When an ecommerce website has hundreds or thousands of products, giving customers plenty of choice is a good thing, but too much choice can quickly become overwhelming.
Good “product filters” help customers narrow down a large catalogue and get to the products most relevant much faster.
Filters can allow shoppers to refine products by things such as price, size, colour, brand, category, availability, specification or product features. Instead of scrolling through endless unsuitable products, customers can quickly create a much more manageable selection.
Make Large Product Catalogues Easier to Navigate
The bigger your ecommerce catalogue becomes, the more important filtering is.
A customer looking for a particular product may already know several things about what they need. If your website allows them to apply those requirements immediately, it removes unnecessary browsing and makes the buying journey much simpler.
Well-designed filters can help:
- Reduce the number of products customers need to review
- Make large product ranges feel easier to navigate
- Help customers compare relevant products
- Reduce frustration and abandoned visits
- Get shoppers to suitable products and checkout faster
Filters Should Match How Customers Shop
The most useful filters are not necessarily the same for every ecommerce website.
A clothing retailer may need filters for size, colour and style, while an electrical or industrial supplier may benefit more from technical specifications, dimensions, compatibility or manufacturer.
Understanding how your customers search for products allows you to create filters that genuinely help rather than simply adding more options to the page.
A Faster Route to the Right Product
Effective ecommerce filtering is ultimately about removing friction.
When customers can quickly narrow a large catalogue down to a handful of suitable products, they are less likely to feel overwhelmed and more likely to proceed to purchase.
If your ecommerce website has grown over time, reviewing your categories, product data and filtering options can be a relatively simple improvement that makes the entire shopping experience faster and easier.