THE ECOMMERCE SITE SEARCH PLAYBOOK€¦ · someone inishing our sentence for ou hile ou’re...

THE ECOMMERCE SITE SEARCH PLAYBOOK

A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING ECOMMERCE SITE SEARCH AND HOW TO MAKE IT

THE MOST POWERFUL ELEMENT OF YOUR SITE

shirt

THE OFTEN OVERLOOKED POTENTIAL OF SITE SEARCH

Nearly every eCommerce site has site

search, but for a lot of retailers it’s an

overlooked element. They’ve launched

it, largely forgotten about it, and haven’t

considered its potential to do a better job

at driving conversions.

When visitors use site search, even in its most basic form, they are 1.8x

as likely to convert than visitors who do not use site search1. But for the

majority of digital retailers, there is a lot of room for improvement. Just as

a really good associate can increase the likelihood of a sale in a brick and

mortar scenario, a better than average site search solution can have a major

impact on conversion rates. It’s important for retailers to understand what

superior site search looks like and what it can do for their business.

1 https://econsultancy.com/blog/63800-four-reasons-why-site-search-is-vital-for-online-retailers/

reflektion.com650-293-0800 [email protected]

The eCommerce Site Search Playbook 1

http://reflektion.com

mailto:sales%40reflektion.com?subject=

The Evolution of Site Search

Stage 1: Basic Site Search

The original search box found on an eCommerce site is completely text based

(see figure 1). The search results after hitting enter are strictly related to what

most closely matches the specific words entered. Site search in its most basic

form is essentially a dictionary lookup tool. Results will include every product

that has any and all of the words searched for in a given phrase. This creates a

tremendously large search response that is more often than not overwhelming

for the visitor.

For example, the results of the search term shown in figure 1 will include include

anything that includes “cashmere”, “plush”, “velvet”, or “throw”. Depending on

the site, this could mean that dozens of pages of items are presented and the

shopper is forced to sift through an endless list of largely irrelevant merchandise.

Stage 2: Autocomplete

The first real evolution of site search was autocomplete. The visitor only needs

to type a couple letters before seeing some relevant typeahead options; like

someone finishing your sentence for you while you’re speaking. See figure 2

as an example.

Autocomplete creates a better user experience for shoppers, so that they

can more quickly chose what they are looking for while being saved the trouble

of having to type an entire phrase. It’s definitely helpful, but on it’s own there

is nothing particularly remarkable about autocomplete. Even though this

is really just the beginning, when it comes to advancements in site search,

70% of retailers haven’t even taken this basic first step of adding autocomplete.

70% OF THE TOP

100 DIGITAL RETAIL

SITES TODAY STILL

DO NOT EVEN HAVE

AUTOCOMPLETE

SEARCH2.

“

”

Cashmere Plush Velvet Throw

Sh

Did you mean?

Shirt

Shorts

Shore

2 RSR Research http://reflektion.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/RFK_Personalization_Across_Digital_Channels_2015.pdf

Figure 1

Figure 2





Stage 3: Synonyms

The next evolution in site search has been to make suggested words and phrases

slightly more intelligent with synonyms. A store associate might know what

someone means when they ask for a “parka”. But a site search solution that

doesn’t use synonyms will show no results for a parka search if the retailer

labels these as “jackets”. When using site search that includes synonyms,

the shopper will be presented with “jackets” when they search for “parkas”.

The addition of synonyms makes site search more human and intuitive. In figure

3, the retailer’s use of the terms “Kids”, “Boys”, and “Girls” does not prevent

options from appearing when someone types in “Children”:

Synonyms in site search allow people to use their natural language. They

translate the consumer’s expressions to a retailer’s catalog, which makes

it easier to find goods.

Stage 4: Visual Site Search

Going beyond text and synonyms, another improvement is enhancing site search

with relevant visuals that immediately appear as previews. For example, a user

types in “shirts” and they are immediately presented on the same page with a visual

selection of some of the most popular shirts on the site (as shown in figure 4).

THE ADDITION OF

SYNONYMS MAKES

SITE SEARCH

MORE HUMAN AND

INTUITIVE.

“

”

Children

Popular Categories

Kids

Boys

GirlsFigure 3

Figure 4





When the shopper instantly sees items related to their search without having

to hit enter, site search turns into a merchandising opportunity that showcases

relevant products in real time. This can also accelerate the path to product and

save the user an extra click. By selecting a specific item from the visual overlay,

the shopper can go directly to a PDP page instead of the site search results page,

which puts them in touch with the product that much faster.

Stage 5: Individualization

Individualization in site search is about prioritizing results around the individu-

al’s interests. For example, someone who prefers stripes over solids searches

for shorts. As demonstrated in figure 5, striped shorts appear first and are not

buried within pages of results. By presenting the shopper with their individual

preferences at the top of the results page, the individual can quickly find what

best matches their interests. For retailers who can deliver Individualization

to all their shoppers, this translates into higher conversions and revenue.

INDIVIDUALIZATION

IN SITE SEARCH IS

ABOUT PRIORITIZING

RESULTS AROUND

THE INDIVIDUAL’S

INTERESTS.

“

”

Figure 5





Stage 6: Individualization + Visual Site Search

Individualization plus Visual Site Search goes beyond full site search results

by also personalizing visual preview results. This allows shoppers the option

of bypassing the site search results page entirely and puts them one click

away from the product page. When Visual Site Search works together with

Individualization, the experience can resemble a personal shopper that knows

each of their shoppers and can put the right merchandise in front of them at

the right time. For example, someone who has demonstrated an affinity towards

bright colors and patterns (through their past and present shopping behavior)

searches the O’Neill site for “hats”. Rather than see a random set of products,

this individual is presented with hats that match their preference, as shown

in figure 6.

It’s pretty clear how visual site search that’s focused on the individual

shopper makes for a more intuitive experience where highly relevant products

immediately show up front and center.

WHEN VISUAL SITE

SEARCH WORKS

TOGETHER WITH

INDIVIDUALIZATION,

THE EXPERIENCE

CAN RESEMBLE

A PERSONAL

SHOPPER.

“

”

Figure 6





Recommended Metrics for Measuring

the Success of Site Search:

Like anything else, it is important to have some key metrics for tracking the

success of your site search efforts. Search utilization, site search conversion

rate, and site search revenue per visit are three of the most crucial metrics

used to measure site search performance.

Site Search Utilization

This is a measurement of the number of unique people utilizing search over

the total number of unique visitors to the site. It provides an understanding

of how many of your shoppers are leveraging site search. Site search utilization

for eCommerce sites vary widely.

Site Search Conversion Rate

This is calculated by taking unique shoppers who have purchased and used site

search over all unique site search users. Typically site search conversion rate

is higher than the overall conversion rate for an eCommerce site.

Site Search Revenue per Visit

This metric is calculated by taking the total amount of revenue generated by

converted buyers who used site search and dividing that number by the total

number of unique sessions in which site search was used.

All of these metrics will vary by retailer based on their category and AOV.

Site Search is an Opportunity that Most

Retailers Aren’t Fully Leveraging

There have been a number of advancements in site search, but unfortunately

most retailers have not taken advantage of them. As a result, while conversion

rates are higher when shoppers use site search (even in its most basic form),

retailers are missing out on even higher conversion rate opportunities that could

come out of a more powerful version of their own site search.

Where do you sit on the continuum of eCommerce Site Search? Below are a

few quick questions so you can discern whether or not you’re using the most

contemporary form of this powerful eCommerce tool.

IT IS IMPORTANT

TO HAVE SOME

KEY METRICS

FOR TRACKING

THE SUCCESS OF

YOUR SITE SEARCH

EFFORTS.

“

”





Litmus Test

Start by opening up an incognito window and browse your site. Click and search

for a few products that interest you. After a couple minutes of browsing, visit your

home page and go through the test:

1) Enter a search term into the search box. Do autocomplete suggestions

pop up immediately?

2) When you type a search into the search box, are you presented with visual

previews of products related to your search term?

3) When you hit “enter” or click to go to the full page result, do products

that relate to your interests and/or preferences (as expressed in browsing

done before starting this test) rank at the top of the page?

4) Do the visual previews you see while you search also relate to your

personal interests?

If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, then most likely there is more

you can do with site search to convert your visitors.

What to Expect from Modern Site Search

Retailers who are further down the site search continuum are at a distinct

competitive advantage. They are allowing their consumers to find and engage

products much faster, and as a result, these retailers are generating higher

conversion rates across the board.

• After placing visual search on their site, digital retailers increase revenue

per visit by an average of 20%.

• Shoppers who engage with individualized, instant visual site search

have a 220% higher revenue per visit than visitors who do not use

site search.

There is no question that seeing site search as a revenue opportunity will pay off

for digital retailers.

Like any other subject, when you begin researching and talking seriously about

site search, it’s helpful to get the vocabulary right. Here’s a list of some of the

more important terms to get you started:

REVENUE PER VISIT

INCREASES BY

AN AVERAGE OF

20% WITH VISUAL

SITE SEARCH.

“

”





Search box

Where a shopper types their search

Text Prompts

Text shown in the search box that guides visitors to use site search

Search button

The button a shopper presses to search. Can be labeled as “search”, “find”, “go”

Autocomplete

Keyword and phrase suggestions when typing the first few letters of a search

Relevance

What’s on-target to the shopper, based on their past behavior and current intent

Shopper Intent

What the visitor is interested in right now, during the shopping session

Visual Site Search

The visualization of products as the shopper types their query

Individualization

Understanding and responding to each shopper as individuals in real time

About Reflektion

Reflektion drives millions of incremental conversion events for leading

retailers of all sizes, including Disney, Marmot, Godiva, O’Neill Clothing

and Oriental Trading. Reflektion’s Individualized Commerce Solutions enable

retailers to capture and respond to each individual shopper’s intent in real

time, which increases customer conversions and retailer revenue by over 20%.

The company is backed by leading investors including Battery Ventures, Hasso

Plattner Ventures, and Intel Capital. Reflektion was singled out by Gartner

as a 2016 Digital Commerce Cool Vendor and is the winner of Shop.org’s 2015

Digital Commerce Startup of the Year.

[email protected]




THE ECOMMERCE SITE SEARCH PLAYBOOK€¦ · someone inishing our sentence for ou hile ou’re...

Documents

Transcript of THE ECOMMERCE SITE SEARCH PLAYBOOK€¦ · someone inishing our sentence for ou hile ou’re...