Merchandising isn't just for tidy store shelves.
In e-commerce, too, the way you display your products plays a crucial role in conversion.
Why? Because a visitor who arrives on your site only gives you a few seconds.
It's up to you to make them want to stay, explore, and then buy.
We often talk about user journeys, smooth navigation, and UX.
Online merchandising is kind of the backbone of all that. It organizes, structures, recommends, inspires... and above all, it turns a simple visit into a purchase.
In this article, we'll look at how to apply the key principles of merchandising to your online store to capture attention from the very first second, encourage product discovery, and trigger sales without being pushy.
E-commerce merchandising is about showcasing your products online in a way that attracts, entices, and sells.
It's the same logic as physical retail, but adapted to the digital world.
And if it's done well (and it has to be), it's a powerful conversion lever.
In a store, every detail counts.
At least, that's how the biggest retailers see it, focusing on lighting, product layout, and the customer journey.
It's the same online.
Except that you can't rely on atmosphere or touch.
So you have to think about how the products appear.
And the goal remains the same: guide the eye, facilitate understanding, encourage purchase.
Taking inspiration from the logic of physical retail is therefore a good idea, provided you add the sophistication of data and the responsiveness of digital.
How can you show your products in the clearest, most engaging, and most sales-oriented way possible?
It's not just a matter of lining up images on a white background.
You have to organize, prioritize, segment, and sometimes even personalize according to the user.
Good online merchandising means that the right product catches the eye of the right user at the right time and in the right context.
What makes e-commerce so powerful is the ability to offer each customer a different journey.
Whereas a store remains static, your website can adapt in real time.
A new visitor?
Offer them a selection of new products.
A loyal customer? Remind them of their recent favorites.
An abandoned shopping cart? Suggest a more suitable alternative.
This level of personalization not only increases your conversions, but also creates a real shopping experience that is smooth, enjoyable, and sometimes even surprising.
An experience that makes people want to come back!
👉 Discover the five key stages of the customer journey that can be optimized.
Merchandising is not limited to a single page. It is integrated into every stage of the purchasing journey.
Certain areas are particularly strategic for capturing attention and guiding the user to conversion.
We show you which ones and, more importantly, how to exploit them.
The category page brings together all your products, and the goal is for the user to click on a product and buy it!
There are a few tricks you should know to optimize this process.
To avoid losing attention or causing users to bounce quickly, you need a logically structured catalog.
Relevant sorting, effective filters, clear hierarchy... everything should help users refine their search effortlessly.
But that's not all. As the Casio example shows, you can also highlight the products that generate the most clicks.
It's a simple way to capitalize on what already works, while improving the discoverability of popular products.
And as a significant bonus, having your categories and products well structured also gives your SEO a big boost.
The better Google understands your catalog, the better it will rank it.
You can learn more about this topic in our video on e-commerce merchandising.
This is it, the moment when the user stops on a product. This is where merchandising becomes decisive.
First, the basics are good quality visuals, a clear product page, and all the useful information without unnecessary fluff. But beyond this product showcase, this is where you can go further.
With well-designed cross-selling blocks, you can guide the user towards a complete outfit, a useful accessory, or a complementary product. This is the “shop the look” concept, which works wonders, especially when it comes to inspiration.
Another powerful lever is user-generated content (UGC). Showing a product in a real-life situation, worn or used by “real” people, is a huge reassurance factor. It's more engaging, more credible, and more lively.
And if you want to take it a step further, consider personalizing your content. New visitor? Display a welcome offer. Loyal customer? Remind them of their status or loyalty benefits.
Every detail counts, and every profile deserves a product page that really speaks to them.
Loyoly helps you implement these features in your e-commerce store and on your product pages.
👉 Request a demo from our teams
It's often overlooked, but the internal search engine is an interesting tool for your e-commerce site. Users who use it are generally more advanced in their purchasing intent. They know what they're looking for. All that's left to do is make it easier for them.
And that's where merchandising comes in. A well-designed search engine offers intelligent autocomplete, understands word variations (synonyms, mistakes, etc.) and, above all, adapts to visitor behavior.
The video mentions, for example, the test between personalized and non-personalized search. By personalizing results based on history or affinities, conversions go up.
In short, your engine shouldn't just “find” things, it should know how to suggest them.
The home page is your main showcase. It shouldn't just look good, it should immediately guide the user in the right direction.
Good merchandising on this page means displaying best sellers, new products, selections by category, or even personalized recommendations if the user has visited before.
And you can also play the inspiration card. The goal is to create a variety of entry points so that every type of visitor can find their way around effortlessly. Need/desire → a tailored response
And if you have data (abandoned carts, browsing history, etc.), use it on the homepage to rekindle interest.
After all, why wait for the user to take the first step when you can anticipate their needs? This is one of the best uses of first-party data.
Once you've got the basics in place, you can go further.
There are simple but highly effective levers you can use to further optimize your merchandising.
The goal is to refine, test, surprise, and sell.
Every visitor is different. So why show them exactly the same thing as everyone else?
With dynamic recommendations, you can offer products tailored to the customer's tastes, habits, or even maturity level.
A user who views floral T-shirts several times without ever converting?
Show them other styles in the same vein that they haven't seen yet.
This increases the chances of clicks, discoveries... and purchases.
Cookies, retargeting, and browsing history help create a smooth, logical, almost intuitive experience.
And when users feel that your site “understands” what they like, it's a win-win for customer loyalty.
No one likes to miss out on a good deal.
And that's precisely the reflex you need to trigger by playing on urgency and exclusivity.
Low stock? Display it clearly.
Limited-time offer? Highlight it with an eye-catching visual or a countdown.
This type of promotion is particularly effective during peak shopping periods such as Black Friday, sales, holidays... but also for private sales or product launches.
It's not just a flashing red banner, it's a storytelling tool that pushes people to act now rather than tomorrow.
These are “classic” marketing techniques that can be applied to e-commerce without any problems.
Today, a large proportion of your visitors view your site on their smartphones.
And we know that internet users use both PCs and smartphones during their purchasing journey.
However, too many online stores still design their merchandising solely for desktop versions.
This results in a poor user experience, slow pages, truncated images, illegible filters, and so on.
On mobile, every pixel counts. You need to get to the point while maintaining smooth navigation.
Buttons must be accessible, recommendations visible without scrolling for miles, and product pages clear.
This is also where an omnichannel approach makes sense.
Users discover a product on their mobile, but may finalize their purchase in-store or on their computer.
Merchandising must therefore be consistent, uniform, and adapted to each medium, without ever breaking the flow of the experience.
Pssst... You might find this interesting!
Omnichannel loyalty programs are strategic for your brand, and we can probably help. Check out our platform!
You can't improve what you don't measure, and that's where the right tools make all the difference.
Heatmaps show you exactly where your users click, scroll, hesitate... or drop out.
They are a valuable tool for identifying cold spots or merchandising elements that aren't working.
If you don't have the option of using them for your site, you can view heatmaps by searching for e-commerce examples.
And to go even further, try A/B testing.
You test two versions of the same page or block (with or without product recommendations, for example) and see which one converts best.
You can even compare a personalized version against a neutral version, as mentioned in the video.
In short, you no longer need to rely on your intuition.
Today, good merchandising is built on data and testing, not on gut feeling.
Use high-quality images.
Simple and effective advice.
You yourself wouldn't stop to look at a blurry image where you can't see the product.
Is a product out of stock? Don't panic, but don't leave the user in limbo.
There's nothing worse than a “product unavailable” message with no visible alternative.
The trick is to display suggestions for similar products at the top of the page.
Style, price, use... the important thing is that the alternative makes sense.
This is even more crucial when it comes to visitors who have arrived via a Google Shopping campaign or a sponsored link.
Every click costs you money. Every bounce is a loss.
So guide the user. Show them that they haven't arrived there for nothing. And give them a good reason to stay.
To return to the example in our video, Casio leaves nothing to chance.
Rather than displaying products in a fixed order, the brand analyzed which ones generated the most clicks and moved them to the top of the page.
The user experience is therefore optimized, more intuitive, and highlights the “star” products without any extra effort on the part of the customer.
And this isn't just intuition.
They decided on this approach after conducting a series of tests that confirmed its positive impact on performance.
This is a great demonstration of what real-time, data-driven merchandising can achieve.
There is good merchandising and bad merchandising. How can you tell if it's bad? By tracking KPIs!
The bounce rate is often the first warning sign.
If a user arrives on a category or product page and leaves immediately, it means they can't find what they're looking for or that it's not presented in the way they expect.
Poorly thought-out highlighting, unengaging visuals, or a confusing hierarchy can be enough to scare them away.
Next comes the conversion rate.
This tells you whether the user actually makes a purchase.
Here again, good merchandising can make all the difference, by displaying the right information at the right time, simplifying the choice, reassuring with customer reviews, etc.
The time spent on the site is also an excellent indicator of interest.
Too little time may indicate a lack of interest or overly complex navigation.
Conversely, a user who explores several pages, goes back or views several products shows real potential... to be converted.
These indicators, if poor, are not necessarily a sign of poor product presentation.
But good merchandising can be a good way to improve them!
Loyalty is what keeps the story going. It's that moment when the shopping experience doesn't end with “thank you for your order,” but becomes an ongoing relationship with the brand.
And that's where Loyoly comes in.
By activating customers after purchase, the platform turns your buyers into ambassadors.
How? Through powerful engagement mechanisms such as reviews, referrals, and user-generated content.
A loyal customer is a voice that counts, social proof that reassures, and a lever of reassurance for those who follow.
👉 Discover how Loyoly engages your customers after purchase with its loyalty solutions.
Loyoly is a loyalty and referral platform combined with UGCs, which helps to engage customers in 40+ ways to increase LTV and social proof, while reducing CAC.
