When you walk into a store, wander the aisles, and gaze at the products on the shelves displayed in stunning fashion, this draws attention and will definitely help you discover more of your needs and buy what you need, even for a simple moment, without getting bored.
Everything you see presented in an eye-catching and attractive manner is done in a few thoughtful steps with the goal of highlighting all products, making shoppers feel comfortable and making shopping easier for you. This is what we call visual merchandising. What does visual merchandising mean? What is its importance in e-commerce? Read on to learn more.
Definition of Visual Merchandising
We can define visual merchandising as a technical strategy dedicated to planning and designing all elements of a retail or online store. The aim is to present the product in an attractive way, highlighting its most important benefits and features, which helps gently convince customers to buy.
The Importance of Visual Merchandising to Boost E-Commerce Profits
So, let me explain in detail the role of visual marketing in improving online store profits and sales:
1. Improve customer experience
This is achieved by improving the online store space, offering products with the best experience in an attractive and innovative way, which helps in increasing the sales rate.
2. Increased traffic
When you provide proper navigation space, present your products in an eye-catching and stunning manner on the online store, and provide a convenient navigation process between pages for the store visitor, he will surely spend as much time as possible in the online store.
Not only that, but he will come back many times to buy more from your store; because he can easily find any product he is looking for. As a result, foot traffic to your store will increase significantly.
3. Increase interaction
This is confirmed according to statistics and research, visual and visual content is closely related to the user’s feelings and emotions, it is certain that customers will interact and sympathize with a particular product or service, because text or written content is one of the most tedious and exhausting ways for customers, which makes them leave quickly without taking any action.
4. Attract customer attention
Displaying products in a simple and aesthetically pleasing way has become an art form and is a great experience for many eCommerce sites to grab customer attention.
When you see something that catches your attention, you will definitely do whatever it takes to get it. Therefore, visual merchandising is easier and faster than text or written content.
5. Increase the chances of selling the target product
There may often be one service or product in your online store that, if sold well, will bring you more profit than others, so you need to highlight it and promote it in a targeted and specific way.
This can help you succeed in visual merchandising because you can segment your product using techniques that show it in a targeted manner, thereby selling it at a higher price.
Types of Visual Merchandising
There are many types of visual merchandising, including:
1. Pictures. (Each online store requires 8 types of photos)
2. Video clips. (Great Tips for Using Video in Marketing Ecommerce Projects)
3. Quotation.
4. Memes.
5. Infographics. (The Importance of Infographics and How to Use Them in Your Ecommerce Content Marketing Strategy)
The Most Important Visual Merchandising Tactics in Ecommerce
Here we mention some basic strategies that are important for applying visual merchandising:
1. Ensure smooth site navigation
If a customer is frustrated with the way your eCommerce website is designed, they may click away within the first 10 seconds. You have now lost a client and your bounce rate has increased; so find ways to improve your website navigation to make it as smooth as possible.
2. Make your homepage
Your homepage is often the first thing customers see when they search for your brand. In order to make your homepage attractive, first impressions are important; therefore, you must include great photos, graphics, videos and any media that grabs the attention of your customers and make it very easy to browse.
3. Provide personal product recommendations
Let’s say a potential customer is browsing your e-commerce site looking for hats, and when they find a hat they like, they click on the product page that includes a product image and product description, below that is an image slider that shows similar products or other complementary products that go well with the hat, for example: some matching gloves, then they also add those products to their cart and buy the hat and gloves based entirely on that product recommendation.
(Related article: Tips for Getting the Best Product Recommendations in Your Online Store)
4. Use data to adapt to customers
Data collection is one of the best ways to learn about real customers. Businesses can collect valuable customer data in a number of ways, such as: Monitoring website traffic through platforms such as Google Analytics. This breaks down information such as customer location, how long they typically spend on your site, average order value (AOV), and various other metrics. While this information is not available to every customer, regional data can still be very useful.
(Related article: The Importance of Web Scraping for Ecommerce Sites).
5. Meet your branding needs visually
It’s important for businesses to add visuals to their homepage, designed to grab customers’ attention as quickly as possible, motivating them to learn more and stay longer on your website.
It also gives customers greater insight into your brand image, which allows them to see what other customers think of your products. If the response and reviews are good, then they will definitely be inclined to buy it too.
6. Related product range
Without categorization, searching for a specific product is like finding a needle in a haystack. This separation is a common practice for many retailers, and similar marketing tactics have been used in-store.
You can also create category-focused promotions and upsell customers on product pages and at checkout. It makes it easy for users to navigate the site just like they would in a brick-and-mortar store—going to the aisle where they think the product is.
In summary At the end of the article, we emphasize the importance of incorporating visual merchandising into your marketing plan in order to attract the maximum number of customers and generate huge revenue to achieve your goals in the eCommerce space.