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E-commerce Merchandising

E-commerce strategy11/27/2025Intermediate 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 involves arranging and displaying products in an online store to enhance their appeal and encourage purchases. This includes optimizing product categorization, search results, product recommendations, cross-selling and upselling opportunities, visual layouts, and promotional placements. Effective merchandising leverages product data, customer behavior analytics, and seasonal trends to create a compelling and intuitive shopping experience.

Why E-commerce Merchandising is Important for E-commerce

For e-commerce, merchandising directly influences the customer journey and conversion. Well-merchandised products are easier to find, understand, and are presented in a way that resonates with target audiences. It helps guide customers through the product catalog, highlights key features, and promotes complementary items, ultimately increasing average order value (AOV) and customer satisfaction. PIM systems provide the rich, accurate product data essential for executing sophisticated merchandising strategies.

Examples of E-commerce Merchandising

  • 1A fashion retailer creates curated landing pages for 'Summer Essentials' featuring relevant clothing and accessories.
  • 2An electronics store displays 'Customers also bought' sections on product pages, suggesting compatible accessories.
  • 3Using search filters and facets (e.g., 'color', 'size', 'brand') to help customers narrow down product selections.
  • 4Highlighting new arrivals or best-selling items prominently on the homepage and category pages.

How WISEPIM Helps

  • Rich, consistent product data: WISEPIM centralizes all necessary product information, including marketing attributes and digital assets, for compelling merchandising.
  • Channel-specific content adaptation: Tailor product content and display logic for different e-commerce channels and marketplaces directly from the PIM.
  • Enhanced search and filtering: Provide comprehensive product attributes that power advanced search facets and filters, improving product discoverability.
  • Support for product recommendations: Supply detailed product relationships and attributes for recommendation engines, driving cross-selling and upselling.

Common Mistakes with E-commerce Merchandising

  • Neglecting site search optimization, leading to customers being unable to find products even when available.
  • Failing to regularly update product recommendations and promotional banners, resulting in irrelevant suggestions and stale offers.
  • Poor product data quality, which hinders effective filtering, accurate search results, and compelling product descriptions.
  • Ignoring mobile responsiveness, making the merchandising experience difficult for a significant portion of online shoppers.
  • Implementing static merchandising strategies instead of dynamic, personalized experiences based on customer behavior.

Tips for E-commerce Merchandising

  • Continuously monitor and optimize internal site search queries to ensure relevant products appear at the top of results.
  • Implement A/B testing for product page layouts, call-to-action buttons, and promotional banner placements to identify what resonates best with your audience.
  • Maintain high-quality, rich product data within a PIM system to power accurate filters, recommendations, and compelling descriptions.
  • Tailor merchandising efforts to specific customer segments or personas, offering personalized experiences rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
  • Leverage analytics to understand customer journeys and identify drop-off points, then adjust product visibility and content to guide them more effectively.

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