Introduction

In today’s highly competitive world, having a great line of products is just not enough. These products must be presented in such a way that they pique the curiosity of the customers and entice them to make a purchase.

Visual merchandising is equally important to eCommerce stores as it is for physical retail stores. The placement of offers, banners, discounts and all other elements will have a lasting impact on consumer behaviour and influence them to make a purchase.

In this post, let us explore some simple yet effective ways that will help you to design an efficient visual merchandising strategy and in turn boost your conversions.

Visual Merchandizing Strategies that boost up your conversions

Studies indicate that nearly 95% of the visitors do not end up in making a purchase.  Online retailers have a huge opportunity here and it is just a matter of attracting the right customers and encouraging them to make the purchase.

Here are some useful merchandising strategies for your eCommerce store:

Add attractive tools to your store

Customers tend to show more interest in websites that are informative and interactive too !! Tools like live chat, 360 degree product views, feature comparison, point zoom, see in your room etc. allow the users to interact more with the website, visualise the products in a better way and in turn make an informed choice.

Here is an interesting example that shows an interesting tool for understanding the assembly of the product before making a purchase:

Personalisation

Studies indicate the personalisation with visuals is the key for boosting online conversions. As a designer, you may entice your customers by showing them some more options basing on their previous purchase or search History. You may come up with interesting combos or suggestions so that the customer tends to add another item to their cart.

Here is an example for personalisation:

Cross Selling and Upselling

Cross selling is a marketing technique where users are shown products that are similar to or related to the ones that they have shown interest on and Upselling is process where the users are shown products that are a little higher is price to the one that they have selected.  You may display these products at the time of checkout just to entice the customers before they finalise their order.

Here is how Amazon displays cross and upselling information at the time of checkout:

Make the user interface platform adaptable

Every day, we do notice a lot of customers complaining about difficulties in online shopping and the most frequently heard complain is about the appearance of the website on different devices. Design your website in such a way that its appearance and performance is consistent on all devices such as desktops, mobile phones, laptops and tablets.

Product Photography

Images of high quality can directly influence your online store’s conversions. Capitalise on the power of photography by displaying images that are clear and have no or white back grounds. Here are a few points to consider while choosing images for your products:

• Images that are large in size and high in resolution leave a lasting impact on the customer
• Alignment and consistency with the theme of the website are most important
• Close ups provide more details to the customer
• Showing accurate colours in the images reduces returns and refunds

Devise a hassle free shipping policy

A lot of customers shy away from eCommerce due to the huge shipping charges and all the otherhassles associated with shipping. Display a clear shipping policy on your website and inform the customer in case of any additional charges. Offering free shipping for a minimum cart value is also a great idea, as we can increase the minimum purchase value.

Let data drive your decisions

“In God we trust, for everything else we need data”. Often do not realise the power of the information sitting our databases. Use analytics and crunch the information to generate useful business insights it will not only improve your sales but will also help you to stay ahead of competition.

Conclusion

Online shoppers expect clear and hassles free transactions. Continuously monitor and revise your visual merchandising strategies in order to provide a hassle free shopping experience to your customers. It is also advisable to closely follow your competitors and learn from their strategies.

We hope that these tips were helpful to you for designing a winning strategy. Do share your visual merchandising strategies with us and let us grow together.