Sorting Products: A Mystery Solved

If you’ve ever wondered about the best ways to organize products on your ecommerce store, you’re not alone. Product sorting is crucial to delivering a great user experience, enhancing navigation, and even boosting sales. Customers expect to find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently, so understanding how to implement effective sorting options can make all the difference in their shopping experience. In this blog, we’ll uncover the mystery behind product sorting, explore its importance, and discuss how plugins like the WooCommerce Sort Products can make sorting simpler and more effective.

Why Product Sorting Matters

When customers visit your online store, they want to find the products they’re interested in without spending unnecessary time scrolling. Well-organized product sorting improves customer satisfaction, leads to higher conversion rates, and can even influence buying decisions by helping customers discover items they hadn’t previously considered. Here’s why sorting matters:

1. Enhanced User Experience: Sorting options make it easier for customers to navigate your store. With intuitive sorting, users can view products that best fit their preferences—by price, popularity, or newest arrivals.
2. Improved Searchability: When products are organized, it’s easier for customers to search for and find specific items. Efficient sorting eliminates the frustration of endless scrolling, leading to a more enjoyable shopping experience.
3. Higher Conversion Rates: When customers find what they’re looking for quickly, they’re more likely to make a purchase. Effective product sorting increases the likelihood of conversion by helping customers find relevant products faster.
4. Boosted Average Order Value (AOV): Sorting options like “Related Products” or “Best Sellers” can showcase additional items that might be of interest to customers, encouraging them to add more products to their carts.

Common Sorting Options for Ecommerce Stores

Now that we know why sorting is so important, let’s break down the common sorting options that most ecommerce stores offer. These options help customers narrow down their choices, especially in stores with larger product ranges:

1. Popularity (Best Sellers): This option shows the most popular or frequently purchased items. It’s great for highlighting products that other customers love, offering social proof that often encourages purchases.
2. Price (Low to High or High to Low): Sorting by price is one of the most commonly used options. It allows budget-conscious customers to browse affordable options first or lets those seeking premium items go straight to the top-tier choices.
3. New Arrivals: For stores with frequently updated inventory, sorting by “Newest Arrivals” keeps returning customers engaged with fresh products and trends.
4. Customer Ratings: Displaying products based on customer ratings helps customers find well-reviewed items. This is particularly valuable for new customers who may not be familiar with the products and want to rely on others’ experiences.
5. Product Attributes: For stores with specific product features like color, size, or material, sorting by these attributes can be very helpful. This allows customers to find exactly what they’re looking for without going through unrelated items.
6. Alphabetical Order: Sorting alphabetically may not be the most popular for all stores, but it can be useful for stores with extensive catalogs, especially in categories where customers know the brand or product name.

Using the WooCommerce Sorting Plugin to Simplify Product Sorting

If you’re using WooCommerce, managing these sorting options can be easier than you might think. The Product Sorting WooCommerce provides a variety of sorting capabilities that make it simple to customize the way products are displayed on your store. Here’s how this plugin can help you solve the mystery of product sorting:

1. Customizable Sorting Options: With the WooCommerce Sorting Plugin, you can define custom sorting options that best suit your store and audience. For instance, you can create sorting rules based on sales volume, ratings, or featured products.
2. Drag-and-Drop Sorting: Many plugins offer drag-and-drop functionality, allowing you to easily reorder products or rearrange categories. This gives you complete control over what customers see first, making it easy to promote certain items.
3. Category-Specific Sorting: The plugin allows you to set different sorting rules based on product categories, so each section of your store can have its own unique sorting style. For instance, you might want “Best Sellers” as the default in one category and “New Arrivals” in another.
4. Enhanced Filtering Options: Sorting is most effective when paired with filtering options. The WooCommerce Sorting Plugin can integrate with filters so customers can not only sort by criteria but also filter products by size, color, brand, and more.
5. Mobile-Friendly Sorting: With more customers shopping on mobile, it’s essential that sorting options are easily accessible and visually optimized for smaller screens. The WooCommerce Sorting Plugin is designed to offer a seamless sorting experience across all devices.
6. Performance Optimization: Sorting multiple products can sometimes slow down your store’s performance. With a dedicated sorting plugin, you can enhance load times by optimizing how sorting data is processed, leading to a faster, smoother user experience.

Best Practices for Implementing Product Sorting

Setting up sorting options is one thing, but configuring them in a way that aligns with customer preferences can require some extra insight. Here are some best practices to get the most out of product sorting on your ecommerce store:

1. Choose Relevant Sorting Options: Consider the needs of your customers when deciding on sorting options. For example, if you’re selling clothing, sorting by size or color is essential, but in a tech store, price and popularity might be more relevant.
2. Use Visual Cues for Sorting: Make sorting options easy to locate by using icons or dropdown menus. Label each sorting option clearly so customers know exactly what to expect when they choose an option.
3. Set a Default Sorting Option: Selecting an optimal default sort order, such as “Best Sellers” or “Newest Arrivals,” can help drive sales by automatically showing customers relevant or popular products when they first visit.
4. Monitor and Adjust: Regularly monitor your sorting settings and adjust based on analytics. If you notice certain products or categories are seeing less traffic, consider reordering them or setting up additional sorting options.
5. Combine Sorting and Filtering: Allow customers to use sorting in combination with filtering options to fine-tune their search. Filters are particularly useful in stores with a large inventory and can help narrow down options quickly.

Final Thoughts: The Power of Product Sorting Unlocked

Product sorting may seem like a small detail, but it plays a huge role in enhancing the customer experience and increasing conversion rates. By providing users with multiple sorting options tailored to their preferences, you not only make it easier for them to find what they’re looking for but also help guide them toward making a purchase.

For WooCommerce users, the WooCommerce Sorting Plugin takes much of the guesswork out of setting up and customizing sorting options. It enables you to optimize your store’s layout, tailor sorting by category, and provide a smoother shopping experience that keeps customers coming back.

In the world of ecommerce, little details like sorting can make all the difference. So, if you haven’t yet optimized your sorting settings, now is the time to unlock this powerful tool and solve the mystery of product sorting for your store.