Ever had an off-putting product search experience? Perhaps you were looking for an item on a retail website and were bewildered to come up empty-handed. Or maybe pages of search results flooded you with options… none of which really met your needs.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In fact, this could be what your company’s potential customers are experiencing.
According to a new study from Constructor, six in 10 U.S. online shoppers (60 percent) think the online search function on retail websites needs an upgrade.
The findings come from an online survey of more than 460 U.S. shoppers conducted this year and summarized in the report “State of E-commerce Product Search and Discovery 2023: Shoppers in Search of a Change.”
Consumers were asked about various aspects of their online shopping experiences — in particular, related to how they search and browse on e-commerce websites, excluding Amazon. Results highlighted where digital experiences may be lacking for shoppers, and the value retailers can unlock by driving strategic improvements.
Shoppers’ Pain Points
For shoppers today, the path from “search” to “purchase” isn’t always straightforward, engaging or hassle-free. For example:
- Wait just a minute… Nearly one in three shoppers (30 percent) say it takes at least three minutes to locate the item they need when using the search function on retail websites. Only 28 percent call their experiences finding products “quick.”
- Results mismatch: In reference to their most recent e-commerce search experience, a third of shoppers (33 percent) say that although the results displayed were technically relevant to their query (e.g., they searched for “shirts” and saw shirts), the selection wasn’t appealing to them or what they’d hoped to see.
- Do you even know me? When consumers shop with their favorite retailer, more than one in three (34 percent) say the site treats them like a total stranger each time they visit – presenting items that, in no way, reflect their preferences, prior purchases, or history with the brand.
- Are we having fun yet? Less than three in 10 shoppers (29 percent) would describe their most recent experience finding products on a retail website as “enjoyable.”