M
E-commerce Glossary

What is Manual Collection?

Understanding Manual Collection in E-commerce

Quick Definition

Manual Collection is an e-commerce strategy where online stores curate specific product groups based on themes, styles, or customer preferences. These collections help shoppers discover related items, improve navigation, and create a more personalized shopping experience by organizing products into meaningful, contextually relevant sets.

2 min read

Understanding Manual Collections in E-commerce

What Defines a Manual Collection?

Unlike automated collections that dynamically populate based on product attributes, manual collections are intentionally crafted by merchants to guide customer discovery and highlight specific product relationships. They represent a strategic approach to product presentation and merchandising.

Key Benefits of Manual Collections

  • Enhanced User Experience: Simplifies product discovery through logical, curated groupings
  • Storytelling Opportunity: Create narratives around product sets that resonate with specific customer segments
  • Increased Average Order Value: Encourage complementary product purchases through strategic grouping
  • Merchandising Flexibility: Manually control product presentation for seasonal, promotional, or thematic campaigns

Common Manual Collection Types

Seasonal Collections

Curate products specific to holidays, weather, or time-based trends

Style-Based Collections

Group items by aesthetic, design philosophy, or customer persona

Lifestyle Collections

Create sets that align with specific activities, interests, or use cases

Price-Point Collections

Organize products by budget ranges for easier customer navigation

Best Practices for Creating Manual Collections

  • Maintain Clear Themes: Ensure each collection has a logical, understandable purpose
  • Limit Collection Size: Keep collections focused to prevent overwhelming customers
  • Use High-Quality Visuals: Create compelling collection thumbnails and headers
  • Update Regularly: Refresh collections to maintain relevance and customer interest

Advanced Collection Strategies

Modern e-commerce platforms like Growth Suite enable sophisticated collection management with advanced personalization features. By tracking visitor behavior and purchase history, merchants can dynamically adjust collection visibility and prioritize products most likely to convert for specific customer segments.

The key is to view manual collections not just as organizational tools, but as strategic merchandising instruments that guide customer journeys and enhance overall shopping experiences.

Put Manual Collection into Practice

Ready to apply these concepts to your store? Growth Suite provides the tools you need to implement effective manual collection strategies.