How To Determine Product Categories So That They Do Not Have The Same Meaning

By Janet E Downie

Thursday, March 30, 2023

When it comes to online shops, product categories are essential both to make it easier for customers to find their desired product, and also to help them differentiate between products. Unfortunately, an ill-defined product category can lead to confusion and make customers unable to find the product they want. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine categories of products in an online shop.

First, make sure that you are aware of the meaning of each product category to avoid creating overlapping categories. Categories should have exclusive meaning, be specific, and first and foremost, be meaningful to the customer. Secondly, create categories based on product functionality, consumer need, and product appearance. It is important to avoid overlapping meaning when creating product categories based on functionality and consumer need — for example, a product could belong to “drinks” and “alcoholic beverages” so should not be placed under both categories. Thirdly, create product photos that are clear and easily distinguishable from one another. Having product photos that are easily distinguishable will prevent customers from getting confused when they look at the products in each category.

Additionally, it may be helpful to leverage more specific categorizing features that your online shop offers such as tags, attributes, and price range. Each of them can be used to further differentiate products despite them belonging to the same category. Last but not least, use each product category to add product descriptions. Having detailed descriptions and features of the products in each category will greatly help customers in their search.

Overall, accurately defining product categories in an online shop is important and has the power to greatly optimize customers’ experiences. Make sure of the meaning of each product category to avoid creating overlapping categories, use tags and attributes as additional categorizing features, create product photos that are clear and easily distinguishable, and write detailed descriptions for products in each category. By following these steps, customers in an online shop are sure to find exactly what they are looking for.

Are you running an online shop? If so, you know how important it is to have organized product categories that make it convenient and easy for your customers to shop. 

But there’s one often-overlooked aspect of product categorization that can lead to confusion: categorizing your products the same way so that they have the same meaning. 

This isn’t just a problem for online stores – it occurs in physical stores too. When shoppers go to a store and realize that various products have been placed in the same category, they may immediately assume they’re the same product when they aren’t. 

This means that, as an online store owner, it’s important to create product categories that avoid confusion. Here’s how you can achieve this…

1. Take time for research. 

Before you begin creating your product categories, take the time to research the types of products your customers are searching for. This will help you create effective categories that suit the needs of your customers.

2. Use clear titles.

When creating product categories, use titles that are clear, concise, and representative of the items in the category. This will help customers determine what the category contains, such as “Vegan Snacks” or “Office Supplies”. 

3. Consider how customers will search.

Your customers will likely use different search terms to find the products they want. Try to consider the keywords they’re likely to use, and create categories based on those keywords. For example, if you offer both pet food and pet toys, use the words “pet” and “toys” in the same categories.

4. Prominently display product images.

If you’re displaying a large variety of products in the same category, make sure to showcase product images so that customers can easily identify the products in the given category. This will help customers quickly determine that the products in the category are not the same. 

It’s important to remember that product categorization can oftentimes lead to product confusion. To prevent this, it’s essential to carefully consider the categories you’re creating for your online shop, and place the items in each category with clarity and organization in mind. With these tips and best practices, you can determine product categories in a way that ensures your customers understand the category and the products within it.

If you are running an online shop, deciding on product categories is one of the most important aspects of your business's success. Knowing how to categorize your products is key to helping customers search, compare and purchase the items they're looking for. Creating overly broad, or overly specific, product categories can lead to confusion and may even cause customers to give up on finding the right product.

It's important to consider how a customer might search for an item before deciding on your product categories. A common mistake is to simply group items based on a product photo or description. This type of categorization isn't helpful for customers as it doesn't give them an easy way to narrow down their search.

Instead, think of the main themes or types of items within your store. Consider if they can be grouped together in a meaningful way that doesn't leave customers confused. This can be further refined into sub-categories so customers can easily find the items they're looking for.

For example, if you were running a store selling clothes, you could create a product category for women's clothing, then break this down into further sub-categories such as tops, bottoms and dresses, as well as further subsections such as shirt-style tops, denim jeans and maxi dresses.

When creating your categories, it's important to think of how they differ from each other. If two categories, or sub-categories, have the same meaning, it can lead to confusion, so use unique and descriptive words when naming them.

Finally, it's important to review your product categories on a regular basis. Make sure yours are up-to-date and that customers can easily navigate your online shop to find what they are looking for. With the right product categories, you can ensure your customers' search experience is straightforward and successful.