Navigation: 3 mega menus (Events, Eat + Drink, Explore) with 2/3 link pane + 1/3 editorial spotlight panel. 2 simple dropdowns (Parking + Safety, About) with icon + label + description per row. Donate CTA styled as distinct button. Editorial panels are CMS-managed single post references with fallback defaults; Explore groups subpages by section (Art + Culture, Shopping, Experiences, Stay); Shopping nav shows only Fashion, Gifts, and All Shopping (analytics-informed — other categories accessible via landing page); Mobile: editorial panels omitted.

§1 — Page Hero. Warm, daytime atmosphere — shopping is a daylight activity; avoid the evening-dominant treatment used on Music and some Arts pages. No CTA button in the hero — the subpage cards and All Shops band below handle the routing. Typography should feel approachable rather than editorial-cold — this section is Inspirational + Communal voice. Headline recommendation: 'Find It Here First' — broadest option, captures discovery energy across all six categories. 'The Boutiques Behind the Block' is a strong alternative if the hero image features a proprietor or interior. Fashion boutique photography is the most likely source of strong hero assets — coordinate with member boutiques to source interiors and lifestyle shots.

§2 — Subpage Navigation Cards: Analytics-Tiered Layout. GA4 12-month data confirms Fashion as highest-traffic Shopping subcategory, Gifts a clear second. Top row: Fashion featured (wider ~60%) + Gifts elevated (~40%), same height. Bottom row: 4 standard equal-weight cards (Specialty, Home + Garden, Toys + Games, Jewelry). On tablet, top row collapses to full-width stacked. On mobile, all six cards single-column with Fashion and Gifts first. The order of the four standard cards can be adjusted at design stage — no analytics signal strong enough to prescribe their order. Alphabetical default; seasonality acceptable (e.g., Home + Garden in spring, Toys + Games in Q4). Post-launch, track subpage card click-through rates to validate or adjust layout.

§3 — All Shops Band. Dedicated entry point to a comprehensive 'All Shops' directory for browse-mode users. Parallel to 'All Restaurants + Bars' in the Eat + Drink section. Visually contained horizontal band — not a full-section treatment. Positioned between category cards and editorial spotlight as the practical fallback before the editorial layer. The 'All Shops' page itself is a separate deliverable following the same archive/listing page pattern as Eat + Drink listings. Optional: a live count of active businesses ('Browse [N] Short North shops') if District 360 data feed supports it dynamically — flag as Phase 2 if not confirmed. Both the Shopping landing page and the All Shops directory should be added to Sitemap v2 together.

§4 — Curated Picks (profile-driven). Content managers only manage two things: (1) the intro text above the cards (section tag, headline, subhead), and (2) which businesses to feature (select 3 via a relationship field in WordPress). All card content is pulled automatically from the selected business profile: featured image, business name, category, description/excerpt, address, and hours. No per-card editorial copy to write or maintain. CTA links to the full business profile page. Rotation is as simple as swapping out the 3 selected businesses — no copywriting required.

§5 — Cross-Sell Block. 'While You're Here' — consistent with Art + Culture landing page. Eat + Drink leads (first tile, left-most) because brunch + boutiques is the Short North's most natural visitor pattern. Events tile makes Gallery Hop's shopping connection explicit — boutiques participate, extend hours, and draw foot traffic. Art + Culture tile is optional — if two tiles feel cleaner at design stage, Eat + Drink + Events is sufficient. Tile photography should feel daytime and social — consistent with Shopping section's warmer, lighter atmosphere. Gallery Hop tile should not just reference it as an arts event — the copy makes the shopping connection deliberate.