Digital Merchandising Best Practices
In the digital age, the success of any ecommerce store is heavily reliant on the effectiveness of their digital merchandising strategy: how the UX plays with the UI and how the brand story comes together through impactful storytelling, woven with key conversion elements. With a more competitive digital marketplace than ever before – standing out is a must.
So how do you do that? Well, showcasing products in their “best light” through strategic digital merchandising is a key strategy – and what leading DTC brands do best.
Here are five best practices for digital merchandising that can help to increase conversions and boost sales for your ecommerce business:
- Utilize clear, high-resolution images: High-quality images are essential for attracting customers and showcasing products in the best possible light. Ensure that all product images are clear, high-resolution and visually appealing. In addition, consider using multiple images of each product, such as close-up shots and angled views, to give customers a better understanding of the product. CRO tip: customers are more likely to purchase a product that they can see from multiple angles and perspectives.
There are several e-commerce sites that are known for having high-quality product images, such as:
Zara – They have a wide variety of clothing and accessories – their PDP images are very high quality and well-lit, giving customers a good idea of what the product looks and feels like in person.
Nordstrom – with a wide variety of clothing, shoes and accessories, their images are extraordinarily detailed, high resolution, and well-lit. They utilize clean backgrounds to enhance product details, utilizing UX zoom-features for high clarity – this is key with the product price points.
Asos – a king in digital retail, ASOS’ product images are very detailed, high resolution, and styled well, allowing users to almost instantly picture themselves in the clothing and accessories they’re shopping for. This is also a subtle cross-sell strategy.
- Optimize product pages: Product pages serve as the backbone of any ecommerce website, and it is essential to ensure they are optimized for conversion. This includes providing detailed product descriptions, using customer reviews and providing information about sizes, colors, and other options. You can read about our top tips for Optimizing Product Pages here for a deeper dive into our recommendations.
- Implement product recommendations as a key content block to prevent a dead-end experience: if you take nothing else from this article, let it be the importance of product recommendations. Product recommendations are a powerful tool for increasing conversions and boosting sales. Utilize data from customer browsing and purchase history to create personalized product recommendations that are tailored to each customer’s interests. This can help to increase the chances of customers making a purchase and boost the average order value.
- Prioritize search engine optimization: Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for driving traffic to your ecommerce website. Make sure that your website is optimized for relevant keywords, and that product pages have unique, keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions. Additionally, use structured data and schema markup to help search engines understand the context and content of your product pages. SEO is an all-around win when leveraged on all touchpoints on your site: increased visibility, better user experience, increased credibility (for users landing on the site from major search engines) and better targeting (drives targeted traffic).
- Incorporate customer reviews, UGC & photos/video: reviews are a powerful tool for increasing conversions and boosting sales. It’s generally agreed that customer reviews have a significant impact on purchasing decisions. Some studies show that as much as 90% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. Additionally, according to a survey by BrightLocal, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. According to a survey by Reevoo, customers are 12x more likely to purchase a product with at least a 4-star rating. CRO pro tip: implement real-life User Generated Content with photo/video upload functionality for reviewers, as this will highlight the real world view of your product.
Effective digital merchandising is a crucial aspect of any ecommerce business. By utilizing clear, high-resolution images, optimizing product pages, implementing product recommendations, prioritizing search engine optimization and incorporating customer reviews, businesses can increase conversions and boost sales. These best practices serve as a roadmap for elevating the performance of an ecommerce website and solidifying its position in the digital marketplace.
Levitate Foundry’s team of ecommerce experts can help improve your digital merchandising by leveraging our extensive knowledge and experience in the industry. We understand the importance of high-quality images, search engine optimization, and mobile-friendly design, and can help you create visually stunning collection pages with user-friendly navigation. We can also help you with product recommendations, structured data and schema markup to help search engines understand the context and content of your product pages and customer reviews.
In working with Levitate Foundry’s team, you can take your digital merchandising to the next level and drive more conversions and increase revenue. If you are interested in working with us, please book a call with us and we will be happy to provide you with a detailed plan to optimize your ecommerce website.
