When ecommerce merchandising is driven by both data and design, it can bring you great results.
Intuitive and personalized product merchandising ecommerce strategies allow you to tap into the consumer psyche, helping you grow your ecommerce store and increase sales while reducing abandonment rates.
This method structures your store in a way that lets the customers easily find what they need from your store.
From how you present products to navigation design and personalized recommendations, effective ecommerce merchandising can turn casual browsers into buyers.
In this post, we’ll break down the key components of successful ecommerce merchandising. We’ll also share proven strategies you can implement today to increase your conversions and sales.
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The simplest ecommerce merchandising definition is that it’s a digital marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to browse and purchase. It involves elements like product placement and presentation, site navigation, promotions, and personalization to create a seamless and appealing shopping experience.
Check out this video to see how Omnisend’s email automation can improve your merchandising ecommerce strategies with targeted marketing:
Unlike physical stores, where product displays and sales rely on in-person interactions, ecommerce stores rely heavily on data and digital tools to personalize the shopping experience. It uses algorithms, user behavior, and instant updates to influence purchasing decisions.
Behind every product page is a well-thought-out strategy that determines which features to highlight, which price points drive conversions, and which products must appear in “You might also like” sections. None of this is random — ecommerce visual merchandising involves customer data and insights.
The difference between online stores that get by and those that are successful often comes down to merchandising details. These include how your filters work, if product photos show items in use, whether customer reviews appear prominently, and if pricing creates a sense of urgency.
To continuously improve your strategies, it’s important to monitor ecommerce merchandising practices, especially since customer behavior, market trends, and technology are always evolving.
What works today might not work tomorrow. Staying competitive means regularly testing, analyzing, and improving how products are presented to meet changing expectations and stand out in a crowded market.
Make sure this step is included in your ecommerce checklist. This helps ensure you’re consistently optimizing key areas of your store.
When you build an online store, several pieces must work together to create a smooth shopping experience. Think of these components as the building blocks of your ecommerce merchandising strategy.
Each one plays a specific role in helping your customers find and buy products, so let’s look at the six key elements that make up effective site merchandising:
1. Product presentation
“What you see is what sells” is true even for online stores.
High-quality photos from multiple angles help customers see exactly what they’re getting. When you pair these images with clear, detailed descriptions, you answer your customers’ questions before they even need to ask.
Adding videos upgrades your product presentation. Videos that show your products in use help customers imagine themselves owning the item. This visualization is powerful — 84% of video marketers say video has directly increased their sales.
For example, Noir Lux Candle Co. sells experiences — not just candles — through detailed scent descriptions and lifestyle imagery:
If customers can’t find what they’re looking for, they can’t buy it. Your menu structure, search function, and filters are the maps that guide visitors through your store.
Smart filters and small search boxes help narrow down options based on what matters most to your customers. Look at how Partake Foods organizes its product categories with clear visual cues, making it easy for customers to find their favorite cookies and snacks:
Product recommendations based on browsing history, purchase patterns, and similar customer behaviors help shoppers discover items they might not find on their own. This approach prevents customers from feeling overwhelmed with too many product choices.
The most effective personalization feels natural rather than surveillance-like. It’s the difference between “We thought you might like this based on your recent purchase” versus “We’ve been watching everything you do.”
Brands like Oddballs do this well by subtly suggesting complementary products that make sense with what customers are already viewing:
Strategic promotions can create urgency and motivate fence-sitters to buy now instead of later. For instance, limited-time offers, flash sales, and exclusive deals are must-have tools in your merchandising toolkit.
According to Omnisend’s 2025 ecommerce marketing report, emails that include promotions are becoming more effective at driving purchases.
While click rates dipped slightly to 1.22%, click-to-conversion rates grew by 27.6% year-over-year. This suggests that shoppers are becoming more intentional with their purchases when they see a compelling offer.
Swanson effectively uses promotional banners and tiered discounts to encourage larger purchases. Its “SAVE 40%” messaging creates a clear value proposition that’s hard to ignore:
Cross-selling involves suggesting items that complement what a customer is already buying. Upselling, on the other hand, encourages customers to purchase a higher-end version of the product they’re considering. Modern ecommerce merchandising tools can automate much of this process.
Omnisend’s data shows just how powerful these techniques can be. The report found that automated cross-sell emails achieve a 21.12% click-to-conversion rate — so about one in five people who click on these targeted recommendations end up making a purchase.
Amazon’s “Frequently bought together” and “Customers who bought this also bought” sections are classic examples of effective cross-selling. For luxury products, such as the Bulgari earrings shown below, the ecommerce site highlights other items from the same brand to encourage additional purchases:
Reviews and social proof build confidence in your products and reduce purchase doubts.
Every ecommerce site merchandiser should prioritize product review request emails as they help generate valuable social proof. Omnisend’s research shows that when feedback emails were automated, they achieved a 20.02% click-to-conversion rate and 52.91% open rate.
This high rate suggests that customers who engage with your services are also likely to leave a review for others.
Bridgewater Candle Company does this well by featuring verified customer ratings and detailed reviews that address product quality, scent strength, and value for money, which are all critical factors in its customers’ decision process:
Having an online store without a clear strategy is like taking a shot in the dark: you don’t know if you’ll hit the mark. This is where ecommerce merchandising comes in. The right strategies for product display and placement can help you create a shopping experience that converts.
Here are some strategies to give your online store a headstart:
1. Data-driven decision making
Your store collects valuable information every day about what customers like, where they click, and where they get stuck.
Start by checking which products get the most views but few sales. This might mean something is wrong with the product page. Maybe the description isn’t clear, or the price doesn’t match the value customers expect.
Use heat maps that show you exactly where visitors click on your pages. This can reveal whether users overlook important buttons or get distracted by certain elements. These insights help you position your key products and calls to action where they’ll get noticed.
Look at your search data as well. If many customers search for the same terms but get zero results, you’re missing out on products they want to buy.
2. A/B testing for layouts and product placements
A/B testing means creating and sending different versions of a campaign and seeing which one performs better.
You can test:
Different product photo styles (lifestyle vs. plain background)
Different CTA buttons (Add to cart vs. Buy now)
New layouts for your category pages
Different spots for your sale items
The key is to change just one thing at a time. If you change five things at once, you won’t know which change made the difference. Give each test enough time to collect reliable data. Then, when you find what works, implement it store-wide before testing something new.
3. Seasonal and event-based merchandising
Your store should align with the customers’ mindset. Pay attention to seasons, festivals, and even trends. When you align your ecommerce merchandising with seasons and events, you increase the relevance of your ecommerce store.
The most obvious seasonal changes are for major holidays, but think beyond just obvious ones like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Consider implementing this strategy during holidays like:
Back-to-school season
Change of seasons (spring cleaning, winter prep)
Local events or upcoming trends
Pop culture moments relevant to your products
The key to good seasonal ecommerce merchandising is timing. Start promoting seasonal items before customers need them, but not so early that it feels out of place.
4. Mobile-first merchandising
If your website merchandising doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re losing sales every day. Mobile merchandising requires specific approaches, such as the following:
Use larger, buttons that work with thumbs
Put your most important items where they’ll appear above the fold on phone screens
Streamline your navigation for smaller screens
Ensure that the text is readable without zooming
Test how your store will appear on several devices. What looks perfect on your desktop might be confusing on a phone. If something is hard for you to use, it’s definitely frustrating for your customers.
5. Social proof and influencer collaborations
When you showcase real customers using your products, you build confidence in shoppers. Here are some effective ways to use social proof:
Feature customer photos on product pages
Display star ratings prominently
Include short quotes from reviews near buy buttons
Show how many people purchased an item recently
People trust other consumers’ voices more than they trust brands. Influencer collaborations take social proof further by presenting your products using people your customers already trust.
You don’t need celebrities. Small influencers with engaged audiences often drive more sales per dollar spent.
6. Community building and engagement
Creating a community around your products turns one-time buyers into advocates. When customers feel connected to your brand, they shop there more often and tell their friends about you.
Here are some ways to build community:
Create interactive features like quizzes to help customers find products
Host virtual events to showcase your products
Maintain active social media accounts where customers can interact with you
Implement loyalty programs that reward engagement, not just purchases
Ask for customer input on new products or features
When you make customers feel a part of something bigger than a transaction, you build relationships that last longer than a single sale. These engaged customers become your most effective marketing channel through word-of-mouth.
Ecommerce merchandising best practices
These proven techniques help you create a more engaging, personalized, and conversion-focused shopping experience for your customers:
Ensure store consistency across all devices: Your store should look the same, whether a customer is using a phone or a laptop. This builds trust and makes shopping easier.
Use high-quality images that load quickly: Blurry or slow-loading photos will drive customers away. Compress your images to keep them looking great without slowing down your site.
Leverage AI for product recommendations: The best ecommerce tools can recommend items customers will likely want based on their browsing habits. Platforms like Omnisend can send personalized product suggestions based on what other items they’ve looked at.
Make your categories and filters make sense: Group products in ways that match how customers think. If someone wants “kitchen gadgets under $25,” make that easy to find.
Place customer reviews strategically: Don’t hide reviews on a separate page. Show star ratings directly on product listings and feature helpful reviews on product pages.
Create a sense of urgency when it makes sense: Let customers know when stock is low (“Only three left!”) or when a sale is ending. This can nudge them to buy now instead of later.
Simplify your checkout process: Every extra step makes it harder for customers to check out, causing you to miss out on several sales. Aim for the fewest possible clicks between “Add to cart” and “Order completed.”
Keep your store’s loading speed fast: Customers leave if your pages take too long to load. Optimize your images and code to keep things moving quickly.
Even the best online stores face obstacles when trying to perfect their ecommerce merchandising strategies. Here are some common challenges and how to overcome them:
Managing large inventories
When you sell hundreds or thousands of products, keeping everything organized becomes tricky. You might struggle with:
Deciding which products deserve the most prominent spots on your homepage
Keeping product information up-to-date across your site
Making sure customers can find specific items easily
To remedy this, you can use automation tools to help manage your inventory display. Set rules for which products appear in featured spots based on factors like stock levels, profit margins, and popularity. Omnisend’s omnichannel marketing automation can help you promote the right products to the right customers at the right time.
Balancing personalization with privacy
Customers want personalized experiences, but they also worry about their privacy. Finding this balance can be challenging when:
You want to show customers products based on their browsing history
You need to collect data to improve your merchandising strategy
Customers are increasingly concerned about how their data is used
To balance personalization with privacy, be transparent about how you use customer data. Only collect what you truly need, and always use it to benefit the customer first. Focus on collecting zero-party data, which is information customers willingly share with you. This could include loyalty program data, email signups, and responses to polls and feedback forms.
Keeping up with changing customer expectations
Customer expectations change quickly. What worked last year might not work today, and you might face challenges like:
Adapting to new shopping behaviors
Staying current with design trends
Competing with bigger stores with larger budgets
To solve this, make testing and learning a regular part of your business. Set up simple A/B tests to try new ecommerce merchandising ideas with a portion of your traffic before rolling them out fully.
Pay attention to your abandoned cart data. It often reveals where your ecommerce merchandising is falling short.
Making mobile merchandising work
Creating a great merchandising experience on small screens isn’t easy. You might struggle with:
Fitting enough products on a phone screen without overwhelming users
Making product details visible without requiring too much scrolling
Ensuring search and navigation work smoothly on touchscreens
Consider designing your mobile experience first, then expand it for larger screens. Focus on the essentials: clear images, easy-to-tap buttons, and simplified navigation. Test your store on various mobile devices to catch problems before your customers do.
Wrap up
One of the key aspects that makes an online store successful is ecommerce merchandising. When you put these strategies into practice, you’ll see more visitors turning into customers and more first-time buyers becoming loyal advocates for your brand.
Start by focusing on the basics: clear product presentations, intuitive navigation, and honest customer reviews. Then, build on that foundation with personalized recommendations, smart pricing strategies, and targeted cross-selling.
Remember that good ecommerce merchandising is an ongoing process. Your customers’ needs and preferences will keep changing, and your store will thrive if you continue testing, learning, and improving how you present your products.
Use Omnisend’s automation features to bring in more sales with your ecommerce merchandising strategy
An ecommerce site merchandiser decides how products are presented, organized, and promoted in an online store. They choose which products to highlight, how to group items into categories, what sales to run, and how to display everything on the site. They make it as easy as possible for customers to find and buy products.
2. What is the difference between ecommerce merchandising and retail merchandising?
Retail merchandising uses physical space, store layouts, and displays to sell products. Ecommerce merchandising uses website design, product images, search functionality, and personalization to achieve the same goals.
Because online stores can track customer behavior much more precisely, they can change their merchandising instantly, whereas physical stores are limited by their actual space and layout.
3. What are the four types of merchandising?
The four main types of merchandising are:
— Visual merchandising (how products look and are displayed) — Product merchandising (which items to sell and how to group them) — Retail merchandising (in-store tactics to increase sales) — Omnichannel merchandising (strategies that create a unified shopping experience across all selling channels)
For online stores, all four types blend together to create an effective ecommerce merchandising approach.
4. What is an example of a merchandising strategy?
A common merchandising strategy is “loss leader pricing,” where you sell certain popular items at a very low profit margin to attract customers, then place higher-margin complementary products nearby.
Online, this might mean featuring deeply discounted kitchen mixers on your homepage, then showing visitors optional attachments and accessories that have better profit margins when they view the mixer product page.
Karolina is a content project manager and team lead at Omnisend, where she blends creative strategy with a keen focus on competitive intelligence. Outside of work, Karolina finds balance through her love of gardening, exploring new hiking trails, biking, and raising a bunch of boys.
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