{"id":3566,"title":"The Ultimate Merchandising Guide","description":"Take your store to the next level with our expert guide on merchandising.","content":"

Merchandising 101: Ultimate guide to take your store to the next level.\u00a0<\/h2>

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We\u2019ve been chatting with our expert store building team to get the lowdown on how to make amazing looking stores that are built for success.\u00a0<\/p>

For this blog we have created a new eco-conscious surf brand called \u2018Shaka\u2019 to demonstrate the key features of making your store look amazing.<\/p>

The Homepage - first impressions count.<\/h2>

It\u2019s important to make sure all the pages on your store are presented to a high standard but if there was one page we would rank slightly higher and to put in that extra 10% on getting it right is the homepage.<\/p>

Below we are going to show you what sections you should build to create a kick-ass homepage.<\/p>

Banner slideshow<\/strong><\/h3>

Browsers will covert into your customers because you have created a brand that appeals to their values and niche. Your homepage banner is the first thing potential customers see, so it\u2019s super important that it encapsulates the spirit of your brand and the values that will turn visitors into repeat customers.\u00a0<\/p>

Here are two successful ways to create a stunning homepage banner:<\/p>

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\u2713 Beautiful lifestyle photography<\/a> or your bestselling product.<\/p><\/blockquote>

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\u2713 Cool action shot that is relevant to your brand and customer niche<\/p><\/blockquote>

Now here are two examples of where it can go wrong in this section:<\/p>

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\u2717 Lifestyle photography that is shot in a location that doesn't fit your brand.<\/p><\/blockquote>

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\u2717 Contextual photography that is off brand<\/p><\/blockquote>

Navigation Pods<\/h3>

One of the key elements of perfect ecommerce<\/a> merchandising<\/a> is navigation - your customers need to find what they\u2019re looking for otherwise they\u2019ll just move onto the next store. If your navigation isn\u2019t clean and easy to follow, you\u2019re likely to be losing out on sales.<\/p>

We want to create a straightforward route map, not a tricky treasure map.<\/p><\/blockquote>

This is the format we have found to have the most success:<\/p>

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\u2713 Simple, clear categories - making it easy for your customer to find what they\u2019re looking for, and not overwhelming them with choice.<\/p><\/blockquote>

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\u2717 Incoherent collection titles, images that are not on brand and links navigating to the wrong collection.<\/p><\/blockquote>

The Why<\/h3>

This is especially important if you are a charity using Teemill but also a cool feature for any brand.\u00a0<\/p>

Customers or supporters are likely to purchase from your store because they are emotionally invested in your values and want to support what you do. So, it\u2019s really important that this shines through on your store. The industry term for this is USP (Unique Selling Point). A USP that evokes passion and an emotional response could be a key factor on why a potential customer will decide to purchase from you and not a competitor.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Here are the best places to get your USP across on your store -<\/p>

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\u2713 A quick sentence on your homepage slideshow introducing your brand.<\/p><\/blockquote>


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\u2713 Some awesome contextual photography with a couple of paragraphs about your brand or cause. Let your passion shine through. This can be key to turn someone just browsing into a customer.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Trending Now<\/h3>

Having a dynamic layout keeps your customer engaged with the content on the page. This section is an awesome way to display your favourite or bestselling products on your homepage\u00a0 whilst achieving a nice visual break so your store doesn\u2019t become too overwhelming with large amounts of lifestyle photography. Even cooler is that once you\u2019ve added it, our AI will update it automatically for you so you don\u2019t need to.\u00a0<\/p>

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\u2713 Use the 'Dynamic Products' tool when adding this block to your homepage and the Teemill AI will automatically update to display best selling products.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Store Features<\/h3>

We have many awesome apps that you can plug-in to your store for free such as our custom design studio and product journey page. All of these apps have been designed to help you increase sales and add value to your brand so be sure to let your customers know about these by adding links on your homepage.<\/p>

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\u2713 Display store features using a 'Slideshow' block. We recommend including links to: Design Your Own, Product Journey and Blog.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Social Media<\/h3>

A good place to put the links to your social media accounts is at the bottom of your homepage. Without a doubt social media is one of the key components to running an online brand but it doesn\u2019t need to be front and centre of your store - remember your Teemill store\u2019s key goal is to keep customers on your store so that they buy a product, not gain followers, which is why we recommend having the links to your channels below your navigation and product links.<\/p>

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Call to Action<\/h3>

We recommend always linking back to your main collections<\/a> at the bottom of your homepage as a bonus round of navigation. This means that even when the customer has reached the bottom of your homepage content they have an easy link to buy your products.\u00a0<\/p>

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Collections<\/h2>

Collections are very straightforward to create and the same rules that you\u2019ve learnt from making your homepage apply. Make sure that the relevant products are in the collection as predetermined by your navigation i.e. Men\u2019s, Women\u2019s and Accessories and that the imagery you display is on brand.\u00a0<\/p>

How to make an incredible Collection page:<\/p>

Collection Banners<\/h3>

Use a beautiful lifestyle image of a bestselling product relevant to the collection you are building (or if you\u2019re just starting out use your favourite design,) <\/em>and a sentence of information about the products in the collection.<\/p>

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\u2713 Awesome lifestyle image of your best selling product<\/p><\/blockquote>

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\u2717 Contextual image that is not on brand<\/p><\/blockquote>

Lifestyle vs Flat Lay Photography<\/h3>

You can choose between two options on Teemill to display either lifestyle or flat lay photography in your collections. Both will look awesome and will not drastically hinder conversion rate<\/a>, but there are slightly better results when you display lifestyle images first. This is what we recommend.<\/p>

The key to a successful collection, and your entire store for that matter, is consistency so whether you are using flats, our AI studio photography or your own lifestyle photography keep what you are displaying on your page consistent.<\/p>

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\u2713 Display consistent on-brand lifestyle photography<\/p><\/blockquote>

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\u2717 A mix of lifestyle and flat photography will make your collection look visually unorganised.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Product sort order<\/h3>

Keeping on top of what order your products are displayed in your collections can have a huge impact on sales. We recommend updating this every two weeks at a minimum but every super-successful store checks in once a week to update their collections.\u00a0<\/p>

The key things to look out for when doing this task.<\/p>