A long grid of identical product cards eventually becomes monotonous, and the visitor starts to skim it only loosely. A well-placed promotional block among the products breaks this monotony and at the same time reinforces a key offer right where the customer is browsing, without distracting them from viewing the products. Below is what to put in such blocks and how to place them so they help rather than disturb.
What to put in a promotional block
A promotional block is an excellent place for a message that further encourages the customer to buy. The strongest examples are:
- Free shipping: a "Free shipping over 50 EUR" bar reminds the customer of the benefit at the very moment of choosing. Free shipping is one of the strongest incentives for most customers and often noticeably raises the average order value.
- Current or seasonal sale: a "Summer sale up to -50%" banner with a button that leads to a pre-filtered list of discounted products.
- Quantity deal: "Buy 2, pay 1" or "3 for the price of 2" for products where a larger quantity makes sense.
- Brand or collection spotlight: in one of the grid cells, highlight a new brand or a bestsellers collection ("New collection by brand X").
- Link to a narrower selection: "Top rated in this category" or "See everything on sale".
Each block should have a short, clear message and a call to action that leads to a concrete, ideally already filtered list.
Placement and frequency
Promotional blocks should be rare and thoughtfully placed. In practice a block is often placed on a specific row in the grid (for example after the first or second row of products) and can span the width of one or a few product cells. On longer lists one more in between makes sense at most, but not every few products.
If the category contains subcategories, their tiles should take priority at the top, and promotional blocks should follow after them - so the customer first gets their bearings on where to go next, and only then sees additional offers. Too many ad blocks break the overview of the products and weaken the very thing the customer came for: viewing the offer.
Blend with the grid, but stand out by message
The promotional block should fit into the product grid by size so it does not break the layout, while being visually distinct enough for the customer to notice it and not mistake it for a product. A clear heading, short text, and a visible button (for example "See the offer") help the customer instantly understand what the block offers and where it leads.
Use colour deliberately and keep the content clean, without clutter. On mobile devices, where products are often in one or two columns, the block should not take up too much of the screen, otherwise it pushes the customer away from the products.
Relevance and authenticity
The block's message should be related to the category the customer is viewing and true. Example: in a "Women's new arrivals" category, highlighting a new women's brand or a promotion for that group works much better than a generic ad unrelated to the products. The more relevant the block is to what the customer is looking for, the more it feels like helpful assistance.
The offer in the block should hold true. A promotion that is advertised but turns out to be expired or conditioned by fine print quickly dispels trust, so keep the blocks up to date so they match actual, current offers.
How to set it up in Magento
In Magento you usually insert a promotional block into the product list as a static CMS block at a chosen position, which allows you to update the content and the offer yourself at any time, without touching the code.
For precise and dynamic placement there are dedicated promo banner modules that place the block on a chosen row in the grid, set how many product slots it occupies, and show different blocks depending on the category, season, or customer behaviour. Such a module turns promotional blocks from static ads into a flexible tool for guiding the customer.
How to measure whether it works
Track how many customers click on the promotional block and how this reflects in subsequent behaviour, for example in the average order value for a shipping-benefit block, or in sales of products from the promotion the block points to. If the block gets clicks and encourages the desired action, it is doing its job.
Watch that the block does not reduce product views; if customers see fewer products or leave faster after it is introduced, it is probably too distracting or too frequent. You can test different offers, positions, and frequencies and keep those that help most.
