Searching Up Close and Personal

In our last entry we discussed the holiday shopper that needs some guidance with their general search entries through helpful navigation tools and an open-minded merchandising tool.  Today, we shall delve into the searches of those customers that want to give their search more direction with the use of abundant description as part of their query.

At the extreme level, you could get a search query that reads “11” red and white chimney stocking”.  Here, 11”,  red, white, and chimney are all adjectives that describe the stocking, also known as attributes of the product.  They are all being typed into the search box.   Clearly this customer is not fooling around and wants to see and buy this stocking, aka, get in and get out, without having to navigate his way around.  

 A good site-search tool should automatically read the adjectives that have been typed in and associate them with the corresponding attributes that filter out the appropriate products.  Pulling up stockings other than those of chimney Christmas stockings would deter the buyer from his purchase, just causing him more unnecessary navigation which he tried so hard to avoid by typing in all those adjectives.  Or even worse, the search getting confused by the abundance of adjectives and not offering any products at all.  Now, the search correctly reads the size attribute, 11”, the color attribute, red and white, and the use attribute, chimney.  A site-search that is not properly programmed to read the query details and filter out the correct products according to the designated product attributes risks losing customers. 

But wait!  As you know, just ‘cause it is now December 26^th, does not mean your shoppers are near done.   They are out and online for their after-holiday blow out sales…and search therefore accordingly.  As part of their typed in queries, they often will include the words “sale,” “discount,” “clearance” to add onto the title of the product for which they are searching.  Therefore, these words must be recognized through the site-search and included in your thematic categorizations. 

If we delve further into the sales category, we see that another advantage to having a good site-search tool is being able to differentiate regular sale items from holiday sale items.  You are able to zero in your customers to the relevant products, special motivational prices they like to see, attractive holiday UI…it’s the whole package. 

So, as we mentioned in our last Christmas blog, get creative with your site-search and start thinking like your customers, the ways in which they could possibly search for your products.  It can only expand your range of customers and increase your sales.

(Holiday) Thinking Outside of the (Search) Box

As the second installment of our Christmas season blogs, I present you with a challenge:  Think like your customers…all of them.   A holiday can be referred to in many different ways and inspire a myriad of thoughts that your customers often type into a search box, hopefully some of which you may happen to sell. 

Holiday/Occasion	Query Synonyms	Comments
Christmas / New Year	Christmas	Optimized to return gifts, National Brands, Favorite Combos, and samplers
	Xmas
	Holidays
	New Year
	Christmas time
	Noel

Often, those who have a general idea for what they are searching will type something like “fun things to do on Christmas”,  “Christmas presents” or “Holiday presents” …some expression or phrase that communicates their shopping conundrum.  In these circumstances, it is extremely important to have your merchandizing tool sensitive to read different forms of expression.  You can have toys come back for a “fun” search, or have a “presents” / “gifts” search bring back an eclectic selection of items from clothing all the way to kitchen items.   Refinement options can then allow the customer to specialize their gift, for example according to the person for whom they are shopping or brand for which they are searching.  

For a customer who types in “Christmas time”, you must make sure to look beyond the product titles as many would simply not include the word “Christmas”. With an effective merchandising tool, you have the power to decide what products constitute relevant Christmas products, or, better yet, which products fit into the varied Christmas queries your customers are conducting.

Mother Nature decides to vary her holiday gifts according to geographic location.  Some cold up in the north, some hot sun and clouds in the south, a bit of a mix over on the west coast…hence, your customers are probably also varying their gifts and shopping needs according to the geographical area in which they find themselves.  Why not set your merchandising tool to create best-selling product campaigns for particular geographical locations?  Sometimes trends such as Ugg boots that sell in NYC have a hard time picking up in Nashville, Tennessee.  Hence, you target your search engine to bring back best sellers for that customer’s specific area first, before that of others. 

Although we may all put our pants on, one leg at a time, we don’t all buy the same pants, nor do we refer to our pants in the same way.  Here we realize the importance and impact synonyms have on a merchandizing tool.  One of your customers might be typing in a general search for “pants,” while the next is looking for “trousers”.  And the one after that is in need of “slacks”.  Come Christmas time or New Year’s, you have people from every corner and background referring to items in every which way.   Make sure that your site-search engine can tune in and understand the wishes and wants of all your customers. 

Here we discussed proper handling of generic search queries customers undergo.  Stay tuned for our next search optimization post discussing how to handle your more detail-oriented customers that can’t help but type it all into the search box.

‘Tis the Season to Be Social

Two months till black Friday, three months till Christmas morning, that time of year when shoppers are in the giving spirit, throwing caution to the wind, and pushing their credit card limits to the max…or at least that is the goal.   And they certainly do not like going at it alone.

This Christmas is about Social Shopping. The e-tail world has been introduced to a new level of social interaction amongst customers. The wind blowing from social nets is hitting online stores, calling for online retailers to incorporate a social dimension to their online search!  Trust us, we’re not making this stuff up.

The results are in.  An E-tailing Group study reveals that 67% of online shoppers buy more when friends give a nod.  Customers enjoy getting approval on their purchases and knowing what’s popular.  A shopper searching today doesn’t want yesterday’s style—she wants what’s hot right now. With Social Shopping technology, you can help out your customers figure out what to buy and help out your business by knowing what to stock.  Even Santa needs a little help every now and then… Some tools that were introduced this year help retailers do just that – make shopping a social experience:

• Social Search Cloud provides customers with a cloud of popular searches, products, and brands of choice, revealing the community taste  immediately as you enter the online store.
• Social Sort, gives customers the ability to arrange search results by social feedback, including top sellers, ratings, reviews, popularity, and more.
• Share with Friends permits customers to refer products they find to their friends via e-mail and social networks. Shoppers sitting miles away can now shop together and exchange impressions at the click of a mouse.

Customers no longer feel they are shopping alone and gain confidence with their product choices, making that extra click to the checkout page. 

On the retailer side, advanced reporting lets the retailer get a head start on analyzing product popularity and identifying trend leaders, essentially  reading shopper vibes and voicing shopper buzz as it forms!

Of course, it goes without saying, none of the optimum online search essentials should be left behind.  As we noted in a previous blog of ours last year (155 Sleeps Away – Get Ready to Sell) there is a list of basic action items that an etailer should consider in the months leading to the Christmas season.  Just to jog your memory a bit, some of the mentioned items in the link above include sprucing up your UI, adding an auto complete solution to your search box,  suggesting cross-sell items based on your customers’ product choices, and adding more refinement options to further zero in your customers on the products they seek.  If your customers can’t find the products you are stocking, they cannot purchase them.

Lastly, it is important to remember, as mentioned in Latitude blog, that the success of online Christmas shopping will impact shoppers activity and likeliness to come back to your site.  So if you follow the checklist above and let Santa be social, you are in for a good new year of repeat business

155 Sleeps Away – Get Ready to Sell

According to Santa’s Official Clock, we are more than halfway there – to Christmas, that is. Now if you’re nine years old and see “155 sleeps away,” that probably seems like an awfully long time.

But as a retailer, you know that 155 days, or approximately five months, is almost no time at all.

Not just because time flies, but because there is SO much to do to make sure your online store is ready for the holiday rush. And in a recession year, or as the optimists call it, a weakened economy, every sale counts more than ever.

Of course there’s inventory to order, sales to estimate, and special promotions to devise. Those are the basics, year in, year out. And if you haven’t yet started, then here is your gentle reminder. Today is the day to begin.

On top of the basics, give your online business a boost this year by maximizing your sales. To do so you will need to focus on either improving, or acquiring revenue optimizing tools.

First off, make sure your site is operating at full capacity. Check and double check all existing tools. Is your UI clear, easy (i.e. intuitive) to navigate? Do you have a search box? If so, is it clearly visible to shoppers?

It’s important to remember, your shoppers cannot buy what they cannot find. Make it as simple as possible for site visitors to find what they are looking for, in as few steps as possible.

Are you making the most of every sale? Do you offer shoppers additional recommended products along the way? A good cross-sell solution is a must for all online retailers. Once your shoppers have committed to spend, it’s easier to add on other items.

Christmas is THE shopping holiday. So don’t let the opportunity pass you by.

For a free site evaluation, to determine your site’s preparedness for the holiday season, click here.