8 Important e-commerce Merchandising Tips

Physical stores spend a small forture making sure that the first thing you see when you walk in the door is something that will get your attention. The oval layout of Kohl’s was carefully planned to lead people by profitable departments. Macy’s designs what you see getting on and off escalators with an exact science. Point of purchase displays in supermarkets are filled with candy and magazines. All of these things are designed, planned and manged by merchandising managers.

Too many web sites totally overlook this function or don’t pay as much attention to it as they should. Sure most folks change what’s on their jquery carousel or homepage flash but often it’s decided by what the marketing or product managers want to push today instead of on what metrics tell you will increase sales.

Here are some To-Do’s when planning your e-commerce site merchandising.

  1. Coordinate with off-site marketing to time your homepage displays
  2. Look at social metrics to see what is hot in your space
  3. Look at your site metrics to determine what is hot
  4. Personalize your home page based on the consumers last visit
  5. Use A/B or Multivariate testing like Google’s Free Optimizer
  6. Use page gutters wisely with “similar products” and “popular products” widgets
  7. Put a “featured product” placement on each category page
  8. Never leave the bottom of a product page without a link to what the customer should click on next

I could list another 20 off the top of my head but the important thing is to start trying them, measuring them and refining them. You’ll be happy you did. What’s your favorite e-commerce mechandising tip?

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