Being able to deliver consistency on a company’s website is imperative to a successful digital strategy.
Site search for one carries an expectancy for customers and can make or break a shopping experience for them. Customers who can’t find the products or content they want will move on to your competitors.
As a result of this, retailers across Europe are refocusing their investment in site search because they both recognise the importance and range of benefits that effective rules-based merchandising can bring to their businesses.
Site search visitors are more likely to purchase compared to those who use standard navigation, as they have a clearly defined vision of why they are there and what they want. These visitors are at the final stages of wanting to make a purchase as information and product comparison is completed; they want to view products with the intent to purchase.
Site search can provide data and content services, customer analytics data and merchandising functionalities such as promotions, campaigns, brands, store details, and contact us - the list is never-ending. You need to make sure that you’re deploying the correct technology to improve basic KPIs as well as improving the resourcefulness of your business.
A seamless journey for a customer can ensure:
- Increased customer retention and engagement - customers know they can find products more easily and personalised deeper provides more relevancy.
- Improved branding - an improved UX and relevant results give the customer a shortened sales funnel, it’s all about convenience and a better customer journey compared to competitor websites.
- Improved shopping experience - An enhanced mobile experience appeals to our hectic lifestyles which means that customers are more likely to find the correct products on the site as well as delivering additional content such as “how to” videos or “guided selling/advisory campaigns”, this can boost the number of registrations and return visits as well as speed of purchase.
A customer-centric site search delivers higher conversion rates
Visitors using search in some cases make up over 25% of online revenue and not forgetting the importance of ranking rules and commercial cocktails you can leverage such as brands, sale items, stock values and any other data you wish to merchandise by. Increasing revenue per session and AOV is equally as important. Making sure that you have merchandised the results page to give you the best commercial advantage is something that the majority of retailers don’t have the internal resources or technology to deploy. Even more importantly, deploying a solution that learns from customer behaviour and can influence additional purchases through personalisation and recommendation is a must.
Shortening the sales funnel
Your potential customer has found your website and is attempting to find something specific. The search box comes with the heavy expectation of delivering relevant results as more and more of us expect a “Google” type relevancy personalised to our individual behaviour. Predictive suggestions will shorten the sales funnel even further by suggesting products, categories, brands and additional content as we start to type. When delivered correctly, research shows that 1 in 5 search site visitors will click on a search suggestion so getting that information to the customer at the earliest stage is key.
Algolia search allows great flexibility for retailers to display search suggestions within the “suggest” box. For example, they allow the consumer to view frequently browsed pages, and additional content as well as surfacing relevant products and campaigns associated with the initial characters typed. AI technology brings progressive learning to provide even more relevancy and improve conversion rates. The AI landscape evolves daily so make sure you are engaging with the right support networks to make sure you stay informed.
How to provide for the modern-day consumer
The variety of terminology as well as the combination of misspells pushes us more to market-leading AI search solutions including Algolia and Klevu.
Over 45% of words typed are misspelt or incompatible with the out-of-the-box platform search on the retailer’s site. Complicate that with a mix of long-tail search terms and the chances are that your site will be returning a poor match or even worse “0 products returned”. Look for a data-driven solution that compliments your existing platform and doesn’t want to control the front-end experience. Front-end experience is down to the retailer and the eCommerce platform for obvious reasons, you’re the expert and visually it’s important that you have full control.
How to use the data
Consumers who type into a company’s site search box can give a business valuable insight into users’ behaviour and give the retailer nuggets of gold to learn from. Using these analytics and back-end analysis is best practice for the top-performing eCommerce businesses.
Luigis Box has a particularly good analytics interface, so you can use this information in the right way to increase conversions and improve customer retention.
Omni channel experience keeps retailers on their toes.
I have seen the demise of several recognised brands over the last few years with more to follow as they continually look to the heavens for inspiration as opposed to their customers. Improving the site search experience for users and increasing conversion rates go hand in hand BUT retailers need to look deeper at what the customer expects. Consistency and relevancy across all omni/multi-channel elements is key to not only driving sales but also delivering a stronger brand and retaining customers, even more so in the rapidly growing eCommerce market of B2B. Conversion rates through site search can be up to 60% higher than the average. Some retailers have noticed that by deploying smart search technology through the website click and collect conversions rates improve by over 100%. Omni channel experience NEEDS to be consistent in a fast-paced evolving marketplace.
By offering a user-friendly site search experience, businesses can help customers find items they’re looking for in a more streamlined way. This places visitors in control of their own shopping experience which helps increase customer loyalty and makes them more likely to convert, return to the site and share their positive experiences.
Stuart Patterson – Senior Solutions Expert
Looking to upgrade you omni-channel experience?
Stuart Patterson
Senior Solution Specialist
Stuart is a Senior Solution Specialist who has worked in eCommerce since 2004 and has been with Develo since 2024. Stuarts' favourite aspect of eCommerce is driving online growth and strategy across omnichannels. Outside of work, he can be found coaching the Acle FC, travelling and enjoying walks in the countryside with his Springer Spaniel.
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