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E-commerce Merchandising

E-commerce strategy1/5/2026Intermediate Level

E-commerce merchandising is the strategic presentation of products on an online store to maximize sales, customer engagement, and conversion rates.

What is E-commerce Merchandising? (Definition)

E-commerce merchandising is the process of displaying and organizing products on a website to increase sales. It is the digital version of arranging a store window or shelf. The goal is to make it easy for shoppers to find what they need and discover new items. This process includes several specific activities: * Grouping products into logical categories * Improving search results to show the best items first * Offering personalized product recommendations * Setting up cross-selling and upselling prompts * Designing visual layouts for sales and seasonal trends Good merchandising uses product data and customer habits to create a smooth shopping experience. Systems like WISEPIM help by keeping product details consistent and accurate across your store. This allows you to update your displays quickly based on what customers are buying.

Why E-commerce Merchandising is Important for E-commerce

Merchandising helps online stores turn visitors into buyers. It ensures shoppers can find and understand products quickly. By highlighting key features and suggesting related items, it increases the average order value (AOV). This approach makes the shopping experience smoother and improves customer satisfaction. A PIM system provides the accurate product data needed to make these strategies work. WISEPIM helps manage this information so products always look their best on every sales channel.

Examples of E-commerce Merchandising

  • 1A clothing store builds special pages for 'Summer Essentials' to show matching outfits and gear.
  • 2An electronics shop shows a 'Customers also bought' list to suggest items like chargers or cases.
  • 3A webshop uses filters for color, size, and brand so shoppers can find specific items quickly.
  • 4A retailer puts new arrivals and top-selling products at the top of the homepage to grab attention.

How WISEPIM Helps

  • Rich, consistent product data: WISEPIM keeps all your product info and images in one central spot. This ensures your product pages look professional and stay accurate everywhere you sell.
  • Channel-specific content adaptation: You can easily change product details for different websites or marketplaces. WISEPIM helps you customize your content to fit the rules of each sales channel.
  • Enhanced search and filtering: WISEPIM organizes the technical details that power search filters. This helps shoppers find the right products quickly by narrowing down their choices.
  • Support for product recommendations: WISEPIM connects related items through shared data. This allows your store to suggest relevant add-ons or upgrades to customers as they shop.

Common Mistakes with E-commerce Merchandising

  • Ignoring site search. Customers cannot find products even when they are in stock.
  • Leaving banners and recommendations unchanged. This results in outdated offers and suggestions that do not match what the customer wants.
  • Using poor product data. Low-quality information makes it hard for shoppers to filter products or find what they need through search.
  • Neglecting mobile users. Many people shop on their phones, so a site that is hard to use on a small screen loses sales.
  • Showing the same content to everyone. Successful stores use data to show personalized products based on how a customer behaves.

Tips for E-commerce Merchandising

  • Track what people search for on your site. Use these terms to put the most relevant items at the top.
  • Test different page layouts and buttons. This helps you learn which designs lead to more sales from your visitors.
  • Store detailed product info in a PIM system. This ensures your site filters and recommendations work correctly for every shopper.
  • Group customers by their interests. Show them products that match their needs instead of showing everyone the same items.
  • Use site data to find where shoppers stop clicking. Update your content to keep them moving toward the checkout page.

Trends Surrounding E-commerce Merchandising

  • AI-driven personalization: Utilizing AI to analyze customer behavior in real-time and deliver hyper-personalized product recommendations, search results, and content layouts.
  • Automated merchandising rules: Implementing AI and machine learning to automate the dynamic adjustment of product placements, promotions, and category sorting based on performance metrics.
  • Headless commerce flexibility: Leveraging headless architectures to enable highly customized and channel-specific merchandising strategies across diverse touchpoints without backend constraints.
  • Sustainability attribute integration: Highlighting eco-friendly product features, certifications, and brand values prominently within filters, product pages, and search results to meet conscious consumer demand.
  • Augmented Reality (AR) for immersive experiences: Integrating AR tools that allow customers to virtually try on or place products in their environment, enhancing product understanding and reducing returns.

Tools for E-commerce Merchandising

  • WISEPIM: Centralizes and enriches product data, ensuring consistency and quality for effective merchandising across all channels.
  • Akeneo: A leading PIM solution for managing complex product information, crucial for dynamic merchandising strategies.
  • Shopify/Magento: E-commerce platforms offering extensive built-in tools for product categorization, display, and promotional management.
  • Algolia/Klevu: AI-powered search and discovery platforms that enhance site search, filtering, and product recommendations.
  • Dynamic Yield/Optimizely: Personalization and experience optimization platforms for A/B testing, recommendations, and audience segmentation.

Related Terms

product detail page pdpproduct contentdigital asset management damconversion rate optimization cro for product pagesproduct recommendation engineproduct search facets

Also Known As

Online merchandisingDigital product presentationVisual merchandising (e-commerce)Product curation