{"id":35067,"date":"2022-07-14T10:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T10:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/?post_type=library&p=35067"},"modified":"2025-05-30T10:20:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T10:20:38","slug":"80-20-rule-of-merchandising","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/library\/guides\/80-20-rule-of-merchandising","title":{"rendered":"The 80\/20 Rule of Merchandising"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ecommerce merchandising is a crucial aspect of online retail. It refers to the presentation and arrangement of products in an ecommerce store to drive sales and improve the customer experience. An effective ecommerce merchandising strategy<\/a> can help online shoppers find what they’re looking for quickly and easily and can increase average order value. In contrast, poor or ineffective ecommerce merchandising can put off potential customers and harm conversion rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visual merchandising<\/a> is an important part of online merchandising and involves creating an attractive and engaging ecommerce site that is easy to navigate. Online shoppers are often overwhelmed with choice, so making your ecommerce store and website visually appealing and accessible can help to retain their attention and encourage them to browse and buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most important elements of successful ecommerce merchandising is the use of customer data and product data. Google Analytics and other analytics tools can provide valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, which can help ecommerce stores personalize the online shopping experience and create effective ecommerce merchandising strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to online merchandising, the search bar<\/a> can be a powerful tool to drive sales. Providing customers with a quick and simple way to find the products they’re looking for during online shopping can help them to make more purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your online store struggling with ecommerce merchandising? If so, keep reading, as we’ll discuss proven ecommerce merchandising strategies and what is an effective ecommerce merchandising strategy, so your ecommerce site can improve the customer experience and drive sales. We\u2019ll dive deep into the techniques and tools used to optimize ecommerce sites and create visually engaging experiences for customers. Additionally, we\u2019ll explore the importance of commerce data<\/a> in ecommerce merchandising, as well as how to utilize search bars and optimize your website for mobile devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By implementing these ecommerce merchandising strategies and making your ecommerce store and website attractive and accessible, you can increase traffic, conversions, and overall revenue. But there’s one more very important point to consider here \u2014 the 80\/20 rule.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you put in 20% effort, left 80% to automation, and got significant results, would you be satisfied with the outcome? We\u2019re sure most business leaders and innovators would say \u201cyes.\u201d That\u2019s why the 80\/20 rule \u2014 otherwise known as the \u201cPareto Principle\u201d or \u201cThe Law of the Vital Few\u201d \u2014 has become so popular in the business world. In a nutshell, the 80\/20 rule states that roughly 80% of consequences (outputs) come from 20% of causes (inputs), meaning a small percentage of inputs should have powerful outcomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a creative and energized department, marketing has dozens of activities going on at once to move the needle on its annual targets. Quarterly campaigns, paid ads, speaking and networking engagements, virtual and in-person events, and relevant and engaging content \u2014 the list goes on and on. But your ecommerce team needs to concentrate on what actually works, especially during peak season when we\u2019ve seen a 40% year-over-year (YoY) increase in ecommerce sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the 80\/20 rule helpful \u2014 not only during peak season, but also as we near a possible global recession and customer sentiment continues to fall amid surging inflation<\/a>? With the 80\/20 rule, you can better identify which initiatives to prioritize, so your team can make the most impact on your business in these tough times, and of course, during peak season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, Bloomreach will dive further into the 80\/20 rule and how it can be applied to a merchandiser’s demanding workload to prioritize the objectives that require a manual touch and optimize the rest. As the glue of any ecommerce company, the merchandiser\u2019s influence across the organization shouldn\u2019t be limited by time, budget, or team structure \u2014 and AI and automation are here to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Role of the Modern Merchandiser<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The modern merchandiser is not a role to be taken for granted. For many commerce businesses, this powerful player in your marketing department often sits on the ecommerce team. Unlike the visual merchandiser, their daily workflows \u2014 and the obstacles that come along with them \u2014 are way more technical than one would initially imagine and tend to snowball during peak season. Because of the role\u2019s evolution, merchandisers tend to wear many hats, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content Creator<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Creating ecommerce landing pages is a common marketing tactic to target shoppers with a clear objective in mind. Typically, there will be personalized content on these landing pages based on audience segment or an even more granular buyer persona. Then, the pages will be bookended with a straightforward call to action (CTA) to move the customer or buyer along their purchase journey. Nowadays, merchandisers are responsible for building the content<\/a> to disclose product details, establishing trust with prospects and returning customers, and making it easier for the shopper or buyer to make a purchase \u2014 all while taking the strain off small and overloaded content marketing departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personalization Expert <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even though consumers support data privacy and protection, shoppers and buyers still want personalized experiences \u2014 and they expect marketers to give it to them. For merchandisers, personalization tactics can be implemented through landing page content, site search results, product recommendations, and more. Yet, one person (or even a small team) can\u2019t manage all these data points at scale. This is an obstacle many merchandisers are now facing in a hot market with tons of competition, high consumer standards, and low loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site Experience Designer <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

North America saw a 69% rise in online traffic since the onset of the pandemic, while the United Kingdom observed an 81% spike. As online shopping skyrocketed, the importance of a great user interface and user experience (UI\/UX) became more pressing because shoppers are likely to leave a site if it’s unattractive, slow to load, or difficult to navigate. So, the question became: How do you properly optimize UX and get the customer to where you want them to go?<\/em> While UI\/UX is a crucial strategy for any serious ecommerce company, merchandisers are now expected to contribute to these \u201cgood\u201d online experiences, in addition to strategies around navigation, promotions, and even the homepage. But it\u2019s been a challenge for those who don\u2019t come from technical backgrounds, to say the least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\/B Test Specialist <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Consumer preferences, sentiment, and demand can change in mere moments. Not only can A\/B testing improve the customer experience by helping you understand their ever-changing behavior, but it can also lead to higher click-through conversions, increased revenue, and improved customer loyalty and retention. Similar to any marketing campaign, A\/B testing helps merchandisers gauge what\u2019s working versus what isn\u2019t<\/a>. Just like in brick-and-mortar stores, \u201cshelf space\u201d isn\u2019t anything to be taken for granted online, and your merchandisers need experience running A\/B tests to eliminate the products without traction or the strategies that are not proving to be effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merchandiser’s Pain Points That Are Hindering Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every role in your ecommerce company has its pain points. For merchandisers, one of them is juggling multiple roles \u2014 all while attempting to hit their key performance indicators (KPIs). Even though merchandisers should focus on finding brand-appropriate products to sell, negotiating volume deals with suppliers, and making the store (both online and offline) an exciting place to be, many small, manual tasks tend to get in the way of these crucial objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Couple these unrelenting expectations with their pain points, and this team is often left feeling overwhelmed. For your ecommerce team \u2014 and company \u2014 to succeed, merchandisers need leadership to enable the proper resources, specifically during peak season when there isn\u2019t a lot of flexibility. Luckily, there are many tech solutions on the market<\/a> to address the common issues merchandisers face:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having Limited Impact <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As products, categories, the number of languages, and brand sites continue to increase, merchandisers won\u2019t be able to focus on improving the customer experience and generating revenue. Merchandisers typically make an average of 9<\/strong> to 13<\/strong> significant and\/or positive return on investment (ROI) decisions in a given month. While this is impressive, it simply isn\u2019t scalable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of it this way \u2014 merchandisers are focused on the following KPIs: profitability, conversion rate, average order value (AOV), and revenue per visit (RPV). If optimization remains too manual on ecommerce websites and their corresponding category pages, merchandisers will struggle to keep up with these crucial business metrics. They also might become too reliant on IT for portions of their workflow, further stretching the resources of an already overburdened team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming From Non-analytical Backgrounds<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since merchandisers are known product experts in the company, they need to possess the technical knowledge to do their jobs effectively online. Yet, many merchandisers come from a non-analytical background, making the current demands for online optimization, customization, and personalization more difficult to approach without the tools that they need to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to McKinsey<\/a>, next-generation merchandisers are not the reactive \u201cquarterbacks\u201d they\u2019ve been traditionally described as in the past. Instead of punting around solutions when the fire alarm sounds, they must transition to a proactive internal structure and rely on deep analytics to move forward with their respective strategies and be successful. Even though visual merchandisers deal with analytical situations in brick-and-mortar stores, some of these professionals could naturally shy away from automated tools that breathe life into a digitized, streamlined approach to the craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using an Excess of Manual Tools <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because modern consumers want more than a product catalog hastily uploaded onto your website, a merchandiser\u2019s intention online should be the same as it is in store: leveraging product placement to maximize conversions. This can be achieved through multiple tactics, whether the strategy pertains to pinning specific products to the first spot on a results page<\/a> or ranking certain items higher near a particular holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being Too Focused on Operations <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Based on your merchandiser\u2019s to-do list, it is hard for them to keep tasks in check. Because of this, your customer experience (CX) will eventually begin to suffer \u2014 if it isn\u2019t already. But the last thing you want is for your customer or buyer to be left to their own volition, wandering the virtual \u201caisles\u201d of your ecommerce website and trying to find the product they need<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


If your operational approach is the \u201cwhat\u201d for your business, then your strategic approach is the \u201chow.\u201d By getting caught up in operations \u2014 no matter the duration \u2014 you\u2019re letting strategy fall by the wayside. Both operations and strategy are extremely important and necessary functions to your business, however. Often, they go hand-in-hand since strong strategic planning informs specifically what<\/em> your company needs to do and how <\/em>they need to do it. Without the proper search and merchandising solution, your merchandiser will be overloaded by the what<\/em> and lose focus on the how<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 80\/20 Rule – and How It Applies to Merchandising<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you better understand the plight of the modern merchandiser, it\u2019s time to address how your ecommerce team can approach their multiple dilemmas. Since a merchandiser is expected to be a jack of all trades  \u2014  even in larger companies \u2014  and has various limitations typically impeding their workflows, they need a way to effectively manage and expedite their tasks. It all starts with AI and automation<\/a>. Before we expand on that point, let\u2019s explore the concept of the 80\/20 rule and how it\u2019s carved out a significant space in leading business ideologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, Some Background on Pareto’s 80\/20 Rule<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like many good philosophers, Vilfredo Pareto was obsessed with the social sciences: sociology, economics, and political science. His passions led him to make important contributions to society, like popularizing the term \u201celite\u201d after in-depth studies on income distribution. In fact, he came up with several concepts to analyze income distribution and economic equality, including the \u201cPareto index\u201d (measuring income inequality), \u201cOphelimity\u201d (evaluating economic satisfaction), and of course, the \u201cPareto Principle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying the 80\/20 Rule to Merchandising <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To ease the pressure of a merchandiser\u2019s workload, combat their pain points, and support their success during your busiest time of the year, they\u2019ll need the help of AI and automation. Since the 80\/20 rule allows people to redirect their efforts to the right places, merchandisers need to take advantage of search and merchandising technology 80% <\/strong>of the time, focusing 20% <\/strong>of their attention on the tasks that require a human touch to drive big results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By combining informative analytics with irreplaceable human judgment, merchandisers will save time, money, and resources. Not only will they see impactful results, but they\u2019ll also have a solid strategy as a possible recession looms. In other words, they can double down on the activities that need their distinct focus \u2014 and automate the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With intelligent search and merchandising technology that can automate redundant tasks, merchandisers will ultimately cut down on the time spent managing day-to-day issues in search<\/a>, addressing long-tail searches, and fixing synonyms. While any worthy search and merch tool is optimized out of the box, the AI also needs to have the capability to learn from your unique product data, customer data, and manual inputs to become smarter over time. Plus, it should let merchandisers intervene when necessary and tweak algorithms to align with their business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implement Automated Merchandising Processes That Are Just Right<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite all the individual and collective challenges in our world today, the show must <\/em>go on, and business must continue as usual. A search and merchandising solution will lend a helping hand and give your merchandisers a more advanced starting point on the AI maturity curve, which could take a lot of effort for your company to reach on its own accord. Even with an out-of-the-box solution<\/a>, your team will still have plenty of room to make important decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your merchandisers are not happy with a page of search results, for example, the ball is in their court. They can create real-time custom rules on top of algorithms, launch custom product rankings, run rule-based recommendations, or conduct tests to make a better product discovery experience for your shoppers or buyers. However, AI will drive 80% of merchandising operations forward without any intervention needed, resulting in meaningful impact without significant (or frustrating) effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insights<\/strong>
How can we possibly know the impact that our merchandisers are making without the intelligent insights behind the AI and automation itself? Not only does a data dashboard help your team visualize everything, but a stellar search and merchandising solution will also proactively suggest opportunities for improvements across your site, so you can focus on the changes that need your attention and will optimize conversion rates<\/a>. Talk about the 80\/20 rule encapsulated!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\/B Testing<\/strong>
Any merchandiser wants to experiment with different scenarios, especially once considering user behavior. After all, your team shouldn\u2019t be guessing outcomes; they should be testing them regularly to discern the most effective results for your business. Therefore, A\/B testing needs to be a part of the investment you make in your first (or next) search and merchandising tool. A\/B testing only exemplifies the power of the 80\/20 rule, which helps determine the workflows that simply aren’t hitting the mark or need to be axed completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encourage Merchandisers to Focus on the 20% That Matters Most<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While a smart solution<\/a> will certainly lead the way, it won\u2019t completely do the job for your merchandisers \u2014 and that\u2019s the beauty of it. As we said before, the AI of a worthwhile search and merchandising solution comes with a strong foundation for your team to begin optimizing CX immediately. They can act quickly to make key site improvements (or completely pivot) and increase conversions and AOV. Such flexibility is necessary to navigate all the ins and outs of today\u2019s complicated and competitive business landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s still approximately 20% of a merchandiser\u2019s workload that still requires their attention \u2014 even with AI and automation. Once a digital search and merchandising solution is implemented to improve the browsability and findability of the products or services on your website, you might be wondering what workflows your merchandisers should focus on to drive growth and boost revenue and ROI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few to consider<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing and Advertising<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brand building 
Product launches
Specialty promotions (upsell, cross-sell, add-ons, etc.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n