Picture this: you’re searching for the latest red sneakers to gift your nephew for Christmas. You open a website, excited to find the perfect present, but instead of those trendy sneakers, you’re scrolling through endless pages of brown leather sandals and summer slippers. Frustrated, you leave the site without making a purchase. It’s a missed opportunity for both you and the retailer.

Now, imagine that same store uses Merchandising. The red sneakers are displayed at the top of the page, alongside matching suggestions that catch your eye. Your shopping experience is smooth, enjoyable, and before you know it, your basket is full. This subtle but crucial difference can turn a frustrating experience into a seamless customer journey, leading to higher conversion rates and satisfaction.

What is Merchandising?

But first let’s take a step back, because what exactly is Merchandising?

Merchandising in physical stores focuses on presenting products to encourage purchases through smart placement and store design.

In online retail, Merchandising is about ‘digital’ presentation. For example, how products appear on the homepage or in search results. With intelligent algorithms and personalization, online retailers can show products that match customer preferences, creating a more relevant shopping experience. The goal of Merchandising is to achieve more sales and higher customer satisfaction.

  • Outdated sorting (e.g., alphabetical order)
  • Irrelevant products, leading to frustration, endless scrolling, and poor results
  • High bounce rates, wasting your marketing budget and efforts
  • Display popular products that directly respond to customer needs
  • Prioritise high-margin items to boost profitability
  • Offer personalised recommendations that align with customers’ previous purchases

See an example of Merchandising at two different webshops. At Target, you also see other colored sneakers when you search for ‘red sneakers’. At Amazon, you only see red sneakers.

Example of search results for ‘red sneakers’ at Target and Amazon

Use cases for the holiday season

Black Friday is infamous for fierce competition, with retailers slashing prices to lure in customers. However, this can put pressure on profit margins. By leveraging merchandising to prioritise high-margin products, you can still drive profitability during the sales frenzy. Configure your system to automatically feature products that offer the highest returns, such as your own brand’s items or those with low production costs. This allows you to stand out from competitors while protecting your margins.

During the Christmas season, customers are searching for the most popular and trendy gifts for their loved ones. With merchandising, you can ensure these top-selling items, such as the latest tech gadgets or fashionable clothing, are always at the top of your product listings. This helps your customers quickly find the perfect gift, making their shopping experience more efficient and enjoyable.

Time to treat yourself: after the festive season, people are ready to indulge in a little self-care. With our Customer Data Platform Spotler Activate, you can offer hyper-personalised recommendations based on previous purchases and browsing behaviour. Whether it’s a luxury smartwatch or a new fragrance, customers will be presented with items that are tailored just for them, making their post-holiday shopping experience more rewarding and engaging.

Manual product selection: marketers take control

While automated algorithms handle much of the heavy lifting, Spotler Merchandising also offers manual product selection options, allowing marketers to fine-tune their strategy. If there’s a specific product you want to push—such as a seasonal item or a bestseller—you can manually prioritise it. This gives marketers the flexibility to blend automated recommendations with their own insights, ensuring a balance between strategic goals and customer relevance.

We are launching the new feature Merchandising in our product Spotler Activate Search and you can benefit from it before the holiday season.

Because Merchandising is an API-only release, implementing it requires technical expertise. Make sure your IT team or partner is fully prepared for the integration. If you don’t have a partner, your Acount Manager are here to help ensure a smooth implementation process.

Get your store ready for a successful holiday season and get in touch today