E-merchandising - what is merchandising in an online store?

It often happens that we enter a store with the idea of buying one thing, and leave with something completely different. Of course, it may turn out to be a coincidence, but, especially in big-box stores, there is a good chance that we have succumbed to the influence of merchandising. What is merchandising? It is a set of activities aimed at increasing sales through influence or gentle suggestion on the customer's purchasing decision. Of course, merchandisers have a number of tools at their disposal to draw the customer's attention to specific products and make them choose that one particular one. Over time and the widespread development of the Internet, it has become apparent that specific techniques used by online retailers have also developed that have a significant impact on online shopping.  E-merchandising  is now one of the more popular forms of encouraging a customer to buy online. Those who do not implement the classic principles of e-merchandising may not achieve as good online sales results as their competitors.

E-merchandising - definition

In the definition of e-merchandising there are many parallels to the traditional, stationary form of taking care of in-store display. The difference lies in the nature of the sale. On the Internet, the customer cannot touch the product, smell it, try it. Merchandising activities in this case must be based on the visual side of the sales process.  E-merchandising, is such an arrangement of products on the website that the most important products with high margins are exceptionally exposed. They are the ones that have the most favorable impact on the achieved sales result. Remember, setting up an online store is geared toward profit. Therefore, it is worth reaching for techniques that will positively affect not only the sales itself, but something that can be laboriously termed "browsing pleasure". Professional merchandising service companies have experience in running a store in such a way that customers will be happy to use it. However, it is enough to maintain some of the most important   online merchandising principles to make the consumer not only eager to buy our products, but also happy to return to us.

Principles of e-merchandising in an online store

In online merchandising it is important to properly catalog products. In line with the principle of stationary sales, it is also a good practice for the web to group similar products in single categories. Otherwise, the customer may get the impression of clutter, which adversely affects the entire decision-making process. In conclusion, there must be order on the website, and content placed in a thoughtful and logical manner. This is important - otherwise we will deprive ourselves of the opportunity to enlarge the customer's "shopping cart".

Already at the stage of building an online store, it is worth thinking carefully about how the visual layout should look. A good rule of thumb, of course, is to display products with the highest margins, but it is often the case that the customer must be attracted by something else. Something that in stationary stores is the stacking of products at eye-line height, in the case of the Internet can be defined by places of particular display. These include, for example, the top left corner of the page, from where the consumer customarily starts browsing. By adding a colorful standout or even a flickering box, we draw the customer's attention to the things we particularly care about.

The crowning principle of merchandising on the Internet is also to optimize the website for efficiency in browsing. Products from one category should be in one place, this we already know. But on top of that, it's a good idea to add a link to products that may constitute a set. For example, in the case of non-contact thermometers, it will be batteries. This is how we build the customer's shopping cart. When an Internet user buys shoes, why not draw his attention to products for their maintenance?

Something that many retailers overlook is the layout of the store. Well-received by customers are subdued colors, which only in strategic places for sales should be chosen more decisively. Certainly, calm music in the background of the site can also positively influence the purchasing process. In conclusion, effective solutions can be the implementation in the store's domain of all elements that can improve the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction of the shopping experience.

Among the principles of organizing online sales and proper display of goods, one of the most important is a properly erected, stable website core. This is extremely important, because if we apply even all the rules of Internet marketing, but our store is full of errors and roads "nowhere", the customer will quickly abandon the purchase. It is equally important to properly secure the website in accordance with current trends and technology. It can always happen that competitors will "envy" good sales results and try to cripple our online business.

Benefits of e-merchandising

Merchandising in an online store this should be taken into account by any retailer who cares about good sales results. With the principles of e-merchandising applied, it is possible to increase the results of an online store by up to several tens of percent. If you take the above principles into account already at the stage of starting online sales and maintain them while running your business, your online store will be friendly and eagerly visited by potential customers from the very first moments. Adding to this content created based on the principles of SEO, i.e. proper positioning on the web, we can count on achieving high sales values. As a result, the customer, using all the functionalities of the store, will experience purchasing satisfaction. This is very important, because it affects the fact of later return, and even persuade other Internet users to use our services. Internet Merchandising has the fact that skillfully conducted can not only improve already functioning domains, but also build new ones based on a solid foundation. The benefits of e-merchandising are thus manifold.