The efficiency of the search experience on your ecommerce site can make or break customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. According to the State of Ecommerce Survey Report 2024, a staggering 44% of shoppers report that it takes at least three minutes to find the product they need in the search results. An additional 3% never find their desired item.
When consumers have acute needs, every second counts. The longer it takes for them to find what they’re looking for, the more frustrated they become — driving them to bounce in favor of competitors, and possibly never return.
So, what’s slowing them down, and how can ecommerce teams fix it? Let’s explore the reasons behind these inefficiencies and provide actionable strategies to enhance product discoverability on your site.
How Long Does It Take the Average Consumer to Find a Product They Want?
Time is of the essence for online shoppers. In addition to the 44% of consumers who spend over three minutes searching for a product, more than 1 in 5 (21%) take at least eight minutes (or 24%, if you include those who never find the intended items).
And surprisingly, only a quarter of shoppers (24%) describe their experiences as "quick," highlighting a significant gap in user satisfaction across many platforms, with similar results on mobile where only 22% report a quick search experience.
Why does it take so long?
One core issue is that shoppers frequently describe products (or problems they’re trying to solve) conversationally, and in ways that don’t match how a retailer might describe them. Keyword-based engines rely on the product metadata to serve results. So, when a mismatch occurs, these outdated engines struggle to find attractive items. As a result, 85% of online shoppers need to rephrase their searches at least "sometimes," with 41% doing so "frequently" or "always."
Other times, search engines return results that are relevant in a technical sense, but fail to meet consumer expectations. For instance, a search for ‘red shirt’ may yield hundreds of options, many of which are not aligned with the shopper's specific needs. This issue is more pronounced in the UK, where 48% of shoppers experience irrelevant results compared to 38% in the US.
The end result of this misalignment between user intent and search capabilities? A longer, more frustrating search process that can dampen the overall shopping experience — and subsequent business success.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
Recent research suggests that the average cost of a new customer bouncing from a retailer’s site is $4.89. This number increases to $5.24 each for existing customers.
This isn't just an ephemeral loss. It's a missed opportunity to convert a visitor into a loyal customer. Industry analysts shared that 95-97% of visitors to ecommerce websites are not necessarily there (at least initially) to buy products. Instead, they’re often coming to figure out whether or not they should be buying products from that retailer, or from somewhere else.
In other words, it’s no longer just about getting the conversion, it’s about getting customers to understand that there’s value in doing business on your site and giving them a reason to return when they have a need. Lengthy, frustrating search experiences make it more likely that a customer won’t see the value and turn to a competitor’s site instead.
In addition to the cost of losing brand loyalty, high bounce rates can drastically affect your ecommerce SEO, further diminishing site visibility and traffic.
What Retailers Can Do About It
Industry standards suggest that a healthy ecommerce bounce rate should be below 50%, yet many sites hover around 54% or higher. See actionable advice to reduce your site’s bounce rate below.
Analyze search journeys and query reformulations
The proof is in the data. To discover optimization opportunities across your search experience, like possible zero results, turn to your merchant dashboard.
In the following example, we see the search term ‘rec short’ produced zero results across 20 sessions in the last month.
By clicking ‘View search journey’ for the anonymous user Crimson Frog, we’re able to see their trail of activity on the retail site before ultimately leaving the site.
This clickstream data — a.k.a. click path data or clickstream analytics — gives merchants an insider’s view on what needs to be adjusted in the back-end for a smoother front-end experience.
Improve the quality of product metadata
Earlier, we mentioned the gap between how shoppers and retailers describe products, leading to poor search results.
One way to close the gap is to use a product data enrichment tool like Attribute Enrichment, which combines your raw catalog data and customer behavioral data with Generative AI (GenAI) and machine vision to automatically enrich categories and optimize products for discovery. You can also review and manage enriched attribute and category data in your merchant tools dashboard.
These enhanced attributes will facilitate site search and navigation for the end user, significantly improving site UX and elevating business metrics like clicks, add-to-carts, and purchases.
Automating catalog enrichment also frees up time for merchandisers, who can dedicate the extra hours to more strategic, needle-moving tasks.
Review shopping sessions
Using tools like Hotjar can provide invaluable insights into how customers interact with your site. By reviewing shopping sessions, you can pinpoint where users encounter friction and address those areas. Heatmaps, session recordings, and customer feedback surveys can shed light on why users abandon their search or fail to complete purchases.
Leverage tools powered by emerging technology
Emerging technologies like GenAI, transformers, large language models (LLMs) are paving the way for the future of ecommerce product discovery.
Since the hype of 2022, ecommerce retailers and brands worldwide are already leveraging these new technologies to streamline operations, secure a competitive advantage, and boost profitability. And leading companies are strategically using GenAI to improve the customer experience.
If you haven’t fully embraced technology powered specifically by GenAI, now is the perfect time.
GenAI solutions not only help reduce “no result” searches — thanks to functionalities like automatic attribute enrichment — but they can also facilitate quicker results for long-form queries, acting as conversational search tools that recommend products based on specific customer questions.
GenAI tools can also satisfy other customer-centric needs in less time, such as acting as style assistants, suggesting products right in the Search bar, and more.
Use GenAI search assistance to turbocharge autocomplete, making it more valuable to shoppers and your business.
Word to the wise: Not all vendors that glitter sell gold. When evaluating new vendors and their technologies, take a look at some of the most important questions to help uncover AI-washed products.
You Hold the Key to Ecommerce Success
Enhancing product findability on your ecommerce site isn’t just about improving Search. It’s also about understanding and adapting to consumer behavior. By leveraging state-of-the-art AI technologies and thorough data analysis, retailers can streamline the shopping experience, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions.
For more data on changing consumer expectations and ways to improve consumer interactions, download the State of Ecommerce Search and Product Discovery 2024 survey report. Take action today to better position your business for future success tomorrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is product discovery time?
Product discovery time is the time it takes a shopper to find a product on an ecommerce website.
How long does it typically take for consumers to find a product online?
According to recent data, 44% of shoppers take at least three minutes to find their desired product, and over 21% spend at least eight minutes. Many shoppers find their search experiences frustrating, with only 24% describing them as "quick."
What are common reasons for slow search results?
Consumers often describe products in conversational terms that don’t match retailer descriptions. This mismatch can lead to irrelevant search results, causing shoppers to reformulate their queries frequently.
What can retailers do to improve their search experience?
Retailers can analyze search journeys, enhance product metadata using AI tools, review shopping sessions for friction points, and leverage emerging technologies to streamline product discovery.
How can technology like GenAI improve search functionality?
GenAI can enhance product discovery by automatically enriching product attributes, reducing "no result" searches, and acting as conversational search tools to recommend products based on user queries.
How can retailers improve product metadata?
Retailers can start by manually reviewing and standardizing product descriptions, ensuring consistent use of keywords, and incorporating synonyms or common variations of product names. Regularly updating this information based on customer search data and clickstream can improve product rankings and ecommerce SEO efforts. All of this can be automated via a solution such as Attribute Enrichment, buying your merchandising team back precious time.
What are the long-term benefits of improving search efficiency?
Enhancing product findability can lead to lower bounce rates, increased conversions, and higher customer retention, ultimately contributing to the overall success and profitability of the ecommerce business.
What specific metrics should be tracked to measure product discoverability?
Important metrics include click-through-rate, search abandonment rate, query reformulation rate, and bounce rate from search results. Check out the ecommerce analytics metrics that matter most (and the ones that don't) when it comes to improving site search overall.
What role does mobile optimization play in product discoverability?
Mobile optimization is crucial because mobile search often has a higher bounce rate due to smaller screens and more limited navigation options. Ensure your mobile search is fast, intuitive, and easy-to-use with features like voice search and clear filters can significantly improve discoverability on mobile devices.
