This document discusses how onsite search can be improved to help retailers sell more effectively. Currently, onsite search customization is limited, with hardcoded rules that cannot adapt to changing priorities. The presentation advocates for a more flexible search that allows marketers to boost or penalize products based on attributes like brand, type, and collection. It also suggests optimizing the auto-complete and results page experiences through techniques like structured listings, product previews, and merchandising recommendations. The goal is to make onsite search more user-friendly and effective at promoting the most relevant products to sell.

1. Is your onsite search really helping you sell?
MeetMagento –Omni-Channel E-Merchandising with Prediggo
Dr. Vincent Schickel-Küng, Jan BecoZurich, 24th of October 2014

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Who we are…
Jan Beco
• 4 years at Unic as Senior Consultant in
Sales and Consulting
• Consulting in e-commerce, digital
communication and web experience for
SME’s and multinationals.
• Expertise involves online strategy
consulting, conceptual work,
information architecture and project
management
Dr. Vincent Schickel-Küng
• Founder and CTO of Prediggo Smart
Selling Solutions
• PhD from the ETH Lausanne, Artificial
Intelligence Lab
• Developed and patented the Ontology
Filtering algorithm
• Leads on-going development in
innovative search technologies

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Who we work for….
Unic AG
• We design, develop and maintain
premium e-business solutions
for e-commerce, digital communication
and collaboration
• We are an independent, owner-
operated group with 260 employees
• 5 offices: Bern, Karlsruhe, Munich,
Vienna and Zurich
Prediggo
• Specialized in Onsite search and site
navigation and behavior profile based
product recommendations and e-
merchandising
• Independent, owner operated group
with 8 employees
• Based in Lausanne and Fribourg

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Solutions on the basis of leading technology partners
Complementary
partners
(selection)
Premium
partners
E-Commerce Digital Communication Collaboration

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Click to edit Master title styleDoes your onsite search really help you sell?
Prediggo Smart Selling

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Why do retailers need site search?
Improved Sales
Higher conversion rates
Improved customer retention and loyalty
Increased site usage
Improved branding

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What does search data tell me ?

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Ways to use site search data for merchandising
Use ribbon overlays
Create landing pages
Use synonyms
Use visual search results pages
Show variations
Figure out trends
Use auto-complete

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Intelligent
Search
Semantic
Merchandising
1 to 1
Marketing
The omni-channel
personalization suite for…

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From..
Dr. Vincent Schickel-Küng

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Onsite search is critical, but customisation is limited
A major problem is that accessories are
returned before the "real" products the
shopper wants to find.
And there is no hardcoded rule that can
solve this problem.

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Most onsite search can not be customized.
• The same sorting for every keyword
• Boosting rules are hardcoded, static
• No marketer friendly way to adjust rules
• Not able to apply specific behavior by keyword
Onsite search is critical, but customisation is limited

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Another common problem is that many products
types are categorised in the same way
• For Stöckli, this is a problem with “schuhe”
• Hiking, biking and ski boots are all “schuhe"
Would you promote “skischuhe” to someone
searching for “schuhe”?
Promotion priorities change frequently, onsite search must adapt

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Marketers need the flexibility to promote or
penalise products based on specific attributes
• Now Stöckli, can promote more relevant
results for “schuhe” and penalise “skischuhe”
Promotion priorities change frequently, onsite search must adapt

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And Stöckli sells many different “skischuhe”
• Many different types, Alpine, Langlauf. etc.
• Many different brands, Lange, Salomon, etc.
• The ability to boost on multiple attributes is
key
• So that Salomon, Alpine boots can be
prioritised
Promotion priorities change frequently, onsite search must adapt

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Another example, Stöckli sells many types of
bikes… mountain, city, race bikes and more.
• For Fall 2014, the priority is Mountain bikes
• For Spring 2015, it could change to City bikes
• And for Summer 2015, Race bikes
• Now they can easy change the priority
Promotion priorities change frequently, onsite search must adapt

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Stöckli also sells lots of clothing from many
brands
• 1st priority is the Stöckli brand products
• 2nd priority is showing a mix of products
• Which is achieved with the ability to boost by
1. Brand, Product Type, Collection, etc.
2. A custom price range (100 - 300 Sfr)
Promotion priorities change frequently, onsite search must adapt

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Searchandising - Dynamic Marketing Content
• Add a promotional message with results
• Highlight preferred brands, special offers
• Generate ad revenue from featured brands
• Or simply leverage creative content
Promotion priorities change frequently, onsite search must adapt

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Unstructured lists of matches are not
a selling best practice.
In this case, the engine fails to return
“Der Herr der Ringe” even after most
of the title is entered.
And don‘t forget about the shopper‘s auto-complete experience

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Auto-complete for online shops should provide
context and structure to the predicted results
• Identify common keyword pairings
• Display matches with indexed attributes
• Support product previews based on
business priorities beyond sales, like new,
key brands etc.
And don‘t forget about the shopper‘s auto-complete experience

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Consider whether a non-traditional
layout maybe is more effective at
“selling” the product.
And don‘t forget about the shopper‘s auto-complete experience

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Long lists in the faceted menu navigation can be
intimidating and not all attributes apply to every
product.
Other opportunities to make search more user friendly

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Unlce Jeans has a very clean, user friendly menu
interface that they adjust to products.
Other opportunities to make search more user friendly

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Converse is a unique product type, so Uncle
Jeans customised the navigation menu
 Made color the 1st priority, vs. price
 Eliminated the “brand” facet
 Overall, a better user experience
And don‘t forget about the shopper‘s auto-complete experience

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Avoid long, unstructured lists…
 Auto-Complete
 Full search results
 Facet navigation menus
Learn what broad keyword terms are frequently searched
 Set specific rules to prioritise the right products
 Enhance product attribute data, if needed
Deploy retail store style sales promotion techniques
 Display merchandising - feature key products in a recommendation block
 Window displays – Make use of relevant product marketing content
The key to onsite search that sells, results that make sense

27. Hohlstrasse 536
8048 Zürich
Tel +41 44 560 12 12
Fax +41 44 560 12 13
info@unic.com
www.unic.com
Unic AG
© Unic - Page 28
Jan Beco
Senior Consultant @ Unic AG
jan.beco@unic.com
schickel@prediggo.com
Dr. Vincent Schickel-Küng
Founder and CTO of Prediggo