Fashion Site Search: Comparison Study
Not wishing to sound too astoundingly obvious right off the bat, but your on-site search tool is a key way in which visitors look for products on your website, especially if you carry a huge range of items.
The surprising thing is how easy it is to get on-onsite search wrong: bad placement, lack of auto-suggest, poorly displayed search results, and so on.
Here we’ll be looking at three Fashion reatilers, using specific criteria to gauge the effectiveness of their on-site search tools.
There is also a continuation of this post looking at Walmart, Costco and Target.
Search box design
The search box should be consistent across all pages of the site, avoiding significant usability problems and be positioned away from any other text-boxes.
The John Lewis search box is kept dead central at the top of the page and remains throughout. The top navigation is fairly minimalist, but it’s not so subtle as to be lost.
M&S keeps its search tool on the left hand-side, which is a more typical place for it to appear.
Debenhams’ search bar is more obvious than M&S, and contrasting with its background
The design perhaps feels a little dated, but a visitor would have no trouble finding it, which is the main thing.
Note :
The biggest disadvantage encountered with all three of the site is that their Search bar is not sticky . It didn’t remain visible in their position, when user is scrolling down the webpage.
The Search bar position should be following the scroll. This practice has been applied wildly including on a few notable websites, such as Facebook , Example from Jabong.com
Auto-suggest
Automatic suggestions should appear after a visitor types several letters into a search box based on commonly searched key-phrases including common misspellings and abbreviations.
John Lewis provides me with automatic suggestions based on its most popular items, although the results displayed are only ones found that begin with the letters I type.
John Lewis also has an excellent ‘recent searches’ drop-down, which appears as soon as you click.
And although it doesn’t provide automatic suggestions if I make a misspelling, if I hit ‘search’ I am still presented with results for the correct spelling of bedding.
Perhaps a live “do you mean ‘bedding’?” suggestion would help in reassuring searchers that it does indeed stock that item.
M&S also provides the same functionality as John Lewis (predictive text with lack of live misspelling options) but again it does provide the correct results when you click search on a misspelling.
I would suggest the text is too small here.
Debenhams’ search tool do provide suggestion in a more relevant and prominent due to its structured way Another positive here is that, again, misspellings are accounted for on the results page.
Note: The Problem that find is that, the auto-complete is relatively slow for M&S an John Lewis, and all three provides suggestion when you end up typing three character in the search bar
Mobile-friendly design
The search box should adapt to work on any mobile device and screen size, and remain easily accessible throughout the journey.
None of the retailers have either a responsive or adaptive website. Instead each operates a separate mobile set.
John Lewis shows its full search box on the home page, then places within the confines of a clearly labelled symbol on the top navigation elsewhere on the site.
M&S keeps its search tool hidden behind the magnifying glass. The mobile-web savvy of us wouldn’t have a problem finding it.
Debenhams however keeps its search field visible throughout the entire mobile journey.
Effective synonym management
Search boxes should have the ability to manage alternate terms so that several different keyphrases can trigger the same set of search results (for instance: singular & plurals, earphones/headphones).Stemmers are in place and they have optimized for synonyms as well
All three retailers have no problem dealing with this. I’m returned the same results for every pluralised or singular term entered in all three.
Presentation of search results
The total number of results are shown along with the search term and product images.
Everything is present and correct, with nice clear product images neatly spaced out.
M&S has some fantastic large images in its results, and the search term and number of items are boldly highlighted.
Debenhams has a very neatly laid out results page, with everything expected present. Here you get to see actual models wearing the clothes.
This is helpful as it shows how they’ll look in the real world, but it does mean the size of the product itself is reduced.
Going back to the M&S example though, the retailer has come up with a good ‘best of both worlds’ solution, by changing the image when you hover your mouse over it.
Off that we find with John Lewis is that it doesn’t have Quick View Option
Filter search results
Search results can be sorted and filtered by category, product, price etc.
John Lewis has plenty of options for refining by brand or category, and even has a tabbed section for most popular filters.
M&S however wins this one with a wider array of filters, a neat colour chart and the ability to show only in-stock items.
Debenhams has effective filters too, which although not as detailed as M&S, I like the way the filter links are coloured differently from the header text.
Search effectiveness
All relevant products are shown in the search results along with any other relevant content or help pages.
M&S delivers all possible results here, however it is John Lewis that goes above and beyond by also providing a link to additional content.
Which takes you directly to the bottom of the page where you can find the following articles.
Over at Debenhams it’s a slightly different story. You have to be more specific than usual when searching for an item to be served a page of results. For instance ‘red shoes’ or ‘black jumper’.
However when you search for ‘jumpers’ you’re presented with a generic knitwear product page.
I then have to either click on a link on the left to access jumpers, or click one of the images to filter my results. It’s not the worst hoop I’ve had to jump through, as if I was presented with a straight results page I would still have to filter, but it feels like a barrier nonetheless.
A solution to this would be if Debenhams provided me with the option to look at a specific subset of products or a landing page within the search tool. Unfortunately it doesn’t provide automated suggestions, so it’s an impossibility.
In conclusion
John Lewis and M&S have excellent search results pages, although M&S pulls in front with its easier to use filter options. John Lewis on the other hand has a much better positioned search box, Debenhams has slightly clearer automated suggestions.
However Debenhams is lagging behind. It needs to add much more dynamic images & refinements in otherwise fine results pages and perhaps ultimately a refresh of its whole design.
CATEGORY: SITE SEARCH
The Importance of Site Search for Ecommerce
Accurate and Effective site search functionality on a eCommerce website is an important functionality towards customer acquisition
With changing user behavior, organization now are keeping more focus on site search , as per studies site search contributes to 60-70 % of e-commerce shopping sites revenue and user intent towards conversion is observed to be on the higher side.
Search terms that consumers type into a site search box can provide huge insight into the users’ behavior and provide many invaluable data to be learned from.
Based on insights from industry, I will be summing up 4 major reasons to have dedicated support for site search.
- High Purchase Intent of User using Site Search
- Best Search Experience for High User Engagement
- Autocomplete can boost a company’s conversion rates
- Zero Results Searches are cradle of business insights
Used successfully, this information can increase conversions and improve customer retention.
Let go though them one by one
High Purchase intent for Search User
People who use site search are more likely to purchase compared to those who use standard navigation, as they are shopping with intent.
They are often in late-stage buying mode as information gathering is completed, and they want to view product content to satisfy other buying motivators such as price, availability and delivery charges.
These consumers have found the website and are attempting to find something specific. The search box comes with the expectation of delivering relevant results, and consequently promotes the search option as a preferred choice.
The expected result is a frictionless journey to a product detail page.
Conversion rates through site search can be up to 50% higher than the average. According to a recent our blog on site search, search performs very well when put into place on a site.
As per our study on an popular ecommerce sites Visitors converted over at 4.5 % the websites’ average of 2.3% which is over 2 times more effective. Consequently, visitors using search contributed 13.8% of the revenues.
Industry tip:
Site search needs to be data driven. It can only work if the site has been tested time and time again. Every little change to the site needs to be tested before implementation to ensure conversions.
Best Search Experience for High User Engagement
Site search is a key interaction point for customers, and can make or break a shopping experience for them. Customers who can’t find the information they’re looking for leave the site unsatisfied.
Site search can provide data and content services, customer analytics data and merchandising functionalities such as promotions.
When used by shoppers intent on finding the right product, search punches above its weight in terms of sales and conversions. Typcially, up to 30% of visitors will use the site search box, and each of these users is showing a possible intent to purchase by entering product names or codes.
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 then more likely to convert and return to the site for more purchases.
Industry tip:
If you know what speed connection the user is on, you can tailor the homepage accordingly. Make the experience a friendly one by omitting videos and images that may take too long to load. Have the search box centrally located, especially on mobile. It’s all about encouraging them to make that sale.
Displaying search suggestions on the search results page can give visitors more ideas for what to search for. These suggestions can encourage visitors to view more products.
A post written earlier in the year on site search choice states that about 25% of site visitors will click on a search suggestion.
Grid views are useful for product searches that generate many results. By allowing visitors to choose which format they prefer, they will enjoy having the flexibility in how results are displayed.
An easy journey for a customer can ensure:
- Improved customer retention and loyalty, which comes as customers know they can find products more easily.
- Improved branding, as improving user experience means more customer satisfaction, and a better customer journey compared to competitor websites.
- Increased site usage, as a better user experience means that customers are more likely to spend more time on the site, and can boost the number of registrations and return visits.
Autocomplete can boost a company’s conversion rates
Some retailers use an auto-complete tool which begins to offer suggestions when users have entered a few characters into the search box.
This has a number of advantages: it speeds up the search process for users, it helps them to avoid misspellings, and it also ensures that customers’ searches will return a product result.
Autosuggest provides a real boost to search conversion rates. Repeat users begin to rely on site search autosuggest and autocorrect to know the correct spelling of words for them. When it is well implemented, auto-complete can save customers a lot of effort, in addition to speeding up the search process.
In this example from Sanpdeal, shoppers who can’t remember the spelling of a popular brand only need to get the first four or five letters right.
Industry tip:
We find that 50-70% of our site search users convert through site search. We know that if they have a bad experience with our site, they’ll go straight to our competitors so we offer them the best experience possible. We actually found that by attaching predictive text and thumbnail images to the search, we can convert two to three times more.
Effective site search means better usability, so customers can find things more quickly. This can translate into higher sales, as customers who find what they are looking for easily are more likely to make a purchase, while site search also offers opportunities for merchandising.
Higher conversion rates can also be attributed to autocomplete. More intuitive search and navigation means higher conversion rates. According to a Screen Pages study, use of the search box results in an average conversion rate of 5.2%, against a site average of 2.1%.
Zero Results Searches are cradle of business insights
If customers have searched for a product that the retailer just doesn’t stock, it doesn’t have to end with a ‘no results found’ page. However, zero results pages can be a valuable source of information for retailers.
Tracking these pages via analytics can help retailers to fix problems with site search, and it can also inform them of the products customers are looking for that they don’t currently stock.
Industry tip:
Use the zero results page to discover new trends and then stock what is needed. Before onsies became popular, we noticed a few people searching for them on our site. We used social media to (firstly) discover what they were, and then added them to our stock. We ended up making over 1 Million over year, just from watching our keyword search results.
Conversely, another definition of a poor result is returning hundreds or even thousands of results. This can also have a detrimental effect on the site especially if they have poor filtered navigation options to assist the user with filtering the results.
A specific example of how site search data can help improve both the site search tool and merchandising involves synonyms. Site search data provides insight into the synonyms that matter for your business.
For example, a clothes retailer may see searches for ‘jumper’, ‘pullover’, ‘sweater’ etc. which may not all yield any or the right set of results. Any decent site search tool will cater for synonyms, such as with synonym lists. By mining older search data to understand the specific terms the audience are using to find products, adjustments can be made to drive better results.
As per a popular study, on an average just 50% of site searches were successful and 40% of responding companies were not even aware of the success rates,
- 7% of companies are sure they are efficiently learning from site search and distributing these insights across the business. Just under half (46%) are “partially” doing this, but 47% are not learning from site search at all.
- Agency respondents had a slightly different take on this, with 31% saying their clients are not using site search data, but just 8% say their clients are doing this well.
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How Retailer Handle Site Search
Using a selection of specific criteria I’ll be gauging how some of the top US retailers handle on-site search.
The search tool is perhaps the most common way for shoppers to navigate an ecommerce site, so therefore its effectiveness is paramount in directing highly motivated visitors, who know exactly what they’re looking for, around your site.
In this investigation we’ll be looking at important search elements such as box design, auto-suggestion, mobile optimisation, effective synonym management, presentation of results, filters and overall effectiveness for US retailers Walmart, Costco and Target.
Previously we did a comparision study on Fahion retailer John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and Debenhams.
Search Box Design
The search box should be consistent across all pages of the site, avoiding significant usability problems and be positioned away from any other text-boxes.
Walmart’s search box is large, centred and clearly defined. It also remains in the same exact same position wherever you navigate.
Target’s is smaller, but still centred at the top of the page. It is perhaps slightly lost being so close to the edge of the header and next to a similar strip of white, however it remains in place throughout the journey.
Costco’s is the largest search box of the three, and it’s in a good position and the height makes it feel less fiddly than Target’s. This may be a personal preference but the white search field which softly transitions into the blue works better than Target’s stark white against red. Again it remains in position throughout the journey.
The Walmart search box is only one have sticky feature
Auto-suggest
Automatic suggestions should appear after a visitor types several letters into a search box based on commonly searched key-phrases including common misspellings and abbreviations.
Walmart’s most popular results appear after three characters, irrelevant of where they appear in the word.
It also handles my misspelling of vacuum very well.
Target has a similarly effective search…
But fails when it comes to handling misspellings.
Costco’s search provides two different sets of predicted results, products and departments, which the other two retailers fail to provide. However the results displayed are for results that begin with those letters. This also means it fails in picking up misspellings.
Mobile-friendly design
The search box should adapt to work on any mobile device and screen size, and remain easily accessible throughout the journey.
None of the retailers have either a responsive or adaptive website. Instead each operates a separate mobile set.
The search tools featured on Walmart and Target’s mobile sites are clearly in place on the homepage.
With the search box disappearing behind the magnifying glass symbol when navigating further on both sites.
Costco’s on the other hand remains throughout the mobile journey.
Effective synonym management
Search boxes should have the ability to manage alternate terms so that several different keyphrases can trigger the same set of search results (for instance: singular & plurals, earphones/headphones).
All three retailers forgive my pluralising of notebook.
Presentation of search results
The total number of results are shown along with the search term and product images.
Walmart’s total result figure could be displayed more prominently and in a clearer font or text colour. The search term is highlighted in bold within the name of each result, where the images are nice and large.
Target makes it abundantly clear how many results are displayed and the search term used. Its results are displayed horizontally across the screen, which is great for browsing, but lack the detail of Walmart’s images.
Although similar to Target, Costco’s page design is perhaps more subtle.
Filter search results
Search results can be sorted and filtered by category, product, price etc.
Walmart has filters for price, brand and store availability, with a separate sort tool which allows you to order the results in numerous ways.
Target has a detailed selection of filters on the left-hand side, with options to sort along the time. Missing from Walmart’s results but featured here are options to increase the size of images and amount of results per page.
Costco again has similar functionality as Target, but with less invasive text.
Search effectiveness
All relevant products are shown in the search results along with any other relevant content or help pages.
Although none of the brands serve much more in the way of additional content, each one delivers all possible results. Walmart however is the only one that realises I could mean either a paper notebook or a computer, so serves me a selection of possibly relevant landing page links at the top of the page.
Nil search results
Messaging should be given for nil search results with suggested alternative search terms or products.
It’s impossible to find anything that Walmart either doesn’t stock or have listed. Even ‘Elvis Trousers’.
Searching for ‘Elvis trousers’ on Target provides me with these impressively relevant products. Although no trousers weirdly.
At Costco I tried ‘Yorkshire Tea’ as I thought it might at least serve me with other tea products that it does stock. Unfortunately no.
In conclusion
Walmart has an excellent search tool, it’s well positioned and provides relevant results. It’s almost faultless, but perhaps predicted results could be segmented further in the drop down box.
In terms of search results pages though, I prefer products to be horizontal across the page just so you can see more of them. Then again Walmart’s product images are large and attractive so do encourage click through.
Target has a small amount to improve, but it does have excellent results pages with clear tools to filter and sort. Just a more consistent approach to aesthetic design, in terms of text size and colour choices, would make things much better.
Costco has a lot to improve with its predicted search results. It should include misspellings and be a lot more intuitive when it comes to flexibility. The search results pages are fine however, and the filters are good, but it takes some unnecessary difficulty in finding them.
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This is a good blog
There have been ads on MSNBC, which is the stock maraket news station we have on all day at work, about vacations in the Cayman Islands. Is it still an absolute wreck there? What part of the island is still intact and betfaiuul?