How online visual merchandising helps drive sales

Transcript: So good afternoon everyone and thanks for having me my name's Eve and I'm from a company called metamorphosis and today I'm here to talk about silent selling and the art of visual merchandising and I don't know if anyone can't hear me on the back row and do we move forward or douche okay so just a brief intro on metamorphosis so basically I started metamorphosis around 1415 years ago and we specialize in visual merchandising brand delivery and retail performance and I have met your sector before and it's we work with Age UK and a few charity retailers in the south and sometimes on retail regeneration projects but I can't say I know it brilliantly but what I do know brilliantly is visual merchandising so I really hope that I can share some and tips hints skills with you today that you can take back to your stores and a metamorphosis we and we predominantly consult and train but I do do a bit of public speaking and really and we support the independent retail sector so that was our main aim and when we started and that's really because you have more control and you're able... See more →

Key quotes:

• "This is followed by social, authority and liking proof examples, showcasing customer imagery of the products and adding clout and trust to the brand."
• "Consider a homepage theme that makes your collections look similar to Pinterest and Instagram pages; these sites are engaging, easy to navigate, attractive and well known."
• "Shoe merchant Little Tree’s collection-based homepage leaves visitors with an immediate brand impression and makes it easy for customers to find what they are looking for."
• "Using a combination of collection-based and featured product merchandising on the homepage is the best of both worlds for many online brands."
• "The hero image lets visitors know what the brand is about right away, followed by three collection grids that give customers a deeper look into the brand’s story, what the soaps are made of and who some existing supporters are."
• "Regardless of the merchandising style you choose, there are other site elements every e-commerce owner should employ to ensure they are representing their brand clearly and attractively to site visitors."

Key quotes:

• "This parallel is also applicable to the retail industry where e-commerce retailers think that they can learn nothing from physical store retailers."
• "Supply Chain Innovations To Improve Delivery Shoppers are having high delivery expectations from both online and physical stores."
• "Both online and physical store retailers can make shipping experiences to be seamless and speedy in many ways."
• "Online retailers are now using in-store pickup options to improve their customer experiences."
• "In-store retailers use this strategy to create new and appealing shopping environments for their customers."
• "Managers of physical retail stores can also learn the same from online retailers."

Key quotes:

• "“…whether you’ve invested in search, merchandising, or both, the time has come to shift away from looking at both of these necessary systems as free-standing silos, and instead work toward integrating them into a seamless process that continuously learns from your buyers — a system that is worthy of continual investment and improvement.” Let’s look at some ways you can optimize on-site search for sales: According to Nacho Analytics, autocomplete can boost conversions by up to 24%."
• "Following these navigation guidelines will ensure your site isn’t in the red: Faceted search is essential for increasing conversions on broad queries — like “women’s dresses” or “laptops” — and for products with multiple features."
• "Image Credit: Vendhq.com and Urban Outfitters “Collections allow customers to self identify with the items they are looking for and dive deeper into the site for increased engagement (which will up your search rankings) and hopefully conversion.” — BigCommerce As a gereral rule, your collections should: Some retailers today are even personalizing their category pages."

Transcript: Hi there. As you build out your online shop promoting your full inventoryof products can be challenging. Here, we'll examine the best waysto promote products and special offers. We'll show you how to predictwhich products your customers might like, and help you showcase productsyour visitors might not normally see. The first stepis to set up your online shop. That way it's easy for your visitorsto browse all of your products. You’ll want to create the right hierarchyof categories and subcategories, which will help a customer navigateyour site and the products for sale. Promoting products in an online shop isn’t too differentfrom a High Street shop. Think about the last timeyou visited a furniture shop. You probably didn't just walk in and see a map of the shop's aisles pointing to wherethe products could be found. More likely, you walked inand saw a really comfy sofa near the door, that you could sink right into. Think about a bricks and mortar shop. Online shops also displayvery specific featured products. If it's the end of summerand students are going off to university, the furniture shopmight have desks or bookcases on display and on sale. This is an exampleof product merchandising. You can... See more →

Key quotes:

• "To inspire you to stand out and sell, here are proven best practices from four retail dynamos to help you boost your sales revenue to stay competitive and grow your e-commerce site so you end 2017 strong."
• "By surrounding Zara stores with upscale retail stores selling exorbitantly priced products, Zara looks significantly more affordable for products that appear somewhat similar to its neighbors’ — which motivates shoppers to buy from Zara."
• "Similarly, for your online assortment, make your products look closer to your aspirational competitors than your actual competitors so shoppers feel like they get more value when they buy from your company."
• "For instance, perhaps you can simply let customers try before they buy to prevent the hassle and time associated with product returns to improve brand trust, sales and loyalty."
• "Cosmetics giant Sephora generously offers shoppers free trials and samples to take home, the retailer encourages consumer awareness and engagement, increasing the likelihood that shoppers will like and buy their products."
• "By offering multiple products at the same time, the retailer increases the average transaction value and appeals to consumers by showing how much they save by buying the products together rather than as individual items."

Key quotes:

• "Visual merchandising presents a retailer’s physical store or e-commerce website in an enticing way to attract customers."
• "Let’s look at how timeless design principles impact shopper psychology and drive traffic and sales both in stores and online."
• "Regardless of channel, the narrative must reflect a consistent brand identity and customer-centric care from when shoppers enter the store or site to when they complete a purchase."
• "In-store and online, visibility encourages retailers to feature items that align with a unique narrative and authentic brand image, while helping shoppers easily and quickly find the items they desire."
• "Online, the e-commerce information architecture and sitemap flow help retailers prominently showcase the products that are most likely to sell to prevent the items from being buried deep in the e-commerce site."
• "Timeless tips boost omnichannel sales In the age of speed, the window dressing of visual merchandising is neither fluffy nor trivial — it is a critical business asset that drives retail conversions in stores and on e-commerce websites."