How Top Brands Organize Their eCommerce Pages

When it comes to eCommerce pages, what is the key element that determines success or failure? Product pages. When designing and launching an eCommerce website, it is thus essential to make sure your product pages are designed correctly. 

This is especially true if the appearance of the product is particularly important – with fashion and clothing brands, for example. In this study, we analyzed the leading online clothing brands, identifying key elements and tactics to implement on your own eCommerce website.

Methodology

This study delves into the structural organization of shop pages in leading online eCommerce stores, with a particular focus on those with high traffic. We narrowed our list down to these 10 well-known brands:

1. H&M
2. Uniqlo
3. Shein
4. Zara
5. GAP
6. ASOS
7. American Eagle
8. Nordstrom
9. Lululemon
10. Forever 21

We conducted a thorough investigation into the design and layout of each of the shop pages. On each page, we scrutinized various elements within the headers, including search functionality, shop pages, product filters, and sorting mechanisms. Our goal was to answer the following questions:

1. How many menu items are present in the header of each platform?
2. Is there a search box and if so, are there autocomplete suggestions available?
3. How many products are displayed per page?
4. What methods are employed for pagination?
5. How many product filters are accessible on the shop page?
6. Which words and phrases are used on different Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons?

Now let’s take a look at our findings!

Header Menu Items

How many items are in the header? In their header areas, the websites included 8.8 menu items, on average. However, the range did vary considerably, from three to twenty-six elements per header section.

LESSON: Most stores have between 6 and 11 elements in their header area, with a few having more or less.

Search Functionality 

In analyzing various online clothing stores, every site had a Search Box in the header section. Moreover, each store has integrated autocomplete suggestions. 

LESSON: Put a search box with autocomplete in your site header.

Shopping Cart Icon or Text?

In our analysis of 10 ecommerce stores, we observed that H&M and Zara are distinctive in displaying Cart icons accompanied by the label “shopping bag.” In contrast, the remaining 8 stores solely featured a bag icon without any accompanying label or text.

LESSON: Include an icon of a shopping cart or bag. Text is optional.

CTA Button

There were several CTAs present, including “Add to Bag,” “Add to Cart,” and “Add. Uniqlo, Shein, and Forever21 use “Add to Cart” as their CTA button. Zara, on the other hand, chooses the succinct “Add.” The following six apparel retailers all use “Add to bag” as their CTA.

LESSON: Include the word “Add.” Other text is optional.

Pagination 

Among the top 10 online clothing brands, 7 opt for infinite scroll pagination, while 2 implement a click-to-load-more mechanism. Only 1 brand utilizes numbered pagination.

LESSON: Infinite scroll is the most popular.

Shop Page Product Overview

The shop page serves as a centralized location where all products are presented, accompanied by concise course information. Websites commonly utilize either a Grid or List layout to organize and display this information effectively. Users can employ various filters, such as size, color swatches, neckline, and waist, to refine their product searches.

Here is an example of what a shop page looks like:

There are a few key elements present on most of the stores. These elements include the Product Name, Product Image, and Product Price. Additionally, 7 stores incorporate an “Add to Wishlist” button, while only 6 brands provide filtering options like Product Color Swatch and Product Change Image on Hover.

For a clearer understanding, here is a breakdown of the elements along with their respective counts:

LESSON: Include product names, images, prices, and other essential information.

Products Per Page

Out of the top 10 online clothing brands, 7 opt for infinite scroll pagination, eliminating a predefined number of products per page. However, among the remaining 3, H&M showcases 36 products per page, Asos displays 72, and Nordstrom presents 44, averaging at 50 products per page. This higher average is attributed to the extensive product ranges typical of clothing brands, coupled with consumers’ inclination to extensively browse clothing and fashion items.

LESSON: Having a high number of products per page is completely fine.

Products Filter Analysis

In terms of product filters for enhanced search capabilities on shop pages, the results varied. Providing a more detailed and nuanced search experience, H&M leads the pack by offering a total of 19 product filter options. These include Size, Color, Pattern, Product type, Style, Function, Neckline, Sleeve length, Waist rise, Length, Sleeve style, Collar, Heel height, Accessory style, Footwear style, Fit, Occasion, Concept, and Material. This comprehensive range ensures a more tailored and efficient product search for users.

Here’s a breakdown of the online shops and their product filter counts:

LESSON: More than a few filters are not entirely necessary, but can help customers find specific products.

Live Chat

Among the top 10 online clothing stores, only H&M and American Eagle provide a live chat option for customer support. The remaining platforms utilize email, social media platforms to address customer inquiries.

LESSON: Live chat, while often considered a “must have”, is actually not that popular among top brands.

In this post, we took at look at the websites of 10 top fashion brands. While their websites may not be directly comparable to your own eCommerce store, analyzing them can no doubt provide some useful information.