Don’t Underestimate the 20% of Merchandising. That’s What’ll Make You Stand Out

However, in an increasingly competitive environment and with a recession on the horizon, how can your merchandisers improve the leftover 20% of their work that requires a human touch? In this guide, we’ll take you through the areas where merchandisers can focus their energies to give their business the edge where it needs it.

Marketing and advertising

Marketing and advertising campaigns require more than automation and data analysis about which items are likely to sell the most. It’s a human area where a deep understanding of the market and subsequent implementation of this understanding is paramount. This human input is needed in three key areas:

1. Brand building: Brand building is a marketer’s bread and butter. If something doesn’t serve to build the image of the brand, there’s not much point in doing it. In a world where 46% of consumers pay more for brands they trust, brand building is more important now than ever before. Establishing trust between your business and customers works to improve loyalty and increase the chances of repeat purchases.
2. Product launches: Preparing for product launches is a huge part of a merchandiser’s job. Branding and storytelling in these areas should be designed to resonate with the target audience - this requires a personal touch and a real understanding of what your customers value.
3. Promotions: AOV, RPV and CLV can all be achieved and improved through specialty promotions. These promotions can be of products whose peak season is coming to an end, or simply products with the highest profit margins. Promotions can come in multiple different forms, including upsells, cross-sells and add-ons.

In-store and website experiences

Optimizing in-store and website experiences is ideal in improving customer experience both in store and online. Improving the user interface, personalizing experiences and using omnichannel strategies are all ways in which merchandisers should dedicate time to improve.

1. User interface: Space, layout and usability are all aspects which can make or break customer experiences when visiting your site. Both good and bad digital experiences can drastically change a customer’s perception of your brand, meaning it’s the job of the marketer to make sure these are as aesthetically pleasing and functional as possible.
2. Personalized experiences: Personalizing experiences is vital in improving customer loyalty and, in turn, customer retention. 61% of survey respondents say they believe personalization is the most important factor in driving company growth.
3. Omnichannel strategy: Each channel of sale should work together to improve customer experience. One cohesive, omnichannel strategy is crucial for growth in modern markets, providing your customers with an information-rich experience. It falls on merchandisers to play a significant role in this objective, since disconnected channels provide a markedly worse customer experience.

Operations and logistics

Finding and acquiring brand-appropriate products to sell is also a key job in the merchandiser’s arsenal. This is because merchandisers have the most knowledge when it comes to finding products which best reflect the values of the business. This also includes the negotiations to receive said products.

• Product acquisition: Items which a business sells have to be in line with the overall values for a business. For example, Lush - a vegan-friendly brand of bathroom, beauty and personal care products - would never start selling products that had been tested on animals, since this conflicts with the core values of the business. Finding appropriate products is a uniquely human process which merchandisers need to focus on.
• Negotiating deals: A human touch is vital when negotiating deals with potential suppliers. Negotiations can take any number of twists and turns, and can be refined based on volume and certain exclusive discounts which may be available to the buyer. Merchandisers can secure the right price, terms and conditions.

A/B testing

As a merchandiser, you may think you understand your current consumer base. However, customer preferences and sentiment can change in mere days, meaning you need to conduct A/B testing to understand new changes in behaviour and how to adapt to them. This leads to higher click-through rates, increased revenue and improved customer retention. This shows campaigners what’s working and what’s relevant, meaning you can push the strategy which works rather than blindly pick one you think looks good. It also allows you to replace products with little to no traction or ineffective strategies.

Bloomreach Discovery

With Bloomreach Discovery, you can use a combination of powerful AI site searches and product merchandising to deliver results to your customers. However, if you’re still not sure whether investing in a search and merchandising solution is within your budget, our ROI calculator can help you decide. Our ROI calculator allows you to plug in your business data and see what you can expect from investing in our Bloomreach Discovery service.