eCommerce search has changed a lot in the last few years. Everyone's experienced that feeling of frustration when using a search box to look for a specific product and not being able to find it, even when we know with certainty that the product exits in the catalogue. Fortunately, this feeling is becoming rarer these days. However, that doesn't mean that the problem has been completely resolved. Site search experience is much more than just avoiding the frustration a user feels when their expectations aren’t reached; it’s about achieving consistency, reliability and user happiness through the search box.
Search visits are usually the ones that demonstrate the highest conversion rates and it’s therefore alarming to see how these visits can sometimes be ignored or undervalued by retailers. While online marketers and analysts are diving into events taking place outside of their sites or the ones leading to micro conversions and specific goals, leading ultimately to a purchase, many are overlooking what's actually happening within their own site.
As an example, on average, visits using site search represent around 7% of total visits on fashion retailers. These can go up to 30% for certain business with a wide and complex catalogue such as electronics or books retailers where the search box is often very prominent with a big call to action. Despite these exceptions, the vast majority of eCommerce sites oscillate around a low percentage of less than 10% which could justify why site search performance may not always be a big priority.
Yet, by looking at the transactions and the revenue generated from these “small” percentages sheds a spotlight on just how important it is to understand these site visits and, even more intriguing, how “qualified” and committed these visitors are. In fact, web visitors who use site search are proven to spend between 3-8 times more!
SEARCH SESSIONS vs REVENUE
Interestingly,
a retailer with just 4% of visits that use the search box can obtain an incredible 17% of total transactions from those search sessions
, corresponding to 20% of the global revenue, that’s a fifth of total revenue. Now that’s a much more interesting percentage isn’t it, and changes the perspective somewhat.
Developing a good site search that incorporates good functionality and design can more than double visits, performance and revenue values accordingly. And that’s why
it’s so important to measure site performance
, which doesn’t just mean setting site search tracking up on Google Analytics. A powerful search box can offer huge insights to analysts and marketers with many useful inputs that can, in turn, contribute to the design, search performance and customer experience.
SEARCH USERS BEHAVIOUR
connect users with content and brand attributes ,
QUERY BEHAVIOUR
Findability
DEVICE PREFERENCES
ZERO RESULTS
the visualisation below.
The eCommerce search experience has definitely been transformed in recent years. Almost gone are the days of frustration and disappointment as we now look towards a future of search happiness. However, in order to do this, retailers need to recognise not only the importance of the site search but the key factors they need to consider to analyse the search performance of their site. Which in turn offers incredibly valuable insight into how customers are interacting with the product catalogue and how products are performing within the search sessions.
The metrics also clearly show the value produced from search sessions and the commitment demonstrated by these users to uncover the importance therefore of the search box, its prominence, design and integration within the site. A good search experience is fundamental in establishing a real conversation between a site’s users, its products and ultimately establishing the brand’s attributes.