Ecommerce Merchandising

What Is Ecommerce Merchandising?

For Trombetta, digital merchandising is fundamentally about boosting online product sales through strategic visibility, presentation, and timing. But beyond the technicalities, he believes in a more profound role: acting as a product ambassador. In many digital teams where deep fashion or luxury knowledge may be lacking, Trombetta highlights the importance of bringing product knowledge into the digital context through compelling content, sleek design, and engaging marketing initiatives. 

The goal is to ensure every item shines online just as it would in-store.

He anchors his approach in a simple yet powerful merchandising framework:

• Right Product
• Right Place
• Right Time

Ecommerce merchandising, often referred to as digital merchandising, is defined as the “mix of strategies” employed to sell products online effectively through “smart product placement, presentation and product management”.

Its primary objective is to ensure the “right product in the right place and especially… at the right time,” displayed in the most effective manner to boost sales. Beyond simple product listing, it involves a complex set of activities, metrics, and technological integrations.

In practice, this means making sure the correct products are online, well-positioned within the site architecture, and launched in sync with customer needs and brand campaigns. This might be during major shopping events like Christmas or more niche moments such as Father’s Day, which require extra advocacy to gain internal support.

What does an Ecommerce Merchandiser do?

An ecommerce merchandiser acts as a “product ambassador” within an ecommerce team. They serve as a central hub bridging the gap between deep product knowledge and the technical or commercial requirements of the digital team. Their responsibilities require collaboration with various departments:

• Content Teams: Ensuring online assets accurately represent the product to maximise sales.

• IT and UX: Developing functionalities like “virtual try-on” or visual filters.

• Performance Marketing: Influencing which products are highlighted in traffic-driving campaigns.

• Operations: coordinating logistics for sales peaks and special packaging.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Unlike marketing teams that focus on driving traffic, digital merchandising focuses on what happens after a customer arrives. It influences four critical KPIs:

• Conversion: The primary focus is ensuring browsing turns into buying.

• Units Per Transaction (UPT): Increasing the number of items purchased (e.g., through “complete the look” suggestions).

• Average Basket Value (ABV): Encouraging the purchase of higher-value items or enriching the experience to justify premium prices.

• Returns: Merchandising plays a significant role in reducing returns by ensuring accurate sizing information, fit details, and realistic product imagery.

Online Visual Merchandising: The Art of Display

A core component of the role is online visual merchandising, which focuses on “making things beautiful” while boosting brand image and visibility. This involves strategic decisions on how products are sorted and displayed:

• Manual Sorting: Often used by high-end luxury brands to maintain precise aesthetic control and brand storytelling.

• Algorithm-Based: Preferred by mass-market and fast-fashion retailers, where display priority is automated based on stock levels, newness, or conversion rates.

• Hybrid Approach: A common strategy involving manual control for prime page areas (like the top rows of a category page) and automated sorting for lower sections.

The Product Detail Page (PDP)

The PDP is considered a crucial touchpoint for maximising value. Merchandisers optimise this page through:

• Imagery: Using still life, styling shots, and close-ups to “multiply the selling occasions”.

• Detailed Information: Providing specific size and fit data (including model measurements) to reassure customers and prevent returns.

• Cross-selling: Utilising “Shop the Look” features or recommending complementary items (e.g., bag charms with bags) to increase basket value.

The Impact of AI and Technology

Ecommerce merchandising is increasingly driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which offers efficiency and new capabilities:

• Operational Efficiency: AI can automate copy translation, product tagging, and look creation.

• Customer Experience: AI powers virtual try-ons, size prediction based on return data, and personalised product recommendations.

• Generative AI: This technology can now generate complete outfits on models, resolving issues related to sample availability

A career in Ecommerce Merchandising

Few professionals have bridged the gap between luxury branding and digital strategy as seamlessly as Matteo Trombetta. With nearly 13 years of experience working at the intersection of fashion, product, and technology, Trombetta has built a career that exemplifies the power of digital merchandising as both an art and a science.

A Career in Luxury and Passion

Matteo Trombetta began his journey in digital fashion at Louis Vuitton in 2012, where he quickly developed a passion for product presentation and strategy in the online space. His career then expanded through roles at premium high-street brands such as 7 For All Mankind, Guess, and En Rose, gaining cross-segment experience that would become the foundation of his strategic insight.

Eventually, his career came full circle when he returned to LVMH Group, this time as Head of E-Merchandising, leading the digital merchandising function at the very brand where his journey began. For him, this return was not only professional but deeply personal—representing growth, expertise, and a heartfelt connection to the brand and its values.

Key E-commerce Metrics for Digital Merchandising

Through Trombetta’s lens, digital merchandising directly impacts some of the most crucial KPIs in e-commerce:

• Conversion Rate: A core metric influenced by product visibility and presentation.
• Units Per Transaction & Average Basket Value: Areas where tactics like cross-selling, curated looks, and personalized recommendations play a role.
• Return Rate: Often overlooked, returns can be reduced through accurate product content, sizing information, and customer education.

He points out that while traffic generation is usually owned by marketing and performance teams, conversion and return prevention are squarely within merchandising’s control. In his view, the merchandiser is the first line of defense in ensuring the customer gets what they expect, the first time.

Cross-Functional Approach to Digital Merchandising

Trombetta’s approach is deeply collaborative. He positions digital merchandising as a central hub in the broader e-commerce structure, working closely with:

• Content teams to align content marketing with sales objectives.
• UX and design to develop tools like visual filters and product try-ons.
• Analytics to monitor product performance and conversion metrics.
• IT and operations to ensure technical readiness and fulfillment planning.

His hands-on experience ranges across small startups, mid-size fashion labels, and global luxury giants—each offering insights into how merchandising adapts based on organizational scale.

Embracing Change and AI Innovation in Ecommerce Merchandising

A firm believer in staying ahead of the curve, Trombetta acknowledges the growing role of AI in digital merchandising. From personalization engines to automated categorization and performance prediction, AI is reshaping the landscape. While he remains grounded in the fundamentals, he supports the thoughtful integration of AI tools where they can elevate efficiency and decision-making.

He also emphasizes the need for flexibility and openness to change—a trait he considers essential in both the fashion and tech worlds. With new collections, new tools, and evolving customer behaviors, adaptability is key.

How does AI help ecommerce merchandisers?

AI helps predict the best size for customers by analyzing collective shopping behaviors rather than just relying on static measurements.

Specifically, AI algorithms review “what other people have bought” and, crucially, “what other people have returned” to calculate the most accurate fit. By processing this data, the technology can suggest the size that is likely to be the “best for you,” thereby addressing one of the most significant causes of returns in online fashion.

In addition to data-driven sizing recommendations, AI also supports sizing through “Virtual Try-On and Augmented Reality,” which allows customers to visualize products (such as sneakers or bags) on their own bodies to better judge scale and fit

What is the difference between Manual and Algorithm-based merchandising?

The difference between manual and algorithm-based product sorting lies primarily in the balance between aesthetic control and commercial efficiency, often dictating which strategy a retailer chooses based on their market positioning.

These sorting methods are part of Online Visual Merchandising, the process of “making things beautiful” while boosting visibility and sales.

Manual Sorting

This approach is typically favoured by high-end luxury brands where the brand image and storytelling are paramount.

• Purpose: It allows for “precise aesthetic control and asset placement”. Merchandisers manually curate the page to tell a specific story, ensuring that colours, styles, and “looks” complement each other perfectly.

• Application: It is used when the visual narrative is more important than raw speed, requiring a merchandiser to painstakingly arrange products to maintain a “spotless” and high-quality “flagship store” experience online.

Algorithm-Based Sorting

This method is the standard for mass-market and fast-fashion companies dealing with large inventories and high turnover.

• Purpose: It prioritises efficiency and commercial metrics over strict visual curation. The system automatically arranges products based on hard data such as “stock, newness, [or] conversion rate”.

• Application: This is highly effective for maximizing sales volume and operational efficiency, though it is generally “less aesthetically driven” than manual curation.

The Mixed Approach

In practice, many retailers employ a “mixed approach” to balance these needs.

• Strategy: This involves using manual control for “prime page areas” (such as the top rows of a category page) to set the tone and inspire the customer, while allowing algorithms to automate the sorting for lower sections or specific high-volume pages like sales sections.

• Evolution: As a brand moves from high-end luxury toward more commercial sectors, the strategy typically shifts from being very manual to becoming “a little bit more algorithm based”

Can AI create full outfits without physical product samples?

Yes, Generative AI is capable of creating “complete outfits on top of models” without the need for physical product samples.

This technology provides a solution for logistical challenges such as “late samples or unavailable models,” allowing merchandisers to generate necessary visual content even if the physical items are not yet on hand. However, the sources note that while this capability offers efficiency, it also raises “ethical implications” regarding the creation of synthetic imagery

How does AI automate product tagging and categorization?

AI automates product tagging and categorisation primarily by analysing visual data. By scanning “product pictures,” AI algorithms can “automatically understand” the nature of an item—for instance, determining if a specific garment belongs on the “jackets page”.

This technology streamlines the merchandising process in two key ways:

• Automated Categorisation: It removes the need for manual sorting by automatically placing items into their correct product categories based on visual recognition.

• Tag Application: It can automatically apply specific status labels to items, such as the “new tag” for recent arrivals.

The implementation of these AI tools leads to significant improvements in both “efficiency and accuracy measures” within digital merchandising operations

What Makes a Great Ecommerce Merchandiser?

Trombetta identifies several core traits that define a successful digital merchandiser:

• Passion for product and sales
• Commercial mindset
• Attention to detail
• Flexibility and resilience to change
• Strong analytical thinking

At its best, digital merchandising isn’t just about presenting products—it’s about understanding them deeply, selling them smartly, and creating a seamless customer experience that reflects the brand’s identity.

Where Luxury Meets Logic

Matteo Trombetta’s work underscores the vital role digital merchandising plays in today’s retail economy. With his blend of strategic thinking, product knowledge, and digital fluency, he represents a new generation of merchandising leaders, ones who aren’t just selling products, but crafting experiences.

“A digital merchandiser is not just selling products, he’s crafting experiences.” 

Matteo Trombetta

As brands continue to compete in a saturated and digital-first world, voices like Trombetta’s offer a clear reminder: great merchandising is equal parts intuition, data, and storytelling. And when done right, it becomes the bridge between the heart of a brand and the fingertips of the customer.

Download the Guide. How to launch a product online 

To successfully launch a product online, you need four key components: product images, clear and localized descriptions, accurate pricing, and available stock. While this sounds simple, coordinating all these elements—especially translations and asset validation across internal and external teams—can be complex and time-consuming.

1. Pricing. Pricing is typically handled by a dedicated team, but it must be in place for a product to be shoppable. 
2. Stock availability, while monitored by planning teams, is also a merchandising concern to ensure that products with sufficient inventory are prioritized for visibility and promotion.
3. Assets
   1. High-quality photography—ranging from still-life shots to detailed styling and fit images—is essential in luxury e-commerce to showcase value and minimize returns.
   2. PDP Features. On the product detail page (PDP), cross-sell features like color selectors, alternate lengths, and style pairings help increase engagement and average basket size.
   3. Copy. Finally, the PDP copy plays a dual role: it supports SEO by being keyword-rich and informative, and it also reassures customers by providing sizing, fit, and traceability information—especially important for sustainability-conscious shoppers.
4. Visibility. Once the assets are ready, the product must be “activated”—this means placing it in the right categories and ensuring it’s visible across the site. This step is the digital equivalent of a store associate unpacking and displaying merchandise.
5. Presentation & Visibility. After a product is live, the focus shifts to how and where it’s presented. The homepage acts as digital prime real estate, used for major brand messages and commercial pushes. Navigation, once purely functional, now includes visual elements and campaign highlights to guide the customer journey.
   1. Landing pages provide storytelling and editorial content, while product listing pages (PLPs) drive direct product discovery and conversion. Together, these help users move from inspiration to purchase. Gifting pages and curated product edits—such as “wedding guest outfits”, are increasingly used to match seasonal trends and customer intent, especially around key events.
   2. In fast fashion, “new in” pages are critical because customers expect high turnover and constant freshness. These pages often drive the highest engagement.
   3. Internal search bars, used by 10–20% of visitors, tend to lead to higher conversion rates—especially when optimized to reflect what users are actively looking for.
   4. Filters & Sorting tools, especially visual ones, enhance mobile browsing by helping users quickly refine their searches.
   5. Product tags like “New In” or “3D View” help communicate unique selling points immediately, often before users even click through to a product page.
   6. Live chat & Chatbots support, often triggered after a delay, offers help at key points in the journey without being intrusive. 

Download the Ecommerce Merchandising Checklist