Online Merchandizing Tips From TigerDirect
Five merchandizing tips everyone can use from a top online retailer.
Five merchandizing tips everyone can use from a top online retailer.
We looked at several e-tailers’ approaches to online merchandising last week. One company has pushed the limits of online merchandising and is willing to share some of its best tips. TigerDirect.com is one of the most-visited consumer electronics sites on the Web, with sales exceeding $350 million. Shoppers spend an average of 12 minutes on the site with an average ticket of over $200.
Lonny Paul is director of e-commerce at TigerDirect. He offered me a glimpse into the site’s merchandising future, as well as five tips everyone can use.
Paul’s merchandising philosophy should resonate with this column’s readers. He believes consumers want to have control of their shopping experience and don’t want the pressures of a salesperson online. He believes consumers deserve many pieces of information they may be looking for to make a confident and educated buying decision.
Based on this premise, TigerDirect tries to offer consumers every possible bit of information they may want or need. It even responds to every customer inquiry one on one.
TigerDirect puts a lot of thinking behind its navigation. It makes extensive use of its Web analytics solution and has a whole team dedicated to online merchandising, including several photographers and photo touch-up artists. It even note features on the photos (scroll down the page to view).
Most products feature several tabs of information. One tab offers an extensive product info write-up that details features marked on the images, plus information on what’s in the box and detailed specs. Another tab offers a photo gallery, which includes enlargeable pictures of the product from just about every angle. Other tabs offer detailed specs, warranty information, additional resources, and recommended accessories.
The company recently added customer reviews to specific products. That’s a lot of work for each product. What’s the return on investment (ROI) for such hard work?
Paul explains, “TigerDirect was recently ranked the number 22 retailer by Internet Retailer Magazine. This ranking isn’t based off of industry specialists — this is actual consumer response speaking. Consumers are glad to have TigerDirect as not only a place to shop but as an informational resource. And it’s only going to get better!”
Here are Paul’s five tips:
A few more tidbits: Paul’s team spends a lot of time deciding where to exhibit products in multiple categories. That’s because people look for the same products in different categories. Last time you were at Home Depot, did you notice WD-40 is all over the store? Of course, TigerDirect spends a great deal of time working with Web analytics and other tools to monitor how consumers use the site, then uses that information to modify and optimize the experience.
There are only 162 days until Christmas. Is your merchandizing all it needs to be?
Meet Bryan at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose. Also, join us at ClickZ’s upcoming AdForum.