fly.

And a search function is vital (and expected) to allow shoppers to find specific items. Implementing filters that allow shoppers to home in on colors and sizes they’re looking for will also help deliver a frictionless shipping experience.

5. Reviews!

Using reviews from happy customers is a great way to market your products and your brand. Over 90% of shoppers use product reviews to help them make purchasing decisions. This kind of social proof is your secret marketing weapon to get more buyers to buy.

Giving star ratings and product reviews to every item in your store gives that item a life outside the digital confines of the webpage. Another way to add social proof to your site is to leverage user-generated content. Link your various social channels, like Instagram and Facebook, to help shoppers feel encouraged by others about making a purchase.

6. Don’t be afraid of personalized recommendations.

Ecommerce has the advantage of easily accessible data which can be used to create a more personalized experience for your shoppers. You can keep it simple by suggesting a complimentary item on the product page the customer is currently viewing. Or you can show shoppers what other site visitors were interested in, similar to Amazon’s ‘People who bought this also purchased…’ on your product pages. 

This can be added to your cart page too, kind of like how the checkout line at grocery stores tends to be full of goodies and snacks to offer last-minute temptations to shoppers. And there are plenty of helpful A.I. tools out there that can quickly monitor site traffic and past purchases to make accurate product recommendations that get revenue results.

 

We’re here to help

As mentioned, product photography is an important factor in creating a visual appeal that attracts new and existing customers. It’s okay to seek outside help and professionals that have the know-how and the equipment to bring your inventory to life!

At soona, we know what it takes to showcase your goods to match your brand and your digital storefront. We know how to use backdrops to beat the competition and how to make color palettes kick ass. Our team of creative professionals will produce high-quality product photos ready to upload to your storefront.

Visit soona.co to get started on building your perfect product photography shoot!

E-Commerce Merchandising in 2023: The Smart Seller’s Guide

In the world of ecommerce, sales are essential for your business to be successful. And merchandising is the key to ensuring you nab those sales.

Traditional brick-and-mortar stores have used merchandising to boost sales with visually appealing layouts that entice customers. Think of Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, or any typical retailer with a window display. It gets customers in the door. And, upon entering the store, these retailers design a floor layout to allow shoppers to find the products they want to buy.

Ecommerce merchandising follows in these footsteps by applying the same principles, but to your digital storefront rather than a physical location. Great online merchandising grabs your customer’s attention and leaves a lasting impression that makes them want to investigate your online store and come back to it after they’ve made a purchase.

In this article, we’ll discuss some key components of ecommerce merchandising and how you can apply them to your website.

 

Why Ecommerce Merchandising Matters

Ecommerce merchandising is a bit of art and a bit of science brought together. Just like an attractive storefront window display, well-done ecommerce merchandising will give your digital storefront more allure.

The goal of ecommerce merchandising is to create a frictionless shopping experience for your customers. Follow this checklist to ensure it is:

  • The photos for each product should be clear and in-focus
  • Each product should have a name and a description
  • All links should keep the shopper moving forward toward the checkout

The easier time your customers have in your store, the more likely they are to come back and recommend it to their friends.

{{studio-ad="/external-components"}}

The 5 R’s of Ecommerce Merchandising

Ecommerce merchandising is ever-evolving, advancing, and driving traffic to different types of businesses with great success. Enter the 5 R’s or Ecommerce Merchandising– a helpful set of rules to ensure you keep your customers happy and your sales numbers high.

Right People

Targeting the right people is how you’re going to convert sales. Visitors come to your store for a reason, and you want them to feel welcome. Create buyer personas to work off of and find the ideal target for your products. Then expand your personas to find out how to reach a broader audience that will still be interested in your products.

Right Products

Offering the right products to your customers is fundamental to them ultimately making a purchase. The first step? Understand your customers’ needs and wants (as explained above) in order to pinpoint the right products for them. It also helps to stay on top of consumer trends and provide shoppers with popular items and new product releases.  

Right Place

Putting your products in the right place in your online store is one of the biggest takeaways of ecommerce merchandising. You want your products laid out in a way that nudges shoppers to the right item, and then some.

Think of your local grocery store. Typically, essential items are placed further into the store so that customers need to walk past other products that might catch their eye and wind up in their shopping cart. This is how you want to approach the layout of your own online store.

Right Time

The right time to sell to customers varies. So let’s dive into what’s called the customer’s journey.

Think of it like this: your customers are traveling through your store on a quest to buy. You don’t want to scare them off before they’ve had a chance to get their bearings. You need to warm them up first with reviews. Solid product photography. And details, first. Then, insert a prompt to sign up for your email list. Maybe it’s a deal for 15% off their first order upon signing up. 

Right Price

Pricing can be tricky, and optimizing pricing is a constant balance of external and internal factors.

Come up with a good margin without being too expensive. And, check your competitors because chances are your shoppers already have so they have a sense of what they should be paying for the item.

Our Pro Tips

So, you’ve got a pretty good idea by now about the ins and outs of ecommerce merchandising. Here are some of our tips on how to take your online store up a notch:

1. Make sure your homepage is eye-catching

Most of your visitors are going to land on your homepage whether it’s from a Google search or a social media channel, so it’s really important to make a great first impression. Your homepage is your digital storefront– the window to your business. It’s where you need to communicate your value proposition, both visually and verbally, to your visitors.

You want your customers to know what your brand stands for in an instant. Do this by putting your best products collections on display, with lifestyle imagery and light copy to set the vibe. Appealing photography and on-point storytelling will set your business apart from competitors and give shoppers a reason to make purchases.

2. Create amazing product collections.

If your homepage is a window into your storefront, your product collections are a window into your brand and what it has to offer. Good collections invite customers to dive deeper into your store and into an array of items they’re interested in. They allow customers to discover new products and they boost revenue with complimentary items.

Optimize your collections with the right meta-tags and titles so that search engines can deliver your customers exactly where they need to be to make a purchase. And don’t be afraid to build collections outside of your typical ‘Sale’, ‘Men’s’, ‘Women’s’, and ‘Kids’ collections.

For instance, ‘Best Sellers’ or ‘New Arrivals’ are great ways to drum up interest in products that visitors might not have discovered without the prompt. Just like in a brick-and-mortar store, put your most popular collections prominently on your homepage. 

3. Choose a color palette.

A color palette in the world of ecommerce refers to the range of colors used on a given page, not just for certain products. Color is a powerful tool and can be used to enhance collections and the spaces around your products. Color can be used to influence the behavior of shoppers.

An example can be a cozy autumn color palette for your page background that shows off the fall season and compliments the product colors to make them pop and grab attention. A visitor to your store might subconsciously want to feel warm and cozy right now so they make a purchase based on how the colors made them feel.

 

 

4. Keep it easy to navigate.

When merchandising, you want visitors to be able to easily browse your product pages. Think of a brick-and-mortar store that has a lot of space to walk down aisles, prices prominently on display, good lighting, and product visibility. You want the same for your digital storefront.

You need to have your store organized so that it’s easy for shoppers to find what they’re looking for and understand what they’re looking at. For instance, you can have your collections listed on the top or side of every page so that customers can navigate to different areas on the fly.

And a search function is vital (and expected) to allow shoppers to find specific items. Implementing filters that allow shoppers to home in on colors and sizes they’re looking for will also help deliver a frictionless shipping experience.

5. Reviews!

Using reviews from happy customers is a great way to market your products and your brand. Over 90% of shoppers use product reviews to help them make purchasing decisions. This kind of social proof is your secret marketing weapon to get more buyers to buy.

Giving star ratings and product reviews to every item in your store gives that item a life outside the digital confines of the webpage. Another way to add social proof to your site is to leverage user-generated content. Link your various social channels, like Instagram and Facebook, to help shoppers feel encouraged by others about making a purchase.

6. Don’t be afraid of personalized recommendations.

Ecommerce has the advantage of easily accessible data which can be used to create a more personalized experience for your shoppers. You can keep it simple by suggesting a complimentary item on the product page the customer is currently viewing. Or you can show shoppers what other site visitors were interested in, similar to Amazon’s ‘People who bought this also purchased…’ on your product pages. 

This can be added to your cart page too, kind of like how the checkout line at grocery stores tends to be full of goodies and snacks to offer last-minute temptations to shoppers. And there are plenty of helpful A.I. tools out there that can quickly monitor site traffic and past purchases to make accurate product recommendations that get revenue results.

 

We’re here to help

As mentioned, product photography is an important factor in creating a visual appeal that attracts new and existing customers. It’s okay to seek outside help and professionals that have the know-how and the equipment to bring your inventory to life!

At soona, we know what it takes to showcase your goods to match your brand and your digital storefront. We know how to use backdrops to beat the competition and how to make color palettes kick ass. Our team of creative professionals will produce high-quality product photos ready to upload to your storefront.

Visit soona.co to get started on building your perfect product photography shoot!

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