This is the age of unprecedented eCommerce boom. In 2016 etailers across the globe sold $22.049 trillion worth of products and services.Global internet sales are expected to cross $27 trillion in 2020.
With the growing penetration of mobile phone and internet, the growth in the number of online shoppers as well as ecommerce stores is inevitable. However, to create an online store is easy but sustaining growth and scaling up an e-business is not child’s play.
With growing number of players entering the ecommerce market competition is inevitable. To survive and be a success in this highly competitive field is all about strategizing and employing the best techniques to attract, engage and retain customers.
With every other online seller offering freebies and discounts, it is not easy to tap the potential customer easily. Boosting conversions needs truly out of the box thinking that effectively targets and converts the ready to buy customers. For this, etailers should aim to convert the visitors in their very first visit by offering seamless shopping experience.
Organising and grouping products in multiple categories with simple and easy website navigation design facilitate better and faster search leading to quicker conversions. This also helps the customers in making informed decisions which result in lower cart abandonment and returns.
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Multi-tier categorization of products is a shortcut to boosts sales in a sure but subtle way. Let’s see how it works,
Better Display with Category Hierarchy
Arranging products in a hierarchical category makes for a better display which offers ease of shopping to the customer. Let’s take for example a website which showcases women’s garments. The site can display products by opting for multi tier category in ecommerce as below;
Tier 1: Women’s Dresses
Tier 2: Summer Dresses
Tier 3: Summer Skirts
Tier 4: A-line Skirts
This taxonomy can go even deeper thus giving the customer narrowed down choices which help in faster review and selection of products leading to conversions.
Grouping by Brands for Faceted Search
Online stores can also use grouping by brands, prices or any other attribute to facilitate the faceted or navigational search. This system also depends on category hierarchy and helps users in choosing within a predetermined range of categories. The user can type a simple query and then use ecommerce navigation to refine the search and zero down on the exact product.Time saved on search often helps in leading the customer to checkout.
Same Product Multiple Categories
Another great advantage of having multi tier categories is that you can highlight a product under multiple categories and increase its potential to be noticed and sold. For example, suppose a chequered shirt is listed in “Men’s Wear” category. The same shirt can be listed in “New Arrivals”, Best Sellers”, “Cotton Comfort” and many other categories making it reappear in multiple searches thus improving ecommerce navigation and chances of conversion.
More Choices with Product Variant
Hierarchical navigation can be further enhanced with displaying product variants or options. However , just displaying the product variants can be of little value in terms of conversion if the variants are not displayed in an engaging manner it might not retain customer interest.
To give a new look and feel to the product the product variant should have the option to be displayed drop down, swatch, radio or any other way. This offers the customers choice and statistics prove that with more options customers usually tend to convert better.
Simple Navigation, Quick Conversion
The biggest advantage of multi tier category in ecommerce is that it reduces search time. Online shoppers are known to be impatient and if searching takes too much time they get bored. This leads to high rate of cart abandonment and hence lost sales potential.
Simple navigation with category hierarchy, on the other hand, reduces search time and allows customers to narrow to their exact choice which they are ready to buy instantly.
Conclusion
Keeping a complex catalouge simple, easy to manage and navigate is required to engage and convert customers. Multi level categories do a great service here by helping in achieving this and boosting the sales of an online business.
However, not every ecommerce platform has this inbuilt feature which makes it difficult to achieve simple navigation. StoreHippo, the top ecommerce platform which has been built to facilitate better sales has multi tier categories included in all its plans.
Explore the goodness of StoreHippo store by starting your 14-day free trial today.
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