Partner Article

The product list - underestimated and forgotten

There is a great deal of discussion about the conversion rate of a product detail page or the opportunities of a website. But the most important page of an online shop is often forgotten – the product list! This is the page that shows all the products and provides essential product advice.

After all, the decision to buy is made on the product detail page.

This is why this page must offer all the information a customer needs to make a purchase. However, before he chooses a product, he asks himself the question: which one? The product list has the answer. Here are six ideas for your product list.

Method of presentation

You buy some products based on facts, and others in a less rational way. If the decision is based on facts, the product list should emphasise the most important features – technical equipment, cables, etc. Other products, such as fashion items, are bought based on appearance and appeal. The user needs illustrations to find the right product. Anyone who offers a very diverse range of products should therefore give customers the option of altering the product display to fit heir needs.

Product list zoom

Product zoom on the product list is useful to make selecting a product even easier. Here, the user can hover the mouse over a product to display either larger images or more details without needing to go to the product detail page. Many shops also offer a scrolling function in the product list to show more images.

Eye-catchers

Every product should be clicked on and must attract attention. Eye-catchers help with this by highlighting reduced products, new products, top sellers, recommendations, etc.

Pager

The user can skim through numerous pages using the pager. Skipping pages can often be difficult and skimming through many pages isn’t that much fun anyway. Slider enables customers to skim through or skip over hundreds of pages.

Quick view

Using the quick view, users can quickly click through products without opening up the product detail page. This makes browsing easier. Although it’s popular among users, just a few shops actually offer this function.

Filters

The filters ask questions and the user answers. The filter navigation reproduces a typical sales talk and is therefore essential for any good shop. Sensible selection and sorting of filters is a core competence for every online retailer. Creative presentation makes shopping a joy for any user. Brands should be shown with a logo instead of text, for instance.

About the author

Johannes Altmann is the founder and managing director of Shoplupe GmbH. He and his team advise online shops such as Herrenausstatter.de, Dallmayr, Jako-o and Strenesse. Johannes Altmann is a lecturer at the Akademie des Deutschen Buchhandels (Academy for the German book trade) and initiator of the sector prize, the “Shop Usability Award”. According to ‘exciting commerce’, Johannes Altmann is Germany’s best shop consultant.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jean-Marc Noel .