How do you choose which products to feature in-store versus online?

1 Know your customer

The first step in choosing which products to feature in-store versus online is to understand your target customer and their shopping behavior. What are their preferences, needs, motivations, and pain points? How do they discover, research, compare, and purchase your products? Do they value convenience, experience, variety, or quality? Depending on your customer segment, you may want to feature different products in different channels to appeal to their specific needs and expectations.

2 Know your product

The second step in choosing which products to feature in-store versus online is to evaluate your product attributes and how they affect the customer's decision-making process. Some products are more suitable for online selling, while others benefit from in-store display. For example, products that are standardized, easy to ship, low-risk, or have high demand may perform better online, while products that are customized, bulky, high-risk, or have low demand may require in-store interaction. You may also want to consider the product life cycle, seasonality, and availability when deciding which channel to feature them.

3 Know your brand

The third step in choosing which products to feature in-store versus online is to align your merchandising strategy with your brand identity and positioning. How do you want to communicate your brand story, values, and personality to your customers? How do you want to differentiate yourself from your competitors? How do you want to create a consistent and memorable customer experience across channels? Depending on your brand goals, you may want to feature products that showcase your unique selling proposition, reinforce your brand image, or create emotional connections with your customers.

4 Know your channel

The fourth step in choosing which products to feature in-store versus online is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each channel and how to optimize them. Online selling offers the advantages of reaching a wider audience, providing more information, and enabling personalization, but it also faces the challenges of attracting traffic, building trust, and reducing returns. In-store selling offers the advantages of creating sensory experiences, fostering relationships, and increasing impulse purchases, but it also faces the challenges of managing inventory, costs, and competition. You may want to feature products that leverage the best of each channel and overcome the limitations.

5 Test and measure

The fifth step in choosing which products to feature in-store versus online is to test and measure the results of your merchandising decisions. You can use various methods and tools to collect and analyze data on how your products perform in each channel, such as sales, conversion, retention, satisfaction, and feedback. You can also conduct experiments and surveys to compare different scenarios and identify the best practices. By testing and measuring, you can learn from your successes and failures and adjust your merchandising strategy accordingly.

6 Keep evolving

The final step in choosing which products to feature in-store versus online is to keep evolving your merchandising strategy as the market, customer, and product conditions change. You need to monitor the trends, opportunities, and threats that affect your business and respond accordingly. You also need to listen to your customers and their feedback and anticipate their changing needs and expectations. By keeping evolving, you can stay ahead of the competition and deliver value to your customers.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?