What Are Featured Products? 7 Examples & Tips for Ecommerce This Holiday Season

Every ecommerce business wants one thing during the holidays — attention. But when every brand runs discounts, ads, and gift bundles, the real question is: how do you make shoppers stop and look?

That’s where featured products ideas come in.

A featured product isn’t just something you throw on your homepage. It’s a curated spotlight — a product (or set of products) that you deliberately push forward because it represents your brand, fits the season, or deserves extra visibility.

Think of it like the front window of your online store.
Done right, it drives clicks, boosts conversions, and makes your store feel fresh every time someone visits.

Below are 7 featured products examples and practical featured products ideas that show how leading ecommerce brands use placement, labeling, and design to guide shoppers — and how you can do the same this holiday season.

1. Gymshark: Use Visuals in Navigation Menus

One of the smartest featured product ideas comes from Gymshark. Instead of hiding featured items deep inside the website, Gymshark adds them right into their navigation dropdown — with images.

When someone hovers over the menu, they instantly see a “Featured” section on the right, paired with product visuals like leggings or new releases. It’s fast, clear, and visual — exactly how holiday shoppers browse.

Visual cues work because people don’t want to read their way through options; they want to see what’s worth checking out. Adding images beside text gives your featured items a natural pull.

If you want to borrow this featured product example, test adding a small visual grid in your dropdown menu for things like “Holiday Picks” or “Top Gifts.”

2. Everlane: Highlight featured products in Multiple Sections

Everlane has some of the best featured product ideas for brands with multiple collections. They don’t limit the “Featured” tag to one place.

Inside their menu, they use it under different sections — “Cult Favorites,” “New Arrivals,” and even “Sale.” Each section helps a specific type of shopper: trend followers, new customers, or deal seekers.

This layered approach turns a simple menu into a guided shopping path. During the holidays, when people browse with intent (“I need a quick gift”), this structure helps them reach the right products faster.

One of the most useful featured products examples from Everlane is how they keep the word Featured consistent across all menus. It builds recognition. Customers learn that “Featured” means “worth checking.”

So, whether it’s your top sellers or your seasonal drop, label them clearly. Shoppers appreciate direction when they’re overwhelmed by choices.

3. Hydro Flask: Create a Dedicated Featured Tab

Hydro Flask keeps things clean and simple. They have a dedicated “Featured” tab in their side menu. Inside, you’ll find “Exclusives,” “Limited Edition,” and “New Arrivals.”

It’s one of the most straightforward featured products ideas you can use. It separates special collections from regular browsing. For busy holiday shoppers, that small separation makes the buying process quicker.

A separate tab also gives your marketing team flexibility — you can rotate products weekly without changing the main structure.

For instance, you could feature a “Winter Gift Set” one week and “Best Sellers Under $50” the next. That’s how you keep your store dynamic through the entire holiday season.

4. Coop Sleep Goods: Feature Collections, Not Just Products

Many stores think “featured” means one product. Coop Sleep Goods shows it doesn’t have to.

Their featured products examples spotlight entire collections — like “Cooling Sheets” or “Bestselling Pillows” — right inside dropdown menus.

It’s a subtle but powerful move. Instead of overwhelming customers with a single product page, they guide them toward small, themed groups. It creates focus while still giving shoppers room to explore.

This is one of the most practical featured products ideas for ecommerce sites with multiple product variations. It reduces decision fatigue and helps customers find what they want faster — something that really matters when people are buying last-minute holiday gifts.

If you sell multiple product types (like skincare sets or tech accessories), think in “collections” rather than “items.”

5. Package Free: Prioritize Placement on Mobile

Package Free — a sustainable store — has one of the most mobile-friendly featured products examples out there.

Their “Featured” section sits right at the top of the sidebar navigation, visible without scrolling. For mobile shoppers, that’s gold.

Small screens mean less patience. If your “Featured” link is buried, it might as well not exist. Putting it at the top ensures visibility no matter the device.

If you’re planning holiday updates, this is one of those featured products ideas that takes 5 minutes but pays off instantly. Just move your “Featured” tab to the top of your menu. It signals importance, builds curiosity, and helps users get straight to what matters.

6. Alo Yoga: Use “Featured Shops” to Curate Experiences

Alo Yoga takes a creative spin on featured listings.
Instead of a generic “Featured” label, they call it “Featured Shops.”

Inside their dropdown menu, they display small curated collections like “Cabana Collection” or “Occasion Shop.” Each collection has its own theme, color palette, and product mood.

It’s one of the most thoughtful featured products ideas because it connects curation with storytelling. You’re not just showing items; you’re showing a moment.

This holiday season, think about how you can package your featured products examples as experiences. Maybe it’s “Cozy Home Picks” or “Holiday Party Must-Haves.” Give shoppers a reason to explore, not just a list to scroll.

7. Simple Human: Pair Labels with Product Images

Simple Human nails the balance between function and appeal. Their featured products examples appear in dropdown menus like “Sensor” or “New,” where they mix short product names with thumbnail images — things like “Sensor Mirror” or “Cleanstation.”

What works here isn’t just visibility; it’s reinforcement. Each visual confirms what shoppers are about to click on.

During the holidays, people are moving fast. They don’t want to guess what something looks like. That’s why pairing images with labels is one of the simplest featured products ideas to improve click-throughs and reduce bounce.

If you have time to update your menus before your next campaign, add small thumbnails beside your top 3 featured items. You’ll be surprised how quickly users notice the difference.

Where to Display featured products

Now that you’ve seen how top brands do it, let’s talk about where to place them.

Here are a few featured products ideas that work across most ecommerce stores:

• Homepage hero section: Great for new arrivals or holiday gift sets. It’s the first thing users see and creates instant interest.
  
• Navigation menus: Helps customers discover featured items naturally while browsing.
  
• Category pages: Add a small “Featured” row on top of product grids for easier access.
  
• Sidebar menus: Perfect for mobile; keeps visibility without clutter.
  
• Emails or newsletters: Include your “featured products examples” in your next campaign to drive targeted traffic.
  
• Popups or banners: Use sparingly, maybe for flash deals or holiday bundles.
  

Each placement adds visibility from a different angle. The trick is to stay consistent. Keep the same design, label, or tag across all touchpoints so customers instantly recognize it.

Also read our article on FOMO Marketing Guide with Examples

Choosing the Right Products to Feature

Featuring the wrong product can hurt sales more than help. So how do you decide what goes into your featured products examples list?

Here are a few grounded featured products ideas to pick wisely:

• Start with performance data: Look at what already sells well or gets clicks.
  
• Mix old and new: Pair top sellers with new or seasonal releases to balance familiarity and freshness.
  
• Follow trends, but stay true to your brand: Seasonal alignment matters, but don’t feature products that feel off-brand.
  
• Test profitability: Sometimes, featuring high-margin items works better than pushing volume-based ones.
  
• Rotate regularly: Keep your “Featured” area fresh. It signals that your store is alive and active.

Why featured products Matter

Featuring products is more than design — it’s behavioral psychology. When shoppers see an item labeled “Featured,” they subconsciously assume it’s worth attention. That tiny cue builds curiosity, trust, and confidence.

It also simplifies decisions. Instead of scrolling through endless pages, people get a curated shortlist. Less thinking, faster checkout.

And there’s a hidden SEO advantage too. Strategically placing featured products examples improves internal linking, keeps users engaged longer, and can lift the performance of those pages in search results.

Final Thought

featured products aren’t decoration — they’re direction. This holiday season, focus on featured products ideas that guide, not overwhelm. Whether it’s visuals in menus, curated collections, or a simple label that says “Worth a Look,” small details can quietly drive the biggest impact.