The Fast Lane

Discover the world of AI-driven shopping optimization and fast-track your way to increased conversion rates, AOV, and customer loyalty. Explore expert insights on e-commerce personalization, merchandising, site search, and more.

Search & discovery Advanced Search in WooCommerce: Elevate Your eCommerce Game Advanced search in WooCommerce can significantly elevate your eCommerce store, enhance your customers' experience in your store, and drive sales. This robust site search functionality helps your customers quickly find what they're looking for by searching for specific products, categories, attributes, and even custom fields. What Is Advanced Search in WooCommerce? Advanced search in WooCommerce allows your customers to refine their product searches by using a number of filters and parameters. Your customers can narrow their search by selecting several parameters, such as the type of goods, features, price range, and so on. This type of eCommerce search process is simplified and more efficient, which in turn improves the user experience. » Have a Magento store instead? Explore advanced search benefits through Fast Simon's Magento Search plugin How Advanced Search Improves Your WooCommerce Store 1. Show Relevant Results Instantly When you use advanced search in WooCommerce, your website's search function can return relevant results almost immediately, making it easy for shoppers to find what they need. This is especially true if you have a large product catalog. Your customers don't want to search endlessly through collections and product lists. Instead, advanced search can save them time and effort because your customers can easily filter search results by keywords, product features, price range, and more. Bamboo Clothing: Get an Instant Perfect Fit Bamboo Clothing sells sustainable men's and women's activewear. Their customers can search by size, color, brand, and price. These advanced search tools allow their customers to quickly locate the products they want without browsing through irrelevant merchandise. For example, a customer found relevant results instantly when typing in "large women tops". Also, note how the search function gave relevant results even though the customer didn't use the exact same wording as the store ("top" vs. "jacket"). Its natural language search capabilities take synonyms and misspellings into consideration to continually provide an optimized shopping experience. 2. Product Searches Anywhere on Your Site Since 43% of your customers immediately start their shopping journey with your search bar, it should be available to them throughout their entire shopping journey in your store. Easy access to your search bar means your customers are more likely to stay on your site and explore more pages. They may even stumble across products they didn't know you had or that are better than what they were originally looking for, giving you an ideal chance to upsell and cross-sell. Additionally, increased stay time and engagement show search engines that your site is important and relevant to users, which can boost your ranking. Gourmet Basket: Not Putting It All in One Basket Gourmet Basket specializes in compiling luxurious gift baskets. If a customer browses a specific collection (like "Non-Alcoholic Gift Baskets"), the search bar remains easily accessible at the top of the page if the customer wants to search for something else. Within the collection, various filters are available to refine the customers' search more, thereby giving them more options and encouraging them to stay on the page. » Learn how product search engines and federated search can enhance your store today 3. Live Search and Autocomplete Live search and autocomplete give your customers a faster, more convenient, and more efficient way to find and purchase products in your store because they automatically provide suggestions based on what your customers are typing. This can not only save time but also help avoid spelling mistakes that could result in a "no results" page. In this way, you can lower your bounce rates and increase conversions because you're leading your customers on a straight path to their desired products. Wowmart: Finishing Your Sentences Wowmart sells various health and beauty products. If a customer is looking for "shampoo", the store automatically provides various popular, category, and product suggestions for them to consider and peruse. 4. Tailored Product Search Because you're interacting with your customers through an interface now instead of face-to-face, it's even more important to make them feel special. And giving them a personalized shopping experience tailored to their preferences is the perfect way to do this. By making your customers part of the process, you can increase your sales by 6-10% because at least 51% of your customers are more likely to buy a product if you add a personal touch to their shopping journey. Protest: No Objections to Personalized Search Results Protest sells clothing for men, women, and children. If a customer searches for "black top", then they get relevant results from all categories, including summer and winter clothing as well as for men, women, and children. But personalization can refine these results, e.g., black tops for women of a specific price and size. » Discover more about personalized search and recommendation engines Fast Opportunities WooCommerce stores need advanced searches to improve product discoverability and user experience. This includes delivering quick and accurate search results to your customers, giving them the opportunity to further refine their searches, and personalizing their shopping journey. An effective search function can potentially double your conversions, build customer loyalty, and increase your sales. » Not using WooCommerce? Elevate your BigCommerce game with Fast Simon's BigCommerce Search plugin

Search & discovery WooCommerce Instant Search Makes Browsing a Breeze—Here's How WooCommerce is a leading eCommerce platform that allows users to create and manage online stores by offering a variety of features, such as inventory management, shipping and tax options, and customer management. But one of its most salient features could arguably be instant search. WooCommerce instant search provides real-time search results, which makes the search experience faster and makes browsing a breeze for your customers. What Is WooCommerce Instant Search? WooCommerce instant search is a feature that allows your users to find their desired products at their fingertips in no time. WooCommerce instant search benefits customers in a number of ways, including simplifying the search process and giving them more options to choose from. It also holds advantages for your store. For example, an effective site search process causes fewer frustrations for your customers, which eventually decreases the chances of them hopping out and increases the chances of making additional sales. Below, we discuss how WooCommerce instant search helps customers have a better browsing experience in your store. 1. Relevant Search Results Every visitor to your online WooCommerce store demands relevant search results, and at least 39% are influenced by relevant search results to make a purchase. WooCommerce instant search makes it easier for them to catch on to their desired products without the hassle of going through all your pages, thereby saving them time as well. For example, if a customer is looking for medication to help with heartburn on WOWmart, they'll not only get suggestions of popular heartburn searches to try but also a list of relevant heartburn product results. This simplifies their search and spares them from manually searching through various categories. » Learn how product search engines can help refine your search results 2. Personalized Search Results WooCommerce instant search also offers personalization capabilities. It can give your customers personalized search results based on their previous data, such as search history, purchasing history, and preferences. The algorithms of instant search can track down these data points and use them to give your customers personalized shopping experiences with relevant and fast results, thereby increasing your chances of making sales. For example, if a customer is looking for green t-shirts from Bamboo Clothing, they'll get green shirts of all styles and sizes as their result. While still relevant, these search results are not personal to the customer. If the customer is looking for short-sleeved green t-shirts for women, WooCommerce instant search can track this data and display it for the customer instead. » Explore further how personalization can help your eCommerce business 3. Autocomplete and Autosuggest Functionality Autocomplete and autosuggest are two key features of instant search. Autocomplete allows users to complete their search query based on the letters they've already typed.Autosuggest provides suggestions regarding a user's query as they type. Both of these features are generated according to your database of customers and provide fast and accurate results so your customers can quickly reach their desired product. This not only reduces your customers' frustration but also maximizes product discovery and eventually results in more sales—up to 24%. For example, a customer is looking for a gift basket on Gourmet Basket. They're unsure what exactly they're looking for but know they want the gift basket to contain wine. Gourmet Basket's instant search automatically provides category and product suggestions for the customer to consider. » Have a Magento store instead? Optimize your auto functions with Fast Simon's Magento Search plugin 4. Synonym Functionality Synonym functionality works by understanding your customers' intent when they type a query to display relevant results. This is based on natural language processing and natural language search, which use your customers' way of communicating and their context to match them to products. For example, if a customer searches for "protective muffs" on BC Fasteners and Tools, the algorithm understands the search intent and still displays relevant search results even though the search query doesn't match the store's wording or product names exactly (e.g., "ear protection" or "ear muffs"). » Not using WooCommerce? Try using Fast Simon's BigCommerce Search plugin instead Take the Fast Way In a nutshell, WooCommerce instant search is one of the most important aspects behind the success of a WooCommerce online store. Instant search possesses the power to convert users into buyers and uplift your sales, which is why it shouldn't be neglected. This feature can also be coupled with other search functionalities, like federated search, to give your customers an elevated and even more refined shopping experience. » Explore how to use your search results to improve your WooCommerce store conversions

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Search & discovery Improve WooCommerce Conversion Rates: How to Use Your Search Results Site search and conversions fit together like a puzzle. While over 40% of your customers will immediately go to the search bar on your store, another 68% can bounce if the search results aren't satisfactory. What does this mean? As a WooCommerce store owner, you can leverage the power of site search results to improve your conversion rates. Let's investigate how. Understanding the Importance of Relevant Search Results Relevant search results can give your customers a quick and easy route to their desired products, greatly enhancing their shopping experience. It also fosters a positive perception of your brand—relevant results demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction, instilling confidence and trust in your store. But the benefits don't stop there. Up to 43% of consumers are willing to pay more to find what they want in just a few clicks. This means you can monetize the opportunity through membership or subscription models and personalization. » Here's how WooCommerce instant search makes browsing a breeze Optimizing WooCommerce Product Search It’s no secret that WooCommerce’s default product search isn’t the most intuitive or advanced. Fortunately, there are ways to create a better search experience for visitors. Utilize Advanced Search Plugins Advanced search plugins improve your customer's product search experience by integrating robust search widgets into your website. These widgets have a wide range of customization settings, meaning you can easily align them with your brand image. Plus, they contain features to help customers find, sort, and buy products quickly. Key features include: Search tuning: Allows you to include or exclude specific content types from the results. AJAX live search: Delivers real-time search results, enabling visitors to find information and navigate the site more quickly. Product search and filters: Improves product discoverability by allowing customers to refine their searches.Synonyms and autocomplete support: Makes the search process more forgiving and user-friendly by letting customers find products despite spelling errors. » Have a Magento store instead? Find out how to benefit from advanced search in Magento Search Implement Effective Filtering Options Effective filters combat decision fatigue for online shoppers. They cut down the surplus of choices, making product selection less overwhelming. They also amplify relevant attributes, echoing customers' unique preferences and needs. This increases their engagement and reduces friction on the path to their purchase. Here are some tips to help you implement relevant filters in WooCommerce product search: Opt for familiar placement: Place filters where customers expect them. Vertical filters are familiar and allow more options, while horizontal ones increase visibility and convenience. Employ a wide range: Use a mix of product-specific (model, size, etc.) and thematic filters (bestsellers, season, etc.) to cater to various customer needs. Use simple language: Write filters in plain language. Avoid creativity and jargon in favor of simplicity and clarity. Filters are functional tools, not branding exercises. Sodashi implements thematic horizontal filters on their main shop page. They then switch to product-specific vertical filters within categories. Each filter is labelled clearly, so their meanings are plain. » Make sure to avoid these common mistakes when adding search filters to your store Integrate Auto-Suggestions and Auto-Corrections Auto-suggestion uses machine learning to predict shoppers' intent as they type and auto-correction uses algorithms to find and fix misspelled words. So, what's the effect? These features speed up the search process. Users don't need to type out full queries—the search bar suggests as they type. Search results become more accurate. Auto-correction fixes typos, thereby reducing mistakes and delivering more precise results. When searching on Bittersweet for a dress, the search function already gives suggestions and still generates relevant search results despite misspelling the search term as 'dres'. » Find out more about accounting for synonyms and spelling in site search Leverage Search Analytics What search queries do shoppers enter? Which products are unavailable through search? Which SKUs are most frequently searched by visitors? Search analytics can help you find the answers to these questions. The analytics generated by advanced search in WooCommerce contains a wealth of information about customer intent. By analyzing the data points, you’ll gain a deep understanding of your audience and make better business decisions: Address product gaps: Identify frequently searched terms with no relevant results and expand your inventory to meet customer demand.Optimize pricing: Utilize customer activity data to determine optimal pricing for improved conversion rates and profitability.Forecast trends: Use search analytics to predict popular products, stock inventory accordingly, and implement complimentary marketing campaigns. » Struggling with BigCommerce analytics? Let Fast Simon's BigCommerce Search plugin help Optimizing Search Engine Results for Your WooCommerce Website Before arriving at your site, visitors typically use a search engine like Google to research potential shopping destinations. You want to ensure your site is discoverable in search results so people can easily find it. Consider optimizing search engine results for your site by: Conduct Keyword Research Keywords are the foundation of SEO. They indicate the words, phrases, and queries people use to find products. Conducting keyword research enables you to integrate these terms into your website's pages, improving its chances of ranking at the top of search results. Tips to find relevant keywords for your WooCommerce store: Use Google Keyword Planner: This free tool helps identify similar and long-tail keywords relevant to your product. Research competitors’ keywords: Study top-ranking competitors' keywords in product titles, descriptions, and reviews for insights. Optimize Product Titles and Descriptions Product titles and descriptions appear in search engine results and are closely tied to the user's query. That's why it's crucial to craft compelling product descriptions that entice people to click and explore further. Tips for creating captivating product titles and descriptions: Integrate keywords: Include important words naturally to make your content attractive and easy to find online. Structure your descriptions: Incorporate visual hierarchy to share information in a clear and organized way. Highlight essential details and features that make the product special. Enhance Meta Tags and URLs Meta tags are HTML code elements that convey information about your website to search engines.URLs are web addresses people use to locate and retrieve your site’s pages. Optimizing both is essential for improving your website’s SEO and ensuring a seamless user experience: Craft user-friendly tags: Create short and descriptive meta tags that tell users what your page is about. Use simple language and avoid technical jargon.Concise URLs: Keep your URLs short and easy to remember. Use 3-5 words at most to describe the content of your page. Improve Site Speed and Mobile Responsiveness Fast-loading and mobile-optimized sites ensure a flawless user experience, which is what Google wants for its users. With the battle for online rankings getting more and more competitive, you need to optimize these elements if you want to rank higher and gain visibility in search results: Optimize product images: Heavy images can slow down your website. Use a plugin like Smush to compress and optimize them for faster loading times. Choose a responsive theme: Select a mobile-friendly theme with a clean and professional design. Examples include OceanWP, Astra, and eStore. The Search for Conversions Is Over Every store owner wants more conversions—it's just a matter of leveraging the tools and resources you have access to so you can make it happen. While WooCommerce doesn't have excellent native search capabilities, you still have several options, from advanced search plugins and filters to SEO strategies like fine-tuning metadata and descriptions. By leveraging relevant search results and optimizing search engine results, you'll be well-positioned to drive conversions and achieve success with your WooCommerce store. » Take the next steps to maximize your sales with a comprehensive search and discovery approach

Search & discovery Advanced Search in Magento: Improve Your Store's Experience Advanced search is a powerful tool that can significantly improve the functionality and performance of your Magento Search store, leading to increased customer satisfaction, conversions, and sales. Consider that 43% of your customers immediately zero in on the search bar to find information, but 21% of them can exit your site again from the search results—possibly because they didn't find what they're looking for and are searching for another store to buy from. But with its range of features, advanced search can help your customers find what they're looking for quickly and conveniently, making it easier for them to complete purchases. What Is Advanced Search? Advanced search in eCommerce refers to a sophisticated and feature-rich search system that gives your customers multiple ways to refine their search and increase their chances of getting the results they want. This can include searching by product attributes, price range, brand, or category. Advanced search also often includes autocomplete and spelling features to make sure your customers still get their desired results even if they make mistakes in their search terms. Give Your Customers the Best Magento Experience Having advanced search in your Magento store can give you an advantage over your competitors, considering that 61% of eCommerce stores perform below expectations when it comes to search. Here's how advanced search can improve your store's experience: 1. Language Recognition It always comes down to semantics, right? You can give your customers a better shopping experience when you up your language game. Support multiple languages When your customers search for products in their preferred language, it can enhance the relevancy and accuracy of their search results. Your customers search more intuitively and find the process more user-friendly, especially if they're not fluent in the default language of your store.Account for language mistakes Your customers may make typos in the search bar or completely misspell a product name. Advanced search can take this into account and make sure that your customers still get the search results they want—instead of a "No Results" page. The flexibility that you get from language recognition means that your customers can easily find what they need without sifting through irrelevant results. This can help increase customer satisfaction and, subsequently, sales. Everten: Spelling of Search Terms Everten sells various kitchenware. Their search results for "fry pan" and "frypan" are the same, so it doesn't matter if you spell it as two words or one. 2. Multiple Types of Content Magento allows you to create and manage various types of content, such as product descriptions, blog articles, pages, and more. You can also use Magento's built-in rich-text editor to enhance the formatting and presentation of your content. Advanced search gives you an extra advantage by making sure your customers find all of your content quickly. Cater to non-product searches Your search results won't be restricted to products only. Your customers can also view related blog posts, reviews, subscriptions, etc.Use your internal search bar as a gateway Your search bar is central to your store and can be the first point of contact with your customers. By making it a gateway, your customers can easily access their desired information from this one point. They don't have to scroll aimlessly through information or click on several tabs. Liebherr: Diverse Search Results Liebherr is an international group that manufactures equipment and technology for various industries. Just by searching for "refrigeration", multiple search results from various places on the website appear. For example, products, company profiles, and magazines. A very useful filter on the left allows you to refine your search even more. 3. Advanced Sorting Advanced sorting means your customers can sort their search results according to their preferences instead of the default sorting option in your Magento store. Support your customer's end goal Your customer is visiting your store with a purpose, for example, to buy a gift. Advanced sorting can help them achieve this faster. If they're on a budget, they can sort the results according to price. Similarly, if they don't know the person well, they can sort the results according to popularity. Zachys: Refined Search Results Sorting Zachys specializes in wine and liquor. After using the filters on the left, you can use the advanced sorting option on the right to organize your search results according to top rated, product name, high and low pricing, or relevance. Do It the Fast Way Expecting quick and accurate search results is part of your customers' online behavior. With advanced search features, like what we just discussed, you can easily provide this to them in your Magento store. Creating an optimized site search experience can encourage your customers to convert more, which will also boost your average order value. » Have a BigCommerce store instead? Find out how to optimize BigCommerce Search

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Merchandising Evolution of Merchandising: How Visual Appeal Drives Online Sales Merchandising is a crucial aspect of eCommerce in today's digital age. The way you present and market your products online has a significant impact on consumer behavior and sales. Below, we take a look at the evolution of merchandising and how visual appeal helps to drive online sales. Meet the Expert Ashlee Colliver is an eCommerce and digital growth specialist. She is the Executive Director of Client Services at Shero Commerce, a global agency that helps develop brands from design and launch to marketing and optimization. Early Days of eCommerce Merchandising Initially, eCommerce merchandising strategies were basic. It mainly involved listing products on a website without much emphasis on visuals. So, consumers had a less engaging online shopping experience due to fuzzy images and a lack of categorization. However, as technology advanced and consumer expectations grew, merchandising became more important. » Blast from the past: Explore the rich history of merchandising Power of Captivating Imagery One notable merchandising strategy that has stood the test of time is using captivating imagery. Just like flipping through a magazine and being drawn to a visually stunning full-page image, your online shoppers respond similarly to beautiful visuals. Whether it's an enticing lifestyle image or an aesthetically pleasing product photo, visual merchandising creates a momentary pause and captivates consumers, enticing them to explore further. But visual appeal goes beyond aesthetics. In physical retail spaces, packaging and product placement are crucial to attract customers. Similarly, effective online merchandising relies on well-designed websites and engaging visuals to draw users in. By strategically using colors, typography, and social proof, you can encourage your customers to complete their buying journey. Spiceology: Adding Flavor to Product Promotions Spiceology, a spice seller for professional chefs and home cooks, promotes a new range of beer-infused BBQ spice rub with a colorful product banner. This is offset by a black block with a product description. Plus, the orange call-to-action button makes it very clear how the customer should proceed. Finally, a bright pink banner stands out at the top of the page to let customers know about a sale. » Want to optimize your visual merchandising? Consider these do's and don'ts How Personalization Influences Visuals The evolution of eCommerce has led to personalization and automation. You can now create personalized experiences based on users' preferences and behavior, thanks to technologies like AI and chatbots. Personalization also translates to your online store's visuals. By tailoring the shopping experience to each user's interests, your store can visually adapt to individual shoppers. For example: Promotions on your homepage can be for products the customer regularly buys.Product collections can showcase relevant discounted or new products first.Personalized product recommendations on product pages or during checkout create good upsell and cross-sell opportunities. A personalized approach lets you enhance your visual merchandising by aligning content with the shoppers' interests, increasing the likelihood of conversion. Bright Minds: Shedding Light on Individual Customer Needs Bright Minds, a children's educational online retailer, personalizes their customers' shopping experience at three points: Recently viewed products (browsing history)What others have bought (upsell and cross-sell opportunities)Top sellers that customers might enjoy (personalized product recommendations) Pro tip:Use AI Visual Discovery to let your customers search for products with images. Optimized for mobile, this integrated shopping experience can also boost your social commerce. Balancing Personalization and Exploration While personalization and automation enhance the overall shopping experience, it's still important to strike a balance between the benefits of personalization and the need for customers to explore. In extreme cases, customers are presented only with what they already intend to buy. They can lose the opportunity to discover new items. The ideal middle ground is to encourage exploration and serendipitous discovery within personalized shopping experiences. » Learn how to create the ultimate personalization experience for your shoppers How Branding Solidifies Merchandising Branding plays a significant role in merchandising. While some companies prioritize selling their products, others understand the power of branding and storytelling. Branding goes hand-in-hand with visual appeal to drive online sales. Consistent and compelling branding elements, such as logos, color schemes, and imagery, create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity. When shoppers encounter these familiar branding elements, they develop trust and loyalty, making them more likely to engage with your brand and make a purchase. Nike: Just Doing Branding and Merchandising Nike solidifies their branding and merchandising by focusing on the emotional connection and lifestyle associated with their products. They sell more than just clothing; they sell confidence, power, and a sense of belonging. When shopping in their store under "Sport", the products are shown in action. In some cases, famous athletes are showing how they use Nike's products. This brings across a sense of authority because it suggests that Nike is preferred by professionals. Plus, it empowers customers and prospective athletes because they're using the same products as their favorite athletes. » Make sure to address these eCommerce hiccups that influence brand loyalty Mastering Visual Appeal in eCommerce Merchandising Merchandising has undergone a remarkable transformation, driven by technological advancements. Visual appeal has consistently been the key to capturing the attention of shoppers, both online and offline. With the rise of personalization and automation, you can leverage captivating imagery and thoughtful branding to create a compelling online presence and drive sales.

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Merchandising Create Successful eCommerce Product Bundle Strategies (+ Merchandising Examples)Product bundles are the ultimate win-win for both your customers and your business. Your customers will love them because they can get more for less. Your business will thrive because bundles increase AOV (by as much as 20%) and keep those slow-selling items flying off the virtual shelves. Here's everything you need to know about creating successful eCommerce product bundle strategies with practical merchandising examples. What Is Product Bundling? Product bundling is when a store owner sells two or more products together as one package, often at a discounted price. For instance, a PC retailer may offer a bundle that includes a desktop, monitor, and webcam. This tactic aims to increase your profits by enabling you to sell more inventory and provide additional value to your customers. Benefits of product bundling include: Increased sales Bundling boosts sales by incentivizing customers to purchase multiple items together.Higher customer satisfaction Bundling offers convenient and cost-effective solutions, enhancing customer satisfaction.Improved profit margins Bundling at higher price points can increase profit margins through perceived value. There are several different types of product bundles you can create. The most effective ones include: 1. Complementary Bundles Complementary bundling is the practice of grouping two or more products that are functionally related and selling them at a combined price. This cross-selling approach offers several advantages, including improved customer satisfaction and increased sales. Here's how to effectively create a complementary bundle: Choose related products Choose items that naturally complement each other and offer value to customers when bundled together for cross-selling.Make it attractive Offer a discounted price or additional perks to make the bundle irresistible to customers.Promote, promote, promote Market the bundle through various channels to create awareness and generate interest among customers. Spiceology: Herb Bundle for Happy Customers Spiceology is America's fast-growing spice company, offering great deals on herbs, spices, and other seasonings. Their Herbaceous Bundle deal includes two popular dried herb mixes that home and professional chefs are likely to use when experimenting with new flavors. They clearly display the 15% discount—along with a "Sale" badge—and the original and discounted prices to make sure shoppers don't miss this bundle deal. This cross-selling strategy works by offering customers a curated selection of products that work well together—at a discounted price—providing them with more value and convenience. » Unsure when it's best to cross-sell? Find out where in the conversion funnel you should cross-sell 2. Mix-and-Match Bundles Mix-and-match bundles allow customers to pick multiple products from a range of options. Merchants can specify different options for any given product, and customers can choose their preferred ones to create their own custom bundle. This tailored experience not only boosts customer satisfaction but also encourages brand loyalty and repeat purchases. To create a mix-and-match bundle, you should: Empower customers Let customers choose their own products to bundle, giving them the freedom to curate a personalized package that aligns with their preferences.Offer incentives Provide discounts or exclusive offers for bundling to entice customers to add more items to their cart and increase AOV.Simplify navigation Ensure the bundle is easy to navigate and use, with clear instructions on how to mix different items. A well-thought-out product description can go a long way toward attracting and retaining customers. My Raw Joy: A Joyful Mix-and-Match Shopping Experience My Raw Joy, an organic snacks store, offers a unique "Mix & Match Bundle" option that allows customers to handpick their desired flavors of raw chocolate bars. This strategy empowers customers to create a customized bundle that aligns with their individual taste preferences. The result is a delightful and personalized snacking experience that encourages customers to make repeat purchases. 3. Seasonal Bundles Seasonal bundles are curated product packages that are designed to align with specific seasons, events, or holidays. You can offer timely and relevant products to customers with these bundles. For example, you can create special bundles for the summer holidays, ski season, Thanksgiving, etc. Below are the steps to creating your seasonal bundle: Choose relevant products Choose products that are aligned with the season or holiday you're targeting. For example, heart-shaped chocolates for Valentine's Day.Add value Encourage customers to purchase the seasonal bundle by offering a special discount or added value. This could be a percentage off the total bundle price or exclusive seasonal packaging.Promote effectively Promote the seasonal bundle through various channels. Highlight the limited-time nature of the bundle to create a sense of urgency and excitement among customers. CURATEUR: Convenient Curated Seasonal Deals A great example of a Christmas bundle comes from CURATEUR, an eCommerce retail community offering products hand-selected by renowned stylist Rachel Zoe. The company offers a "Home for the Holidays Set", which is available for a limited time only. This strategy created a sense of urgency, enticing customers to make a purchase. By offering a prepackaged bundle, CURATEUR made it convenient for customers to shop for Christmas-themed items, enhancing the overall customer experience during the holiday season. » Explore more best practices to sell seasonal products 4. Upgrade Bundles Upgrade bundles are collections of premium or high-margin products that businesses use to upsell and cross-sell to customers. For example, a computer brand may offer an upgrade bundle featuring a higher-priced, more advanced laptop model along with additional accessories or features. This strategic approach not only improves profitability but also lets you provide a memorable customer experience. Here are the steps to create an upgrade bundle: Choose higher-end versions Choose upgraded versions or additional features that complement the original product.Offer incentives Offer perks like freebies or exclusive bonuses to encourage customers to opt for the upgrade bundle.Market it well Use social media, newsletters, and influencer marketing to highlight the unique value of the upgrade bundle. Tank Shop: Upselling the Strategic Way Tank Shop, a high-quality bathroom fixtures retailer, utilizes an effective bundling strategy by offering an upgrade bundle for their toilet flush. This bundle includes a Max Chamber Upgrade Kit with additional features such as a dual-flush mechanism and water-saving options. This strategy creates added value for customers, incentivizes them to upgrade their purchases, and can result in increased sales for the business. » Take a closer look at how to choose which products to upsell 5. Subscription Bundles Subscription bundles are a convenient way for merchants to offer a recurring subscription service that includes a carefully chosen collection of products or services. Customers can choose the frequency of delivery, such as weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly, and receive the bundled items on a regular basis without having to reorder each time. This approach provides convenience to customers and a recurring revenue stream to businesses. To create your first subscription bundle, you'll need to: Choose suitable items Select products that are well-suited for a subscription model, such as consumables, replenishable items, or complementary products that work well together.Provide incentives Motivate customers to subscribe by offering incentives such as free shipping, loyalty rewards, or personalized upsell and cross-sell product recommendations based on their preferences.Promote effectively Highlight the convenience and benefits of the subscription model while promoting your bundle via social media or email and SMS marketing. AIA Beauty Bundle: Monthly Beauty Product Top-Up A great example of a subscription bundle is the AIA Beauty Bundle, which includes a curated selection of skincare and beauty products delivered to customers on a monthly basis. This subscription bundle makes sense as skincare and beauty products are typically used regularly and require replenishment. The convenience of receiving such products on a recurring basis saves customers time and effort while also generating recurring revenue for the brand. » Interested in subscriptions? We summarize the main benefits of a subscription-based eCommerce model Fast-Forward Your Business Success With eCommerce Product Bundles Keep in mind that product bundles are the secret sauce to sweetening your eCommerce offerings. But it's not just about tossing random items together. Embrace the power of testing and refining your product bundling strategies based on customer feedback, market trends, A/B testing, and data analysis. With strategic product bundling, you'll have your customers coming back for more and your business thriving with success! » Bundles are just the start. Learn more about upsell & cross-sell personalization to boost sales

Adjusting product pages effectively can help boost sales.

Merchandising eCommerce Product Pages: 5 Best Practices to Improve Online Merchandising Product pages can make or break a sale. This is where you showcase your products in the best possible light to convince potential customers to become paying customers. Below, we list and discuss five best practices you can apply to your eCommerce product pages to improve your online merchandising techniques and ultimately boost your sales. 1. Use High-Quality Product Images Visual appeal has a high impact. About 85% of your customers feel product images are important to help them make their purchase decisions. Your customers must be able to picture the product and its quality clearly, as well as understand how it will fit into their lives, before buying it. Here are some tips for selecting and displaying product images: Use high-quality equipment to capture optimal lighting and details.Choose angles that showcase the product's best features and unique selling points.Provide context through lifestyle images, demonstrations, or showing the product in use. Steve Madden: A Step in the Right Direction Steve Madden, a global fashion brand, uses multiple images to showcase this pair of high heels from different angles. Plus, there's even an image of someone wearing the shoes. This allows customers to get a full idea of the shape and details of the product. It also helps customers imagine how they could wear it if they were to make the purchase. Attention to detail and keeping the customer informed visually by using a display merchandising optimizer can help you improve conversions. » Want to improve search? Find out why your store needs visual discovery 2. Write Clear and Detailed Product Descriptions Product descriptions should provide a laser-sharp idea of your product's specifications, like ingredients, materials, dimensions, and weight. You can even try to incorporate storytelling elements to engage and meet your shoppers' intent. Enticing product descriptions can include: Descriptive, specific language that paints a picture of the product and its uses.Simple language that's easy to understand for any audience.Benefits that show how the product can improve your customer's life.Bullet points and formatting that are easy to read and digest. Spiceology: A Dash of Engaging Details Spiceology, a spice and herbs store, provides creative copy to engage customers. It mentions ingredients, foods the seasoning can be used on, and information about how well the product sells. This combination can excite and inspire customers to use this product in their own cooking, which can increase the chance of a purchase. Additionally, Spiceology also includes collapsible sub-sections that include bulleted lists on their product images. These provide a summarized, easy-to-digest view of the copy. This can be perfect for those skimming for key information before making a purchase. 3. Include Product Reviews and Ratings With more than 99.9% of customers reading reviews when shopping online, it's crucial to make these readily available. Social proof, like product reviews and ratings, is a top-tier way to show your customers that they can trust you and the products you sell. Some tips for building trust through your product reviews and ratings are: Use a third-party review platform like REVIEWS.io to collect and display reviews and ratings.Respond to customer feedback, both positive and negative.Use star ratings and customer comments to showcase the overall product experience. Targus: It's in the Bag Targus, an electronics and accessories brand, helps encourage purchases with easy-to-access and detailed reviews. From any product page, you can easily click on the review and rating. This then auto-directs you lower on the page, where average ratings based on categories like "Quality" and an overview of customer review images are included. Then, for even further detail, each of the reviews appears in full with ratings and whether the past customer recommends the product. » Learn the importance of personalization in your eCommerce strategy using reviews 4. Highlight Calls-to-Action Your calls-to-action (CTAs) should be clear and concise for more efficient online visual merchandising, so you can guide your customer intuitively through the purchasing steps. Here are a few ways you can implement effective CTAs: Customers should be able to find CTAs instinctively and shouldn't have to search for them.CTAs should be clear about what action the customer is expected to complete.CTA colors should stand out but still work with the overall page and website design. Zachys: Pour Us Some Clear CTAs Zachys, a wine and liquor store, uses deep red for the CTA, which stands out against the white background and matches other design elements on the page, such as the search button and price. Additionally, the color can allude to red wine, which fits their product offerings. The standout CTA helps guide the customer to complete a purchase. Plus, the CTA is clear about what it does with "Add to Cart" marked on it. 5. Personalize Product Recommendations Product recommendations are key to successful upselling and cross-selling, which are fundamental methods to help boost your average order value (AOV) and overall revenue. Some tips for identifying products to upsell or cross-sell are as follows: Use personalized recommendations based on the customer's previous purchases or browsing history.Evaluate data analytics to find related products that other customers have purchased with the main product.Offer bundles and promotions that include products that can be used alongside the main product. Princess Polly: Complete the Look in One Sale Princess Polly, an online fashion retailer, uses personalization based on each customer's previously clicked history, which can inspire larger AOVs. By including a "Complete the Look" section on each product page, they have the opportunity to cross-sell to their customers by suggesting other products that can be worn with the particular item being viewed. Plus, by offering options, like two similar necklaces, the brand gives their customers a choice. Because the necklaces are priced differently, Steve Madden also has the chance to upsell the more expensive necklace. » Learn more about the benefits of upsell and cross-sell personalization The Power of Effective Online Merchandising Online merchandising can make or break your eCommerce store. When you use the right strategies, you'll see a boost in sales and even lifetime customer loyalty. But remember that your store and customers are unique, so don't worry if what works for one brand doesn't work for you. Put these online merchandising best practices to the test and personalize them for your store and customers to increase your conversions.

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Merchandising Responsive Web Design: Craft a Seamless eCommerce UX (+ Examples)Did you know that 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad user experience? In today's supercharged digital age, using virtual merchandising techniques, such as responsive web design, to craft a seamless eCommerce UX is a necessity. More consumers than ever are shopping on different types of devices, so your web design must be able to respond to your customers' needs. What Is Responsive Web Design? Responsive web design allows web content to adapt how it is displayed based on the user's device, window size, and screen size. The user's browser will detect the device being used and morph the site's layout. This can include altering the layout to optimize the site's text, images, and other design elements for the screen. For example, condensing three columns on a desktop version to one easy-to-scroll column for mobile. eCommerce sites that can standardize the user experience with seamless functionality between different devices can achieve: Happier customersStreamlined engagementMore conversions » Consider the differences between adaptive vs. responsive design 1. Mobile-First Design Strategy A mobile-first design strategy prioritizes the web page design for mobile, then adapts it for larger screens. This way, you can avoid: GlitchesIrregular displaysBroken imagesOther technical issues that occur when you design for desktop size first A mobile-first design strategy leads to faster site speeds and an overall better user experience. Here are some of the core focuses when using this strategy: Minimal designVisual hierarchiesContent-focusedBold, consistent CTAsGrid systemsTouch navigation Targus: Geared Up And User-Friendly Targus, an electronics and accessories store, effectively implements a mobile-first design strategy with large, easy-to-click blue CTAs and capitalized headings to guide the user through the page. The site uses visual hierarchies, minimal design, and touch navigation for an overall better user experience. » See why customers are leaving your eCommerce store and how to make them stay 2. Flexible Grids and Images Flexible grids and image use can fortify your visual merchandising techniques, which can help boost conversions and create long-lasting customer relationships. This also allows the web pages to adjust to the customers' browsing behaviors. Flexible grids are a method of dividing a page into multiple columns and rows, which you then pop your content and user interface (UI) elements into. Zachys: Brimmed With Variety Zachys is a family-owned eCommerce store that sells wines and spirits. Their site highlights how flexible grids can be used to create a visually appealing and functional mobile site. Its fluid layout with columns (see on the right) and different image sizes gives an intuitive way to engage with the product offerings. Combined with the use of bold heading fonts and easy navigation, like side arrows, the layout offers a visually stimulating experience that entices users to explore more and convert. Tip: To accomplish flexible grids, you can use percentages instead of fixed pixel widths when designing a page. » Explore this helpful list of the best eCommerce merchandising strategies and practices 3. Navigation and Menus Clear and intuitive site search capabilities help create smart collections on your site, which can boost conversions because users can explore your page effortlessly and intuitively. An effective path is what users will take to get to know your brand, browse through your inventory, and eventually make a purchase. A common menu technique that works across different devices is the hamburger menu. A hamburger menu is an interactive visual that consists of three horizontally stacked lines. It allows you to keep a full menu in a compact and expandable format, so it's only visible when users click it. Other beneficial tips include: Using collapsible or expandable dropdown menus and sub-categories.Styling with fonts and colors to enforce hierarchies.Keeping the design simple and clean to minimize distractions.Maintaining consistent navigation and menus across all pages. Spiceology: Guided By Spice Spiceology, a premium spices and herbs retailer, leverages its visual hierarchy from a navigation, typography, and graphics perspective. This can help them optimize customer experience and drive conversions. The site maintains consistent navigation, with slight tweaks, like the hamburger menu (see image 1), for mobile. It uses expandable menus and sub-categories with pictures (see images 2 and 3), plus bold CTAs (see image 1) for easier navigation. The white background and bold black text help users scan without clutter distracting them. Using varying expansion types and heading sizes enforces a desired conversion hierarchy. This refers to the expandable headings (see image 2) being the main product categories and the smaller headings highlighting other site features less aligned with higher sales and conversions. Benefits of Responsive Web Design This design strategy offers the following positives that can lead to higher engagement and conversions: Improved user experience: Ensures a seamless user experience across all devices.Increased reach: Research shows about 76% of Americans make purchases only on mobile devices. Responsive web design enables your site to seamlessly reach users on various device types.Cost-effectiveness: Eliminates the need for separate mobile and desktop sites, which can help lower development and maintenance costs.Improved SEO: You can achieve better search engine rankings and visibility by providing a consistent user experience across devices. » Find out why the eCommerce world is moving to no-code design Fast Potential For Fast UX Responsive web design can help you ensure your eCommerce site provides a seamless user experience across various device types. You can adopt multiple fundamentals of this design strategy based on your merchandising and business goals. Understanding user intent and prioritizing user behavior and preferences can contribute to better brand recognition, improved reach and engagement, and more conversions and sales.