8 Tactics for Ecommerce Merchandising to Drive Sales and Conversions

Today, simply having great products will not help you to win the big online race. Remember, there are thousands of your competitors vying for customer attention. The way you present and promote your products does matter. And by promotion and presentation, it is more than just showcasing products on the website, it is about creating a shopping experience that ensures attention, boosts trust and encourages purchases.

This is where ecommerce merchandising steps in.

Let's explore some tactics of ecommerce merchandising.

What is ecommerce merchandising?

It is a strategic approach that is used to promote and present products while connecting customers. It mostly involves creating visually appealing digital displays alongside product categorisation, personalised recommendations and other promotional strategies to present the right products to the right people at the right time.

Imagine you are browsing an online store to buy a new gym shorts with a top. At the bottom, you see a banner that says "Top Accessories for You". Intrigued, you click through and end up buying a large gym towel, running socks and a jug bottle. Even if you only had a plan to buy a gym shirt with a top, your cart is fuller with other accessories.

This is what effective ecommerce merchandising does.

8 proven ecommerce merchandising techniques you can try

Here are some effective ecommerce merchandising techniques you can start using today to drive real growth.

1. Prioritise mobile devices

Mobile-first approach is no longer optional; rather, it is a must. Suppose your site has not been mobile optimised, the chances are that your customers will bounce even before watching your products. Keep your focus on responsive design so that your site can adapt to various screen sizes without breaking layouts or overlapping elements.

To ensure fast load times, you can try to compress images, use lazy loading or minimise scripts. Make sure the menus, buttons and other filters are large enough that users can tap comfortably with a finger. All the key sales elements, such as banners, carousels, product grids and CTAs, must be positioned correctly on smaller screens. 

2. Put attention on your visuals

During online shopping, the visuals do all the talking as the shoppers cannot touch, try or feel. If you add high-quality product imagery, it will automatically build trust and help customers feel confident in making the purchasing decision.

Here are some strategies you can follow,

• Add high-quality product images. If possible, include Zoom functionality and a 360° view so that your customers can check each and every detail.
• Try to add lifestyle photography to show how the products are used in the real world.
• Adding a short video is another great strategy. It will minimise the gap between online and in-store shopping.
• Maintain consistent branding by using the same lighting, background and editing style across all images.

3. Personalise the shopping experience

Today's shoppers expect more than just a one-size-fits-all experience. If you want to make your store feel more relevant, you must tailor the shopping journey for each customer. From personalised product recommendations and dynamic homepage content to behaviour-based emails and customised offers and discounts, you can personalise the shopping experience in many ways.

Suppose, based on browsing history, past purchases or products that are bought together, you can suggest items under the "you may also like" banner. You can even send behaviour-based emails to trigger abandoned cart reminders, back-in-stock alerts, or to recommend a product.

4. Do site search optimisation

You can optimise your on-site search to make sure your visitors can find exactly what they are looking for.

For example, you can add:

• Smart filtering options to narrow down results by category, size, colour, price and more.
• Search result relevance to promote personalised products.
• Visual search allows users to upload an image to find similar products.
• Auto suggestions to show real-time suggestions for products, categories and popular searches.

5. Use social proof to boost credibility

Most of the online shoppers rely heavily on what other people say. So, if you use customer reviews as social proof, it will automatically build trust, validate product quality and eliminate all sorts of hesitation. For example, you can show star ratings and written reviews on product pages.

If possible, try to feature customers to show how they are using or wearing your products. Collaborating with well-known influencers can also act as social proof to boost your reach.

6. Strengthen your off-site presence

Even if your website is the hub of your online store, strengthen your presence across channels like social media, email and paid ads. This will benefit you with new traffic as well as reinforce your merchandising efforts.

You must use platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok to showcase your products. You can try on affiliate marketing, referrals, influencer partnership and email marketing as well.

7. Highlight seasonal and limited collections

Shoppers love to get fresh, timely and exclusive offerings. So, you can utilise this strategy to create a sense of urgency. Update your storefront in every major season to encourage seasonal buying.

To promote limited-edition products, use countdown times as well as messaging to boost urgency. Run email and social campaigns if you want to create buzz and drive traffic.

8. Boost value with cross-selling and up-selling

This is another smart way to boost revenue per customer. Apply cross-selling by offering complementary products depending on what the customer is viewing or has added to the cart. Or you can offer up-selling by showcasing a higher-value version of any product that the customers are considering.

You can even offer product bundles to sell more than one product at once. The placement is important in up-selling and cross-selling. Add these suggestions on product pages, in the cart or during checkout.

Key components

Brand identity

It is the foundation of how your store looks, feels and communicates. From your logo to colours to fonts to visual style, everything matters to build trust while setting you apart from competitors.

Navigation and search

Due to a shorter attention span, customers want to find what they need quickly and easily. That makes effective navigation and a powerful search function with features like auto-suggestions and relevant results a must.

UX and UI

UX fully focuses on functionality and flow, while UI keeps an eye on design. These elements determine the way users interact with your site.

Promotions and advertising

In order to capture attention and encourage action, you need to place promotions strategically. Advertising, both on-site and off-site, supports merchandising.

Personalisation

Personalisation includes personalised product recommendations, dynamic content, targeted discounts and customised email marketing.

Final words

Great ecommerce merchandising is not just about doing more, but doing smarter. All the mentioned tactics are not just trends but the proven methods that successful online retailers use to maximise traffic, conversions and value per customer. Start implementing them one after one, and see how these work for your business.