Product-Finding Search Options on eCommerce Platforms

One of the biggest challenges with most types of eCommerce — B2C & B2B, and C2C marketplace development — is finding the right item. It might sound simple, but it’s a fundamental consideration for an eCommerce business and for the end-user that is often taken for granted. In fact, a robust way to get the right product in front of the right customer is one of the most undervalued aspects of an eCommerce platform. Many times this goes hand in hand with the catalog system because it truly is a fundamental aspect of getting access to things. 

The need for different kinds of search is often due to different types of customers. These include: 

• The Informed Customer: They know the item they’re looking for and will have all the information to find the item directly. They might even have a brand SKU or item number.  
• The Returning Customer: They might go into their past orders and just reorder what they need. 

Let’s take a look at the most common ways to help customers navigate an eCommerce site. 

Enhanced search can be set up in many different ways. A custom eCommerce platform can run a traditional search, which is typically a search box where there's an autocomplete. The user can start typing something and they'll start seeing some results. Many times, this will be product names, descriptions, SKUs, and their synonyms. The system should be able to learn based on the actions of previous searchers. For new customers, a developer will direct them toward the category, category level, and descriptions of concepts and thoughts, and synonyms. 

Ideally, as they begin to get three or four characters into their search, we can narrow it down and just show the one that we think intelligently applies to what they're looking for. This feedback loop needs to be fast and accurate. The feedback look can also collect data on how long the person stays on a page after they click; if they click “back” immediately, obviously that wasn’t what they were looking for. 

Categories and Subcategories 

Categories can be a very helpful vector to help customers find what they’re looking for. Someone might know what something looks like, or generally where something might be categorized, but not know exactly what it's called, or exactly where it might be located. Often they’ll try the site’s search capabilities, but search isn’t working because they don’t know enough about the product. 

Categories and category tags are very important because someone will go to the site and look for some visual clues, so an eCommerce business needs to have a mega-menu. This typically works where a user can see the categories and drill down as much as possible, ideally with icons or visual imagery. Then there is some hierarchy within so that they could potentially identify this subcategory or sub-subcategory that they need to narrow their search.  

Categories are a marriage of flow and images offered in the way that the most productive eCommerce businesses offer them. It needs to be so familiar and useful that the end-user has to put in very little conscious thought. The end of this flow usually includes a grid with or picture list that shows them greater detail for the items that showed up after they navigated the higher categories and subcategories; icons are gone and the product images present themselves. This will all be customized according to a customer’s needs and tweaked as data shows what’s working best. 

Filtering should be able to be done at any stage of the search as customers use the categories. When they do this, they’re giving input in two different ways. This type of search isn’t only helping them, but also giving the machine learning the feedback loop it needs to help subsequent customers find what they’re looking for. Common filters include cost, sizes, features, and manufacturers, but the list can be configured any way the business needs it. For example, a memory card might be filtered by speed, power consumption, cost, and connection pins. Clothing can be size, color, or style. 

Filters can also be used to match specific parts to a particular product. Vehicles are a good example. Customers can start off with the filters option and check the make and model of a car, and then tell the filter what type of part they’re looking for. This last filter ensures that not every available part for the vehicle will show up in the results if the customer was looking for tires specifically. 

Having a configurator, sometimes called a wizard or product selection wizard, creates specialized workflows for different users. Sometimes it’s a returning user, other times it’s someone who has come to the site from a search engine. The configurator can change user experience to accommodate a buyer’s style and guide them appropriately.  

These wizards are great at asking questions in order to help people find just what they’re looking for. They often present a promise such as “Find the car tires you need by answering 4 questions” or “find the right drill bit in 3 easy steps.” These wizards will take a customer to a single product, or maybe the available options (OEM, rebuilt, generic). Now that you know what kind of vehicle they have, recommendations for aftermarket or accompanying items is much easier. 

Product Recommendations 

What kind of recommendations do you want to offer your customers? Some businesses organize these offerings manually, while others will let the machine learning come up with the best recommendations based on what other people have purchased.  

Businesses that engage in C2C commerce might also offer ads on their site. Amazon sells directly from their warehouse, but they might also recommend a third-party seller that is selling something similar; Amazon then takes a cut. While they might not make as much profit outright, they save money on picking, packing, boxes, and shipping from their own warehouse. At the same time Amazon selling ad space on their site that has nothing to do with the items they sell, such as cell phone plans. eBay also sells ads on its site for items that aren’t found in its listings. The eCommerce site is making money by “recommending” something they’re being paid to advertise, and we can offer B2B eCommerce development to do the same for you.

Clarity Can Make It Happen 

It’s important to work with an eCommerce developer that will adhere to the industry best practices that the user expects while still allowing for a custom eCommerce platform that can be flexible. We would encourage you to get in touch with Clarity Ventures if you have any questions or would like to review platforms we’ve built in the past. We have examples and scenarios that we built for literally hundreds of different clients, and we would be happy to review with you and talk about your potential scenario.