How Many Products To Load in Your Product Lists

Summary

In this insightful presentation, Christian Hol of the Baymart Institute discusses the optimal number of products to display on e-commerce sites to enhance user experience. He suggests loading between 50 to 150 items on desktop and 15 to 30 on mobile. The right balance is crucial to avoid overwhelming users while ensuring they have enough options to evaluate. Strategies like lazy loading and 'load more' buttons can significantly improve page performance. With research-backed guidelines, this video aims to help e-commerce platforms maximize efficiency and user satisfaction.

Takeaways

• 😀 The product loading dilemma for e-commerce sites involves balancing the number of items displayed to avoid overwhelming users or limiting their choices.
• 📱 For desktop, the ideal number of products to load is between 50 and 150, while for mobile, it’s best to load 15 to 30 products at once.
• 🔍 Loading too few items can prevent users from fully understanding the range of products available, making navigation cumbersome.
• 🚧 Too many products can slow down page loading times and create frustration for users, especially on mobile devices.
• 🛒 For visually driven products, loading 100 to 150 items is recommended, while spec-driven products should limit to 50 to 100 items.
• 📊 Mobile users fatigue more quickly with long product lists, requiring a different loading approach than desktop users.
• 🛠️ Implementing a combination of 'load more' buttons and lazy loading can optimize page performance and enhance user experience.
• 📉 Home Depot's strategy of loading 24 items by default on mobile helps users assess products without feeling overwhelmed.
• 🔄 Using smart loading techniques can improve both infinite scrolling and traditional pagination experiences for users.
• 🔗 For more detailed guidelines on optimizing product lists, refer to Bart's research catalog.

Q & A

What is the 'product loading dilemma' mentioned in the video?

The product loading dilemma refers to the challenge e-commerce sites face in finding the right balance between displaying too few products, which can limit user exploration, and displaying too many products, which can overwhelm users.

What is the recommended number of products to display on desktop?

The recommended number of products to display on desktop is between 50 and 150 items, depending on the type of products.

How does the ideal number of products to display differ between desktop and mobile?

On desktop, 50 to 150 products are ideal, while on mobile, it's recommended to load only 15 to 30 products at once due to the smaller screen size and users' quicker fatigue.

Why can loading too few products be problematic for users?

Loading too few products can prevent users from grasping the full range of available items, making it harder for them to determine if they will find suitable options or if they need to search more broadly.

What happens when too many products are loaded at once?

Loading too many products can overwhelm users, slow down page loading and scrolling, and lead to frustration, especially on slower internet connections.

What are the specific recommendations for visually driven products versus spec-driven products on desktop?

For visually driven products, 100 to 150 items should be loaded at once, while for spec-driven products, 50 to 100 items are more appropriate.

How does mobile user behavior differ from desktop user behavior when it comes to product lists?

Mobile users tend to fatigue more quickly with long product lists compared to desktop users, which is why fewer items (15 to 30) are recommended for mobile displays.

What is the benefit of using a combination of a load more button and lazy loading?

This combination allows for efficient product fetching as users scroll, addressing performance issues associated with loading many products on a page, and works well for both infinite scrolling and traditional pagination.

What example does the video give for a company effectively using product loading on mobile?

Home Depot is mentioned as effectively loading 24 items by default on mobile, allowing users to view a reasonable number of products without overwhelming them.

Where can viewers find more detailed information on optimizing product lists?

Viewers can find more detailed information in the research catalog at bart.com/research, which includes over 80 product list guidelines.