Are your product pages optimized for healthy e-commerce sales?
When we analyze the e-commerce sites of a brand or independent fashion retailer, we find most fall into one of two categories. There are those that don’t put enough thought into them and those who add too many unnecessary features and details. Read on for what to include, how to format your pages and other tips and tricks for digital selling success.
#1. Analyze Your E-Commerce Selling Strategy.
Whether you have a soon-to-be-launched fashion brand startup or an established independent fashion retailer, this process starts with analyzing your intentions.
- Will you be selling a single product or 50 products?
- Do you want to sell a few high-end pieces at a time or multiple lower-priced items?
Your answer will drastically affect your strategy. For example, let’s say you have a very luxurious niche brand with just a few SKUs. Your goal is to have each customer purchase a single product.
On the other hand, if you have 80 SKUs, your product pages should be formatted for the upsell. You may want to show items at the bottom of the page of the same or higher price points. You could also show alternative colors to suggest an item be purchased in more than one hue. There’s also the possibility of showing the same item in a finer fabric, such as cashmere. When you have so many SKUs, it also makes sense to cross-sell. This is when you suggest products from your other collections to recommend buying them in a group. This can mean suggesting a bottom to go with a top, sneakers to go with a bag, a hat to go with a caftan and more.
Continue your analysis based on the information above…
- Which user experience and selling strategy would be the most advantageous for your brand?
Of course if you’re only selling three products, don’t bother adding cross-sell or upsell products to your pages.
There are different apps in Shopify for upsells, time-sells and bundle selling, that can be integrated into your site. But before you decide to use one, ask yourself what makes sense given the customers of your fashion brand startup, growth stage business or independent fashion retailer. Factor in the type of engagement they desire. Never add bells and whistles superfluously, consider your customer’s intent. Sometimes these additions will cheapen what you’re doing; at other times, they’ll work for your consumer.
Your strategy will also determine other factors such as…
- Bread crumbs at the top of product pages: It’s only a good idea if you have a lot of products and categories.
- Video content: It’s expected by established brands and brands with very high-end, luxury products. However, you don’t need to worry about this as a fashion brand startup owner.
#2. Establish Your Brand Voice Direction & Optimize Copy for SEO.
Copywriting is important. This is what’s going to sell your products and capture visitors’ interests- along with the actual product imagery.
Are you going for succinct, minimal copy? Or does your brand DNA and identity call for longer, more emotional language in your communication? A lot of brand owners have difficulty with their product pages because they don’t know their messaging and voice.
Compile a list of the search keywords you want to rank for. Make sure they’re incorporated into your product descriptions. Each item should be appropriately named, including brand name, style and color in the name file. Searchable images are really important these days- for independent fashion retailer and independent brand websites alike.
#3. Strategize Your Product Images and Product Information.
Product Information
What key information do your customers need so you can make the sale?
If there’s a pair of shoes on the model, you don’t need to share what size she’s wearing. However, you should share her sizes and fit descriptions for your ready-to-wear pieces. This is especially important for new fashion brand startup businesses. Potential shoppers need detailed information to finalize their purchases.
Resist adding any and all information into your product descriptions. Only add what’s needed to close the sale. Also resist being too repetitive. If you have a banner ad at the top of your site that reads “free shipping and returns”, you don’t need to repeat it in your product copy.
Product Images
Do you always need to show your products at scale? This is always a must if you’re selling jewelry, but not necessarily so if you’re selling items such as shoes. Also, decisions such as only sharing close-ups of your ready-to-wear creates issues because no one will know what the items will look like on them.
What kinds of visual assets will you need to create? Plan ahead and work with professional fashion photographers.
#4. Resist Wildly Creative Product Pages.
Be careful with avant-garde product pages. They can definitely look great but they can really destroy your conversion rates. Here are a few pointers…
- Keep content above the fold.
- Huge high-res images create big issues with webpage loading times. Professional fashion photographers love these kinds of images, but save them for downloadable lookbooks, print catalogs and other materials.
- Design for mobile and desktop.
#5. Consider Adding These Helpful Additions.
Look at your strategy and determine if it makes sense to add any of these helpful additions.
- How to Wear It descriptions (especially useful for an independent fashion retailer, lifestyle brands with numerous SKUs…)
- Waitlist or Back in Stock notifications
- Size Guide
- A link to a Customer Service or Stylist Line
Are you ready to introduce e-commerce for your fashion brand startup, or does your current independent fashion retailer site need an overhaul? Give us a call. Our team would love to hear your unique needs to develop your next best steps and a comprehensive e-commerce strategy. Call us at 310-957-5264 or email hello@scalingretail.com.