When you stop to consider just how important on-site search is for retailers and brands, you’re potentially struck with just how slow-moving and non-impactful traditional search analytics can be – the ones that typically come out of the box from site search providers. Here’s what I mean: there’s seeing generic search volumes for keywords and phrases, and attempting to plan accordingly, and then there’s seeing and immediately acting upon search trends, search conversion and much more using the lens of the consumer, and the words and language those customers actually use when they’re seeking the relevant products they’re looking to buy.
Here at Lily AI we’ve also been struck by industry statistics that tell us that 68% of shoppers say they won’t return to a site that provides a poor search experience, or, on the other hand, that once you’ve gotten them to that search bar, that search bar shoppers actually spend 2.6x more money than shoppers who don’t use the search bar. So we’ve spent a great deal of time talking with our customers about how to help them make on-site search one of the best things that they do – and not by replacing their current site search engine when that’s usually not needed, but rather by filling in its gaps with robust product attribution data and a Search Analytics Dashboard that allows them to gain actionable search insights, all in one place.
Having truly actionable search intelligence is a secret weapon that allows for rapid decision-making based on relevant search data. What are your customers searching for? Which product attributes are actually driving conversion? Are you missing out on a new core trend? The Lily AI Search Analytics Dashboard is the centralized hub that helps retailers understand and act on customers’ search trends, conversions and other actionable KPIs.
Once we’ve worked with one of our customers to expand and enrich their product taxonomy with the language of the customer – including synonyms, styles, occasion, fit, embellishments, trend identification and other things that make searches convert – we then provide them with a rich and detailed dashboard to take stock and adjust in real time. Now that they’re able to match their existing inventory with the way customers actually search, they’re also able to see which search results are coming up blank (“null search results”) to identify bottlenecks, and to make adjustments directly to any product’s taxonomy to maximize it being found and purchased.
Moreover, the Search Analytics Dashboard provides actionable insights to diagnose bottlenecks in conversion funnels and increase product discoverability for shoppers. It ensures accurate product data is being fed to the entire retail tech stack to ensure a seamless and effective customer shopping experience on a retailer or brand’s site. You can see which products are in high “search demand” to make more informed decisions around pricing, marketing campaigns and forecasting.
It’s all very empowering when you’re able to easily identify industry trends based on searches; identify where revenue is being lost in the conversion funnel; discover winning keyword strategies, as well as quickly spotlight new attributes to instantly add to your products that drive conversion and higher AOV. It makes everything you’re already doing with your existing search partner that much more powerful.
