eCommerce Merchandising Strategy: 10 Proven Tactics to Boost Online Sales

Key takeaways 

• Well-executed eCommerce merchandising strategies can dramatically improve conversion rates and boost average order values. 
• An effective eCommerce promotion strategy directly increases sales and customer retention. 
• Understanding customer behavior through data analysis is foundational to creating successful product presentations. 
• Conversion-optimized category pages and advanced search functionality directly impact your bottom line. 
• Visual merchandising elements including high-quality images and strategic layout design drive purchasing decisions. 
• Measuring the right key performance indicators allows you to iterate and continuously improve your merchandising approach. 

Introduction

Picture this: A customer lands on your WooCommerce store, browses three products, then disappears forever. Sound familiar? 

Here’s the hard truth: Most visitors will abandon your site without buying anything. Not because your products aren’t great, but because your merchandising isn’t compelling enough to guide them to checkout. 

Your competitors aren’t just other online stores. They’re Netflix shows, Instagram influencer marketing feeds and every notification fighting for your customer’s attention. When someone visits your store, your window to impress them is tiny – we’re talking seconds, not minutes. 

That’s where a smart eCommerce merchandising strategy changes everything. It transforms your store from a static product catalog into a dynamic sales engine that captures interest and drives purchases. 

In this guide, you’ll discover 10 proven merchandising tactics used by top-performing stores. These strategies boost conversions and increase order values without overwhelming your visitors.  

Ready to turn browsers into buyers? Let’s dive in. 

What makes a successful eCommerce merchandising strategy? 

A successful eCommerce merchandising strategy helps customers easily discover, trust and buy your products. It blends compelling visuals, strategic product placements and data-driven insights to guide shoppers toward purchases. 

Here’s what makes it successful: 

• Visual appeal: Products must look attractive and professional. 
• Strategic placement: Best-selling and high-margin items should be easy to find. 
• Data-driven decisions: Merchandising should rely on customer behavior and purchase trends. 
• Consistency: Product images, descriptions, and messaging must stay uniform across all channels. 
• Trust-building content: Clear, accurate details create buyer confidence and loyalty. 

When you combine these elements, you create a seamless shopping experience that drives higher conversions and long-term growth. 

In 2025, Salsify’s Consumer Research Report highlights that 87% of shoppers are willing to pay more for products from brands they trust. This trust is cultivated through consistent, accurate and engaging product content across all channels. 

This highlights why good merchandising matters. It’s not just about making your site look nice. It’s about creating connections that drive long-term growth for your eCommerce business. 

Also read: Top eCommerce Growth Strategies for 2025: Boost Sales Fast 

How can you improve your eCommerce merchandising strategy? 

Strategic merchandising turns casual browsers into paying customers. The right tactics applied across your store can dramatically increase conversion rates and revenue. 

Merchandising tactic	Key benefit	Primary focus area
Analyze customer behavior data	Understand what your customers actually want	Analytics
Strategically feature products and bundles	Increase average order value	Product selection
Optimize category and product pages	Improve navigation and discovery	Site structure
Enhance search functionality	Help customers find products faster	User experience
Implement AI personalization	Create customized shopping experiences	Technology
Design persuasive product detail pages	Convert product views to purchases	Conversion
Create conversion-focused homepage	Make strong first impressions	Branding
Balance SEO with user experience	Drive organic traffic that converts	Traffic Generation
A/B test merchandising elements	Discover what actually works	Optimization
Track performance metrics	Make data-driven improvements	Measurement

Each of these tactics addresses a specific aspect of the customer journey. By implementing them strategically, you can create a seamless shopping experience that naturally guides visitors toward purchase decisions. 

Let’s explore ten proven tactics to enhance your eCommerce merchandising strategy and boost your sales performance. 

1. Know your target audience with behavioral data 

The foundation of effective merchandising starts with understanding who your potential customers are and how they interact with your store. Without this knowledge, your merchandising decisions are essentially guesswork. 

Start by implementing these data collection methods: 

• Install Google Analytics and connect it to your WooCommerce store to track visitor behavior patterns. 
• Use heat mapping tools like Hotjar or Crazy Egg to visualize exactly where visitors click and how far they scroll. 
• Implement customer surveys at strategic points in the shopping journey to gather customer feedback. 
• Analyze purchase history to identify trends in product preferences and buying frequency. 

Many website builders allow you to link Google Analytics directly to your site. This creates a unified dashboard for monitoring visitor behavior. 

Also read: How to Choose the Best eCommerce Website Builder in 2025 

With this data, you can develop detailed customer personas that inform everything from product selection to page layout.  

For example, your data might show that a significant portion of your target customers use mobile devices and typically browse during evening hours. Based on this, you can optimize your mobile experience and schedule promotions for peak engagement times. 

2. Choose the right products and bundles 

Not all products deserve equal prominence in your online store. Smart merchandising involves strategically highlighting items that resonate with your target market while also meeting your business objectives. 

Here’s how to select the right products to feature: 

• Analyze best sellers to identify what’s already working, then give these items prime visibility. 
• Examine profit margins to promote high-margin products that contribute most to your bottom line. 
• Consider seasonality to feature products that align with current industry trends or holidays. 
• Evaluate inventory levels to highlight products you need to move before restocking. 

Product bundling is another powerful merchandising tactic. This includes combining complementary items at a slightly discounted price, which can increase average order value while providing added value to customers. 

If you’re using WordPress with WooCommerce for your online store, you’ll find several built-in tools to implement effective product bundling strategies. WooCommerce offers several bundling options like: 

• Product Bundles extension for creating fixed bundles with a single price 
• WooCommerce Composite Products for allowing customers to build their own bundles 
• YITH WooCommerce Product Bundles for creating dynamic bundling options 

To implement these bundling strategies effectively, you need reliable hosting that can handle the additional complexity. Bluehost eCommerce Premium plan includes up to $2,500 worth of premium plugins and tools specifically designed for WooCommerce stores.

This comprehensive package provides advanced inventory management capabilities that make product bundling strategies much easier to implement and manage. 

Want to see how much you could save while unlocking powerful bundling capabilities? 

When implementing bundles, focus on logical combinations that enhance the customer experience as part of your broader eCommerce marketing strategy.

For example, if you sell cameras, bundle the camera body with a starter lens, memory card and carrying case. This offers a complete solution that solves multiple problems at once. 

3. Build conversion-optimized product pages 

Category and product pages are the backbone of your eCommerce store navigation structure and often receive more traffic than individual product pages. Optimizing these pages can significantly impact your ability to generate sales. 

Follow these best practices for high-converting product pages: 

• Use clear, benefit-driven category names that instantly communicate value to visitors. 
• Implement faceted navigation with filters that help customers narrow down options based on attributes they care about. 
• Design with a visual hierarchy that guides the eye to featured products first. 
• Include category-specific promotional banners that highlight current offers or collections. 
• Optimize for mobile users with touch-friendly filters and responsive layouts. 

For WooCommerce stores specifically, the YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter plugin allow customers to filter products without page reloads. This creates a smoother, more intuitive browsing experience. 

Remember to limit the number of products displayed per page—showing too many options can lead to decision paralysis.

A study by Baymard Institute shows that the ideal number of products to load by default varies by more than a factor of 10. That said, you should test different configurations to find what works best for your specific audience. 

4. Enhance product discovery with searchandising and SEO strategy 

“Searchandising” combines search functionality with merchandising principles to improve product discovery. Nosto Study highlights that 69% of all shoppers go straight to the search bar, and visitors who use site search are 2-3 times more likely to convert compared to non-searchers. This makes search optimization a critical revenue opportunity. 

Implement these searchandising techniques: 

• Add autocomplete suggestions that show popular products as customers type. 
• Use synonym mapping to ensure customers find products even when they use alternative terms. 
• Promote specific products in search results based on margin, inventory levels or promotional priorities. 
• Allow filtering within search results to help customers refine their options. 
• Include visual search results with product thumbnails to increase engagement. 

If you’re running a WooCommerce store, you’ll find several search plugins with advanced capabilities. These include live search results, search by SKU and the ability to prioritize certain products in results. 

Also read: The Best WooCommerce Plugins to Boost Your Online Store’s Performance and Functionality 

To maximize the effectiveness of your search function and improve your search engine optimization, regularly analyze your search data to identify: 

• Most common search terms for keyword research 
• Searches that return zero results (indicating potential inventory gaps) 
• Search abandonment rates (when users search but don’t click on results) 

This information provides valuable insights into customer intent and can help you adjust your inventory, product names and product descriptions. Use these insights to better match how customers are searching for your products, both on your site and through search engines. 

5. Use AI-powered personalization strategies 

Personalization has evolved from a nice-to-have feature to an essential component of eCommerce marketing tactics. According to McKinsey’s 2025 insights, 71% of customers expect personalized experiences, and 76% express frustration when they don’t receive them.

This underscores the critical role of personalization in enhancing customer satisfaction and retention.   

Modern AI tools make personalization more accessible for online stores of all sizes: 

• Add product recommendations based on browsing history. 
• Show recently viewed items to help customers continue shopping. 
• Create personalized homepages with relevant categories. 
• Send abandoned cart emails with custom recommendations. 
• Tailor product descriptions to specific customer segments. 

Start with simple personalization techniques like showing “Customers also bought” sections on product pages. You can then gradually implement more sophisticated approaches as you gather more customer data.

Even basic personalization can significantly improve the customer experience and increase conversion rates. 

6. Craft visually persuasive PDPs with social proof 

Product Detail Pages (PDPs) are where purchase decisions happen, making them critical conversion points in your merchandising strategy. A well-designed PDP addresses customer concerns, highlights benefits and creates an urgency to buy. 

Essential elements of high-converting PDPs include: 

• High-quality product images from multiple angles 
• Benefit-focused product descriptions that show value 
• Clear pricing information with visible discounts 
• Prominent call-to-action buttons in contrasting colors 
• Trust indicators like reviews and security badges as social proof 
• Shipping and return policies to address concerns 
• Stock availability to create purchase urgency 

For WooCommerce stores, consider enhancing your PDPs with these plugin types: 

• Zoom magnifier plugins for improved product image viewing 
• Enhanced review plugins for better customer testimonials and user-generated content 
• Gallery slider plugins for a smoother image browsing experience 

Remember to A/B test different PDP layouts, image styles and button text to determine what resonates best with your audience. Small changes like button color or product description format can sometimes yield significant improvements in conversion rates. 

7. Create a conversion-focused homepage to build brand awareness 

Your homepage creates the first impression for most potential customers. It’s a crucial element in your eCommerce promotion strategy. A well-designed homepage guides visitors toward buying. It also communicates your brand’s unique value. 

Also read: Essential Guide to Building the Best eCommerce Website in 2025 

Incorporate these elements in your homepage design: 

• Clear, benefit-driven headline that immediately communicates your unique selling proposition 
• Intuitive navigation with logical category organization and integration with your social media platforms 
• Featured product sections highlighting bestsellers, new arrivals or promotional items 
• Social proof elements such as customer testimonials or media mentions 
• Promotional banners that draw attention to current offers without overwhelming visitors 
• Newsletter signup to capture email addresses from visitors not ready to purchase 

Many WooCommerce themes now offer drag-and-drop blocks to create customized homepage sections. No coding expertise needed. These pre-designed elements are specifically optimized for eCommerce conversions. 

When designing your homepage, prioritize clarity over creativity. While visually appealing elements are important, they should never interfere with the user experience. Your visitors need to quickly understand what you offer and how to find what they’re looking for. 

8. Optimize your content marketing strategy for search engine optimization 

Effective merchandising isn’t just about what happens on your site. It’s also about ensuring customers can find your products through various marketing channels, including search engines.

Integrating SEO best practices with user experience considerations creates a powerful combination for driving both organic traffic and conversions. 

Implement these on-page SEO and UX optimization techniques: 

• Research and incorporate relevant keywords in product titles, descriptions and category pages. 
• Create unique product descriptions rather than using manufacturer-provided content. 
• Implement structured data markup to enhance search engine results appearances with rich snippets. 
• Optimize site speed to reduce bounce rates and improve search rankings. 
• Use descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords. 
• Ensure mobile-friendly design throughout the shopping experience. 
• Implement breadcrumb navigation to improve orientation. 

For WordPress users, tools like Yoast SEO and Yoast WooCommerce SEO provide comprehensive options for optimizing your store’s content. These plugins help improve search engine rankings while maintaining excellent user experience. 

Remember that search engine algorithms increasingly prioritize user experience signals, such as bounce rate and time on site, when determining rankings. This means that creating a smooth, intuitive shopping experience isn’t just good for conversions—it’s essential for visibility as well. 

9. A/B test everything and iterate based on data 

The most successful eCommerce businesses understand that optimization is an ongoing process, not a one-time effort. A/B testing allows you to make data-driven decisions about everything from page layouts to product descriptions. 

Consider testing these elements in your WooCommerce store as part of your eCommerce marketing strategy: 

• Product page layouts to determine which design drives more conversions 
• Call-to-action button text, color and placement to find the most compelling combination 
• Product image styles to see which visual presentation resonates with your audience 
• Pricing display options to understand how different presentations impact purchase decisions 
• Homepage hero sections to identify which messaging drives more engagement 

Also read: How to Write Irresistible Call-to-Actions that Convert 

Several tools can help with A/B testing in WooCommerce: 

• Google Optimize for free website testing capabilities 
• Nelio A/B Testing for WooCommerce for specialized eCommerce testing 
• Split Hero for visual page builder testing 

When conducting A/B tests, focus on one variable at a time and ensure you run tests long enough to gather statistically significant data. Small sample sizes can lead to misleading conclusions, so patience is key to effective testing. 

10. Track performance and iterate with key performance indicators 

To continually improve your eCommerce marketing strategy, you need to measure its effectiveness using relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The right metrics help you identify what’s working, what isn’t and where to focus your optimization efforts. 

Important eCommerce merchandising KPIs include: 

• Conversion rate by product, category and overall store 
• Average order value to measure upselling and cross-selling effectiveness 
• Cart abandonment rate to identify potential friction points 
• Product page bounce rate to evaluate product presentation effectiveness 
• Search utilization rate to understand how customers find products 
• Time to purchase to measure the efficiency of your conversion funnel 
• Return rate to gauge product satisfaction and description accuracy 

Set up a regular cadence for reviewing these metrics—weekly for high-level numbers and monthly for more in-depth analysis. Use these insights to make iterative improvements to your merchandising strategy, focusing on addressing the most significant opportunities for improvement. 

Want faster results? Start with these top 5 quick wins 

If you’re short on time or just getting started, focus on these high-impact tactics from the list above. They’re easy to implement and deliver fast results for your eCommerce merchandising strategy. 

• Use heatmaps and analytics to understand real user behavior before making changes. 
• Bundle high-margin products using WooCommerce extensions to boost order value. 
• Add AI-driven product recommendations for better personalization and engagement. 
• Optimize category pages with filters and mobile-first layouts for smooth navigation. 
• Test CTA buttons and product images to increase conversions with minimal effort. 

What are the recommended eCommerce marketing tools and plugins? 

Now that we’ve explored effective merchandising strategies, let’s look at specific tools to help you implement these approaches on your WooCommerce store. The right plugins can dramatically simplify the process of optimizing your merchandising efforts. 

Here are ten essential tools to consider for your eCommerce store: 

1. Product filter plugins: Create sophisticated filtering options that improve product discovery and help customers find exactly what they need. 
2. Wishlist functionality: Allow customers to save products for later consideration, increasing return visits and conversion opportunities. 
3. Product comparison tools: Enable side-by-side product comparisons to help customers make informed purchase decisions. 
4. Promotional campaign builders: Build targeted cross-selling opportunities and social media marketing integrations that increase average order value. 
5. Customer loyalty program tools: Implement rewards systems that encourage repeat purchases and strengthen customer relationships. 
6. SEO optimization tools: Optimize product content for search engines to drive more organic traffic to your product pages. 
7. Heatmap analytics: Analyze user behavior with visual data to identify opportunities for layout improvements. 
8. eCommerce analytics: Track detailed sales metrics to measure the impact of your merchandising strategies. 
9. Enhanced review systems: Improve product reviews with photos and voting features to build stronger social proof. 
10. Product bundling solutions: Create compelling product combinations that solve customer problems and increase order value. 

Many hosting providers offer WooCommerce-specific plans that include some of these tools as part of their packages. This can provide an integrated solution without requiring separate subscriptions for each functionality. 

How can Bluehost help maximize your eCommerce promotion strategy? 

You’ve learned powerful merchandising tactics to boost your online sales. Now you need a reliable foundation to implement these strategies effectively. This is where Bluehost’s specialized eCommerce solutions come into play. 

Bluehost eCommerce Premium plan gives you advanced merchandising tools without needing a developer. Specifically, our plan includes premium WooCommerce plugins that match the tactics we discussed: 

• Product presentation tools that create side-by-side comparisons and advanced filtering options 
• WonderCart for easily implementing your bundling strategies and promotional campaigns 
• YITH tools for building customer loyalty with wishlists and personalized experiences 
• Yoast SEO suite that optimizes your product pages for maximum search visibility 

Also read: WordPress Solutions: Bluehost eCommerce Premium 

The built-in staging environment lets you safely test different merchandising layouts before pushing them live. This means you can test different approaches without risking your conversion rate. 

When you’re ready to amplify your merchandising efforts, our Digital Marketing Services can take your strategy further. Our team analyzes your competitors’ digital presence and builds custom marketing campaigns to help your products stand out.  

You’ll also receive ongoing performance insights through a user-friendly dashboard that tracks visitor metrics and conversion data. 

Final thoughts 

Your online store needs more than just great products to succeed. Success depends on how well you guide visitors from interest to purchase. The right merchandising strategy turns browsers into buyers and one-time shoppers into loyal fans. 

Throughout this guide, we’ve uncovered tactics that actually work in the real world. No theory. No fluff. These are just practical approaches you can implement right now. 

Start small. Focus on understanding your customers first. Then make one improvement at a time – better product pages, smarter recommendations or more intuitive search. Test, measure and refine as you go. 

The difference between struggling stores and thriving ones often comes down to how products are presented and discovered. You now have the blueprint to get this right. 

Don’t let your WooCommerce store underperform another day. Bluehost eCommerce Premium plan includes everything you need to implement these strategies effectively – from lightning-fast hosting to built-in optimization tools that make merchandising simple. 

Contact us at 888-401-4678 and find out how we can transform your online store. 

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