Easy & Effective Shopify Optimisation: Part 2 Product Discovery

Today we continue our Easy & Effective Shopify Optimisation Series with Jamie Willmott, blubolt’s resident optimisation guru. Over four instalments, we’re sharing advice to help you optimise your eCommerce site. Specifically, we’ll cover optimising pop-ups, product discovery, delivery and returns, and product copy.

In part 1, we discussed easy Shopify optimisation for pop-ups on your site which you can read here. Part 2 below covers Shopify optimisation for product discovery.

Perfecting product discovery for top-notch Shopify optimisation.

An overwhelming choice of products can be one of the biggest problems to overcome. Imagine you want to buy some headphones and you were faced with the snapshot of products below. How would you choose? Would you feel exhausted and overwhelmed?

In this situation, ‘Which product is right for me?’ can swiftly become a barrier to purchase. As such, you need to have mechanisms in place to help customers make an informed decisions quickly and easily. So I’ve pulled together my top five tips for perfecting product discovery. Let’s go!

1. Finesse your filters to improve product discovery.

Let’s move on to my second tip: finessing your filters.

A. Do a fast filter check.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask some key questions:

• Are your filters working properly and are they user-friendly?
• Do your filters have logical themes that are relevant to your product range? For example, if you were searching for Bose headphones on the example below, it would be a much easier user experience to have the brand filters shown in alphabetical order.
• Have you reviewed your website analytics to see which filters are most used? For example, the ‘Perfect for’ or ‘Features’ filters shown below may get the most engagement and contribution to conversion.

Fixing your filters: as easy as A-Z.

B. Identify your popular search terms.

In order to spot new filter opportunities, you need to see what people are searching for on your website. You’ll need to check this throughout the year as new filter ideas may come about with a change of season or a launch of new product types.

I’ve had a few scenarios with clients where their top on-site search terms were things they didn’t have a filter for, so this can be rectified easily to improve the experience.

C. Testing, testing…

Lastly, conduct some quick user testing on your filters. It’s a great way to get real user feedback and uncover any UX issues that may not be obvious.

2. Subtle guidance.

Most shoppers don’t like hard sales tactics, so ensure your attempts to influence customers are considerate and appropriate. For example, use subtle nudges like bestsellers, top picks, hot right now, or low in stock to prompt action. Alternatively, highlight key features like awards, sustainable/vegan credentials as these can also help users in their decision making process.

If you’re on Shopify and don’t have development resources available, the Shopify App Store has a range of apps that could assist with this.

3. Go compare: make product comparison easy.

Customers naturally want to browse and compare a range of products options before committing to purchase so make it easier for them! Consider adding a comparison tool so users can side by side compare specifications.

For example, you can see below that electronics retailer Currys has effectively utilised a comparison tool. It even has features to highlight the key differences between the products. This example will involve some development work but it’s worth investigating your options and adding the work to your development roadmap.

Easy side by side comparison for faster decision making.

4. Popping the question: how to use quizzes.

Imagine the in-store experience: a sales assistant would ask you a series of straightforward questions to understand your requirements before recommending a product. So why not replicate this technique online?

This process is essentially an eCommerce quiz! By thoughtfully structuring your questions, you have an opportunity to engage with interactive content. As a result, customers can make choices that alter their results and personalize their experiences. A quiz can also speed up their decision-making process. And best yet, a quiz can be relevant to any product, from e-scooters, fake eyelashes and jewellery to recipes, food and drink.

Furthermore, quizzes not only help users in product discovery but also help you collect more data about your users. For example, you can link answers to your email or SMS platform to give you the ability to segment your database plus create highly targeted campaigns and sequence flows to drive conversion.

Check out quiz app options like Octane AI in the Shopify App Store.

Quiz Master: help your customers find the right product.

5. Spoilt for choice: reducing options on offer pages to avoid indecision.

Although it sounds counter-intuitive, my last tip is to reduce the number of products shown on your sale or offers landing pages.

Behavioural research shows that when consumers are presented with too many options, they have a tendency to choose nothing! This is known as the paradox of choice. By limiting the number of products shown, you are actually making the decision process a lot easier for users.

While this is a super-simple tip, it may not be suitable for every site during sale time. Do your research and test before going the whole hog!

Sale time: minimising indecision.

It’s a wrap: our product discovery tips for Shopify optimisation.

So that’s our top five tips on easy and effective product discovery: finessing your filters, being subtle with your guidance, offering product comparison tools and utilising quizzes.

In the next part of this Shopify optimisation series, we’ll cover delivery and returns. Subscribe to our social channels to be alerted as soon as posts go live.

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In the meantime, browse our client work for inspiration and our Shopify optimisation services. Or, if you need assistance with a Shopify Plus project, get in touch today. We’d love to help!