When an ecommerce site really knows how to merchandise, it’s like a work of art. To the shopper, visuals and product displays simply look like an extension of the site design. In a way, merchandising at this level is also like science.
Deliver a consistent experience with a merchandising strategy that reflects site structure – and the right tools to make it happen.
How Does Site Structure Impact Merchandising?
As an online retailer, there’s a lot of time spent on website organization and design. You plan categories carefully so shoppers can find what they want, map out the buyer journey, review UX, and conduct site audits. So, where does merchandising come in?
Many ecommerce sites treat merchandising as nothing more than a banner and the occasional sale visual. This is often due to a lack of time and tools. Few teams have the capacity to manually merchandise product placement and promotional banners page-by-page.
However, with the right merchandising solution, retailers can strategize a site-wide merchandising plan in a matter of clicks.
Merchandise Site-Wide with Minimal Effort
For impactful merchandising campaigns, take control of what shoppers see.
Global Merchandising Campaigns
Global merchandising campaigns are rules that apply across the site. Dynamically boost products to the top of category and search pages based on shopper behavior. Boost new arrivals to repeat customers and highlight best sellers to new visitors. With global merchandising, you are able to place high-converting products front and center.
Geo-Merchandising
Like global merchandising campaigns, geo-merchandising dynamically adapts site content based on rules. In this case, the shopper’s location. With geo-merchansiding, you can customize messaging and promotions by region. When customers visit you site, they see seasonally-appropriate apparel, merchandise for local sports teams, or home and garden products that reflect the local climate.
Homepage Merchandising
The homepage acts as your store window, so make sure merchandising on that page is enticing to shoppers and encourages them to buy. Again, it’s important to adapt your strategy to shopper behavior. If you have a high rate of frequent return visitors, update homepage merchandising banners and promotions often to keep the site fresh. Even better, show shoppers exactly what they want to see with personalization.
Category Merchandising
At the category page level, you might want to override certain global campaigns or pin specific products to the top of results. For example, you could boost discounted products instead of best-sellers in the beachwear category during an end-of-summer sale. Use the header banner on each category page to highlight seasonal favorites and establish category aesthetic. Keep shoppers engaged with inline banners and use badges to draw attention to items.
Landing Pages
Campaign landing pages differ from standard category pages in how traffic reaches that page. It is often driven by seasonal offers, email promotions, or social media links. If your landing page is dedicated to a certain collection or occasion – like Back to School, Black Friday, or Mother’s Day – use merchandising collateral that reflects off-site marketing campaigns. You can also pre-schedule campaign landing pages to launch and deactivate at the appropriate times.
Merchandise for Every Step of the Shopper Journey
Merchandising motivates customers to browse, solidifies brand messaging, and surfaces the right products to the right shoppers. To get the most out of merchandising efforts, it’s important to merchandise at every step of the buyer journey. To do this, you must have a solid strategy.
Need help merchandising your store? Searchspring’s solutions make site-wide merchandising effortless. Contact us today to learn more.
