Introduction
As a business, one needs to ensure that customers find what they’re looking for easily. Whether it’s an online shop, a marketplace, or any other kind of ecommerce business, navigation is the key factor for retaining customers and maximizing sales. Friendly, intuitive, and well-structured ecommerce navigation will help shoppers browse and find what they’re looking for on a website or app with ease. However, setting up an ecommerce navigation requires companies to assess the business’s products and the user’s preferences and combine them in a way that customers get the right experience. In this guide, I will list 11 examples of ecommerce navigation that can help a business boost its sales.
Using A Narrative Menu
Using a narrative menu or a structured storytelling-like menu can help customers make a purchase decision quickly. When customers are presented with products in a story format, they are likely to think of a product’s rather than its pricing, thus making them more likely to buy it. Narrative menus help customers to discover new products and add to their shopping cart directly from the menu. By organizing products into dedicated categories and using a narrative menu, customers have an easier time finding the desired product and can more quickly purchase that item.
Using Layered Menus
Layered menus help customers to navigate through products in subcategories and quickly find what they’re looking for. Instead of having to search through multiple pages, customers can easily move through the layers of products and make a purchase. Having the main categories – or parent categories – at the top layer, and then allowing customers to explore the subcategories further helps in streamlining the experience. Building menus with multiple layers can also help businesses create a more organized experience for customers and make it much easier for them to find the product they’re looking for.
Adding Quick Links
Quick Links are helpful for customers who are looking for something specific or who have a general idea of what they are looking for. These links help customers to get to the desired category without having to scroll through the entire menu. Quick Links also allow businesses to highlight their most popular categories or categories that they want to promote. They can also be used to bundle lesser-known products together, thus allowing customers to easily discover new products.
Using Images in Menus
Using images in menus is an effective way to help customers find what they’re looking for quickly. Instead of a text-based menu, having an image alongside the category or product makes it easier for customers to visually understand what they’re looking at. As people are more attracted to visuals over text, images in menus can help customers make an informed decision and quickly add the product to their shopping cart.
Using Tabs
Tabs are a great way to add more information to a specific category without cluttering the menu. They can have additional information about a product or a discount, or even more information about the product such as size, color, or material. By using tabs, businesses can both keep the menu clean and organized, and provide customers with more information about the products that they’re interested in without having to navigate away from the menu.
Adding Search Filters
Search filters are helpful for customers who are looking for something specific. Having a search filter on the menu allows customers to narrow down their search results and quickly find what they’re looking for. By adding relevant search filters, businesses can save customers time and make it easier for them to find the product they need. Additionally, having relevant search filters also helps businesses to encourage customers to purchase more items.
Highlighting Promotions
Adding promotions, such as discounts or sales, to the navigation menu can be a great way to incentivize customers to buy more. By highlighting promotions, customers are more likely to click through and make a purchase. Additionally, displaying promotions can also help customers discover products that they may not have been initially looking for.
Using Dropdown Menus
Dropdown menus are great for customers who are looking for something specific, but don’t know exactly what it is. With dropdown menus, customers can quickly browse through the list of products and make a purchase without having to scroll through the entire menu. Additionally, dropdown menus also save customers time, as they don’t have to search for the product they’re looking for.
Organizing Products into Categories
Organizing products into dedicated categories makes it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for quickly. By grouping different products into categories, customers can easily browse through the menu and find the product they want. Additionally, having dedicated categories also allows businesses to highlight their most popular products and encourage customers to check them out.
Adding Suggested Products
Suggested products are a great way to encourage customers to buy more. By displaying information about suggested products on the navigation menu, customers can easily discover products that they may not have been initially looking for. Additionally, businesses can also offer discounted prices or promotions alongside the suggested products to incentivize customers to purchase them.
Using Mobile-Optimized Menus
Mobile-optimized menus are key for businesses that have a mobile customer base as they make it easier for customers to browse and make a purchase from their mobile devices. Mobile-optimized menus make it easier for customers to zoom in on products and quickly find what they’re looking for. Additionally, having a mobile-optimized menu also helps businesses to ensure that customers have a smooth and seamless shopping experience from their mobile devices.
Conclusion
As an ecommerce business, it’s important to ensure that customers have an easy and smooth experience navigating through products and making a purchase. By using these 11 examples of ecommerce navigation, businesses can easily boost their sales and ensure that customers find what they’re looking for quickly. From using a narrative menu to adding suggested products, these examples of ecommerce navigation can help businesses to maximize their sales and provide customers with a seamless experience.