E-Commerce Websites: The Importance of Search
Every e-commerce retailer knows that the first hurdle is making sure that potential visitors find your site. But once they have found the site itself, are they able to find the products they want? New research reveals that as much as 39% of all traffic bouncing (when a visitors leaves the site straight away) can be attributed to irrelevant or otherwise poor search results.
The new research was carried out by Nosto, a leading commerce experience platform. 2,000 consumers in the UK and North America, along with 308 senior e-commerce retail professional, were surveyed. In addition, researchers carried out real-world, real-time testing of on-site search facilities across 100 top e-commerce brands of all types from fashion and beauty to home furnishings and DIY.
A key finding of the in-depth study was that, for around 69% of consumers, the search bar of an online retailer's website was the first stop on their purchasing journey. Eight out of ten consumers said that they had left e-commerce websites on which the search facility did not meet their expectations or requirements.
The study also found that, while 70% of consumers say that they are more likely to purchase a product if their search results are personalised, a full 66% of the e-commerce professionals surveyed admitted to failing to offer such personalisation. Despite this, 82% of the professional retailers agreed that personalising search results is ;critical' when it comes to achieving higher levels of conversion.
The current economic downturn is further augmenting the priority that consumers place on search results. 68% of the consumers surveyed said that the rising cost of living meant that they were more likely to compare products and prices across several online stores. 81% of the e-commerce merchants surveyed agreed that rising inflation increases the importance of good on-site search results.
There is a great number of aspects that have to be properly designed, managed and maintained when it comes to achieving success in the ultra-competitive e-commerce landscape and a reliable, relevant on-site search facility is just one of them. As an experienced, intuitive and forward-thinking e-commerce development company, Brickweb can provide the tools, the knowledge and the expertise you need to succeed.
Find out more about our services and solutions on the Brickweb website and start your journey to success by requesting a FREE audit of your current website.