Product sorting: what to set as the default
LightSEO · Catalog
Product sorting: what to set as the default
Everyone sees the first nine products in a category, and almost nobody sees the last ones. The way your catalog is sorted by default directly affects what you sell.
9
products are seen by most visitors
Options
Types of sorting
By popularity. The safest default: what people already buy sits at the top and keeps selling.
By price. Low to high works well for impulse purchases, yet it hurts the average order value. High to low scares off part of the audience.
By newest. Logical for seasonal niches – clothing, electronics, decor. Poor for categories where proven classics are what matters.
Manual. You set the order yourself. It works for small categories and needs constant attention.
Details
What to keep in mind
📦
In-stock items at the top
"Made to order" and out-of-stock products belong at the bottom, however well they sold before.
💰
Margin
There is no point in showing first the items you barely earn anything on.
🔀
No randomness
A random order spoils the impression and makes it hard for the buyer to return to a product they saw.
Checking
How to tell that the sorting works
Look at scroll depth. If most visitors leave after the first screen, the top of the list is missing what they were looking for.
Compare sales before and after. Changing the sort order is one of the cheapest fixes with a noticeable effect on the average order value.
Is your catalog selling the wrong products?
We will review your category analytics and set up sorting so that the products that bring profit sit at the top.
