best default sort order for products

[edmondscommerce]

what do you think is the best default sort order for products in category listings?

[KM-Tiger]

Personally, price ascending.

But a wise man would split test.

[consultant]

either price or feature/model (i.e. low spec to higher spec)

[dunerider]

price order for me..

but it may depend on product range

[iboxsecurity]

without a doubt split test it. But personally i think it depends on your target audience. Most people yes will opt for the cheapest option of a product where as others may want to see right away the expensive top of the range. Others may prefer to see whats selling best or alphabetical, most viewed etc.

[J-Wholesale]

That very much depends. If you have a lot of repeat customers, then new stock first is a good way to go. I'm dead against sorting by price, and prefer to mix prices across the range. If cheap lines come first, then it's very likely that you'll sell far fewer expensive items. (And yes, we have tested this.)

We sort by newness, with options to allow the customer to sort by price.

[edmondscommerce]

thanks everyone

yes split testing is a good idea

im surprised no one has mentioned sorting by sales rank or profit margin

I see what you mean about listing cheapest first and burying the expensive items last

[downsouth]

I tend to do that, list the main sellers at top of list, followed by no particular order, in fact probably shuffle them up so as not to appear in price order.

If all the products are displayed clearly then i dont see a problem

Willing to look at trying a few others methods though

[dunerider]

the best solution is to give people the option to choose their own sorted list.

when i am looking for a product i know little about i like to see stuff in "bestseller" order.

on ebay i look at either ending soonest or price low to high