The strategies for selling merchandise have become more important than ever. We have already seen the effect on retail stores since the COVID-19 pandemic began. However, we have seen the rise of eCommerce in recent years as eCommerce sales have almost doubled compared to their numbers before the pandemic. Despite the success, the in-person experience will always be the one that a retailer prioritizes the most.
If you are willing to start your online business right away, you don’t need to look further than Strikingly. Once you complete the sign-up process on our platform, you will be under our free plan, which will enable you to go through the distinctive features to establish your professional website. Once you select the best Strikingly template, your desired website will become a reality within a couple of minutes.
What is Merchandising?
If you are an entrepreneur, you must regard merchandising as an essential aspect of building your online presence. Making or selling merchandise is defined as everything related to promoting and selling eCommerce products once a visitor enters your physical store or lands on your website. When we talk about merchandising, we solely talk about the eCommerce products available to be bought.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
As online sales usually start with visuals, merchandising enables the products to be displayed in a visually appealing light to encourage sales. Through promotional offers, merchandising takes all the steps to increase online sales. In another definition, merchandising is putting the products on sale at the right place, at the right price, and at the right time to increase online sales. The store owners make their products such a source of attraction that it encourages the visitors to come to their store and make purchases.
Importance of Merchandising
1. Attracts Customers
By making merchandise, you will make your store a source of attraction to your visitors. As a result, you will see an increase in visitors who consider your store and purchase products from it. Once you can attract a considerable number of visitors to your store, it will automatically result in an increased number of sales. Merchandising should begin externally, where the visitor decides about entering the store or not.
Manicured ground, an ideal parking lot, and a consistent retail structure will be some of the most critical factors in determining the visitors’ decision. The visitors will then decide whether they should consider making a trip to the store or the store doesn’t meet their expectations. In terms of the presentation, actions should always speak louder than words to attract customers. Once the customers are inside your shop, their decisions will be based on your branding tactics, price tactics, and interior merchandising.
2. Impact on Online Sales
As we have described previously, once you understand how to make merch, it will impact your online sales. When you sell merchandise, you will have a chance to positively impact your retail sales. After all, it is the prime objective of any business strategy. When we talk about improving the customers’ experience, we discuss the following factors:
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
- Pricing
- Website images (Visuals)
- Product packaging
- Sale signs
- Promotional marketing
Effective merchandising tactics enable the users to get the most out of the same retail price. The customers will not just be attracted to your products but will also consider returning to your store once you bring new products to the market. Strikingly has always supported its users in terms of increasing online sales. We enable our users to create a formidable eCommerce website by customizing one of our given website templates. Secondly, we provide them with an effective order management system that enables them to keep check-and-balance of all the invoices and purchasing conducted by the customers.
Tips for Merchandising
1. Use Ideal Branding Tactics
When you make your own merchandise, you shouldn’t think that your store is now the finished article. There is still a lot of work to be done to get to your desired level. One of the steps you must take concerning building your brand image. A compelling brand image is always ideal for merchandising. It creates a good impression within the eyes of the consumers and gives them reasons to return to your shop again.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
If you struggle to create a brand image for your business, you can go through all the other websites established on Strikingly. By doing competitor analysis, you will have a better idea about your branding tactics. One of the key features that we provide is live chat support which can be beneficial in building a brand image for your business. This will enable you to consider the queries of those customers in your shop. Apple is one brilliant example in terms of brand image. No one would have guessed that a bitten apple logo would become a trademark in the world like it is today.
2. Use Technology
When it comes to selling merchandise, the tactics are no longer what they were 20 or 30 years ago. The evolution of technology has changed how users conduct their business steps. Therefore, you shouldn’t think otherwise and try to bring technology into your working plans. Make sure that you consider the power of social media when it comes to expanding the reach of your market. You can create promotions related to your limited-time offers, events, sales, etc.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website.
You can go through other established websites and conduct data analysis on their steps to do merchandising. You can create effective banner images or capture stunning images to attract potential customers. Strikingly enables you to include social media accounts in the form of icons so that the traffic coming from your social media accounts will go directly to the homepage of your online shop. If they find your shop attractive, they may become repeat customers.
3. Appropriate Color Scheme
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
If you have an ideal plan related to your color scheme, it will only help your business to evolve considerably. An effective color scheme will enable you to sell your merchandise more frequently, which will result in increased revenue. Color psychology provokes emotions, creates moods, complements eCommerce products, etc. If you want to implement the best color scheme for your Strikingly website, make sure that you go through the following steps:
- Include your brand’s standout colors to make your color scheme unique
- Include attractive colors that catch the attention of your visitors straight away
- Don’t overuse the colors for the sake of online sales or it may come back to bite you
4. Cross Merchandising
Cross merchandising is one of the most effective ways to make your voice heard related to your merchandise. By adopting this strategy, you will increase your online sales and retain your current customers. The objective of cross-merchandising is to relate two eCommerce products, which helps them create an association to drive sales. However, your combinations should have a meaning behind them. You cannot expect an increase in sales if you combine a watch with a television.
For example, if you run a shop related to sports products, you can create a connection between a tennis racket and a wristband. Similarly, if you run a gaming website, you can create a connection between a gaming console and headphones. It is important to note that many gaming companies have started incorporating headphones into their gaming consoles. In such combinations, you can create promotions, such as “buy one and get on one 50% discount”, to attract customers.
5. Give Direction to Customers
If your customers are new to your business website, it is unlikely that they will understand your setup related to your merchandise right away. Therefore, you must assist them by providing directions or signs around your shelves and displays. You will give your customers a clear idea about the product they want in a specified price range through directional advertising. We believe that signs are the best form of instructing people about eCommerce products and potential feature releases.
Conclusion
It takes a lot of time and effort to create a solid and stable merchandising plan. However, if you rely on the best website builders and have the best tools available, you can see the positive results of merchandising very soon. Strikingly is arguably the best platform for you to attract potential buyers. The product showcase feature on Strikingly enables you to provide a clear description and photos of the product you are selling.
If you are struggling to find a business idea or struggling to spread your word, it is better if you build a professional website. Strikingly provides you with a collection of website templates that enables the users to select the best one per their niche idea. Once you are done with the customization, you can start to make your own merchandise and leave your mark in the digital world.
