Creating a smooth and intuitive shopping experience for your customers is key to growing your business.
One often-overlooked strategy that can significantly enhance user experience and boost sales is organising your products into clear, easy-to-navigate categories. In this blog post, we’ll dive into why categorising your online store is beneficial, not just for your customers, but for your business too.
Improved user experience
When customers land on your ecommerce site, they want to find what they’re looking for quickly and without hassle. Well-defined categories make this possible. By grouping similar products together, your visitors are able to locate items quicker, whether they’re looking for a specific product or just browsing. This logical structure reduces frustration, increases the time users spend on your site, and ultimately enhances the chances of conversion.
For example, if you run a clothing store, having distinct categories like “Women’s Clothing,” “Men’s Clothing,” “Kids,” and “Accessories” allows customers to narrow down their search easily. Further sub-categorisation into “Dresses,” “Shirts,” “Pants,” etc., guides shoppers to exactly what they need, making for a seamless shopping experience.
Little Big Shop makes managing categories and sub-categories simple for business owners; and navigating shops super intuitive for customers!
Shopping the “Flowers + Vases” category – rather than navigating through all products – makes navigating online shops so much easier!
Boosted search engine optimisation (SEO)
Product categories can also play a significant role in your SEO strategy. Each category page can be optimised with targeted keywords, product descriptions, and meta tags that help search engines understand your site structure. When a potential customer searches for a specific type of product (e.g., “organic skincare for sensitive skin”), having a dedicated category page for that product type increases the likelihood of your site appearing in search results.
Well-structured categories also reduce bounce rates (which is when customers simply view a site, and do not take action like making a purchase). This is because customers are more likely to stay and browse if they can quickly find what they’re after. This is also a positive signal to search engines, further boosting your site’s rankings.
Enhanced product discoverability
Organising products into categories encourages customers to explore more of what your store has to offer. If a customer clicks into a “Sports Equipment” category, they may initially be looking for yoga mats but end up discovering resistance bands and workout clothing too. This increased exposure to related products can lead to higher order values and increased cross-selling opportunities.
A well-organised store layout not only helps customers find what they’re searching for but also introduces them to products they might not have considered, creating a richer shopping experience.
Streamlined marketing and promos
Categories make running targeted promotions easier. You can create category-specific discounts (e.g., “10% off all electronics”) or feature certain categories on your homepage to drive attention to seasonal items or bestsellers. This approach personalises the shopping experience for customers and gives you more flexibility in how you present your products.
Additionally, email campaigns can benefit from categories. Instead of sending generic promotions, you can tailor content to specific segments of your audience, such as promoting new arrivals in “Women’s Activewear” to subscribers who frequently browse that section.
Find out more about marketing in our blog posts, “Social media marketing tips for small business owners,” and “What are promotional codes and how do I create one?”
Better analytics and insights
When your store is neatly categorised, tracking sales performance becomes much more insightful. You can see which categories are generating the most revenue, which have the highest conversion rates, and where there might be a gap in your product offering. These insights allow you to make more informed decisions about inventory management and marketing strategies.
For instance, if you notice that the “Gifts & Accessories” category is experiencing a spike in traffic during certain months, you might decide to introduce new products or run a special campaign around those periods.
How to set up Little Big Shop so customer's can shop by categories
Creating and managing categories in Little Big Shop is simple and helps keep your store organised. To get started, go to your admin dashboard and navigate to “Products” > “Manage categories.” From here, you can add new categories, edit existing ones, or adjust the order to suit your needs.
Remember to use clear and descriptive names and regularly update your categories to reflect product trends and seasonality.
For detailed instructions on creating and organising categories, check out our help documentation on managing categories.
Organising your shop by categories creates a more functional and enjoyable shopping experience for your customers. It makes it easier for them to find what they need, helps your site rank higher on search engines, and gives you valuable insights to grow your business strategically. Making categories (and even sub-categories) is a small change that can have a big impact on your sales and customer satisfaction!
