Enable Visitors to Find Products They Want–Stop Leaving Them In the Dark

Let’s face it, that search box with the magnifying glass at the top of your home screen has moved from basic function status to a major customer touchpoint. Users know what they want and expect that search box to deliver it to them, fast.

Powerful Site Search Drives Conversion & Growth

2.6X

Shoppers spend more using search vs. those who don’t

3.7X

Shoppers convert more when using search and AI on desktop

4.2X

Shoppers convert more when using search and AI on mobile

Searches have a major impact on customer experience and how we look at ecommerce. Shoppers using site search account for only 10% of all site visits but drive 25% of all ecommerce revenue. These customers know what they want, and your search bar needs to be smart enough to deliver.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers a powerful suite of Site Search Tuning Modules. In this article, we review elements to collect hands-on customer data trends to prioritize your module tuning and drive conversion strategies.

SEARCH STRATEGY #1

Harvest Search Terms

In addition to delivering what users want, the search bar is a real-time collector of instant data trends and behaviors. This data can be used in many ways to help identify and act on ecommerce strategies. For example, if the search volume of an item spikes and it is converting well, planners and buyers can pump up stock levels. Another example of using this data is that if a category is searched for frequently, it could indicate that the category is difficult to find in the navigation. A fresh look at taxonomy may be considered to help users discover hard to find items. Use these valuable patterns in behavior to create data-driven merchandising decisions.

SEARCH STRATEGY #2

Maximize Null Search Opportunities

There is nothing worse than a shopper using search for a specific item and receiving a message that “there are no items matching your criteria” on a blank page.  This is your opportunity to market “like” or newer versions of a product intended to keep shoppers engaged. Offering other options for these users will turn null searches into positive results with relevant suggestions, increasing the likelihood of conversions. 

SEARCH STRATEGY #3

Blow Out the Text Box

Move away from a text-based return of results. Site search is a customer touchpoint to suggest relevant products, brands, categories, and other content with a display of images. Integrating Einstein Search Dictionaries in a newly imagined search box can deliver smarter recommendations through machine learning, including synonyms and word relationships, to give your users a more engaged brand experience.

SEARCH STRATEGY #4

Anticipate Shoppers Intent with Einstein

Salesforce Commerce Cloud’s Site Search Tuning Tools allow a lot of room for customization and one-to-one personalization. They can be fine-tuned for every customer experience, but none of the tools are quite as smart as Einstein learning. Einstein can also save your team analysis time by emailing them suggested search dictionary enhancements that can be added with a single click. We highly recommend dialing-in these Einstein AI tools:1

Keyword Search Sorting Rules

Breaking all the rules of the default sort, this tool is a way to prioritize the sort results. It allows the ability to sort according to best sellers, sale items, new to inventory, and other non-standard merchandise sorting.2

Einstein Search Recommendations

This tool offers type-ahead suggestions and autocorrect. This will automatically apply suggestions from user behavior, past location, purchase history, and other triggers. Einstein will continue to get smarter with each user interaction, allowing a user to have a dropdown of suggestions before they even type into the search box.

CONCLUSION

Users continue to expect more from ecommerce site search engines and will be loyal to the brands who take the time to listen. Salesforce Commerce Search Site Tuning Tools deliver smart and personalized solutions to drive conversions and stronger brand interaction. Use these tools to unlock engagement strategies and conversion opportunities. 

Get a Smarter Search Bar

Brook & Anna From Our Merchandising Team Can Help You

PixelMEDIA’s Merchandising Team has over fifteen years of experience helping large retail brands improve their ecommerce.