eCom-Merchandising: Tips for Creating E-tail Displays That Convert to Sales
by Carrie Hinkel on January 24th, 2008
According to Clickz.com, internet users only spend an average of 46 seconds on a web page. In other words, time is of the essence when trying to capture an online visitors’ attention. Once you have a visitor on your site, you just need to show them that you have what they’re looking for. Your goal is to extend that 46 seconds as long as you can – keeping visitors interested enough to stay, look around and then hopefully make a purchase.
A new way for retail websites to capture a visitor’s interest is by creating unique e-tail displays (let’s call it eCom-merchandising ). Just like a brick-and-mortar store uses eye-catching product display cases and tables to get customers to take a look, online stores can do the same with graphics, pictures, colors and fonts.
How to create effective e-tail displays for your online store
Get the homepage advantage – Your homepage is your storefront, so when visitors arrive at your website, they should be able to determine what it is you sell within ten seconds. Most web surfers don’t have the patience or desire to hunt around your site to figure it out. If it’s not obvious on the first page, then there’s a good chance your potential customers will leave and find another site that gives them the information they’re looking for. It doesn’t take much to explain your site’s offerings: a tagline under your logo, some telling pictures of your products; just be sure that when a potential customer arrives at your site, they know they’ve found the right place. Think of it this way: if you walked into a store at the mall and couldn’t tell within 5-10 seconds what they sold, you probably wouldn’t stay to find out.
Know your customers – Learn all you can about your customers and use distinctive colors, logos and fonts that they will find appealing. The customers for a motorcycle accessories store would certainly be different from a site selling tea sets, and so should their e-tail displays. Perhaps the tea site’s e-tail display would have pink and purple colors, a Victorian-style font and pictures of best-selling tea sets. On the other hand, the motorcycle site might have an e-tail display with black and silver colors, bold fonts and photos of the newest chrome-plated or leather motorcycle accessories . It’s important that you show either your best-selling or newest products in your e-tail displays – something that new or returning customers can get excited about.
Think like a consumer – Overlap products in several product categories and be sure to take advantage of upsells by showing complementary products on the same page. Your e-tail displays should be organized, yet foolproof for disorganized minds. Remember, not everyone thinks the same way – what one person thinks is an obvious category A product, another might think of looking in category B or C. Test out your site by getting different friends or family members to search for certain products that you sell. If they weren’t able to find some on the first try, then you might want to think about re-organizing your product layout.
If you can get visitors to stay on your site longer than 46 seconds, then you’re doing better than average. However, an e-tail store’s success inevitably comes down to whether or not visitors are staying long enough to make a purchase. The key is making your site inviting enough for them to stay, and then convincing them that your products are desirable enough to buy. Design your site around your customers, their likes and their interests. You’ll find that catering to their needs has a direct effect on your bottom line.