Impack: How Searchanise Helped Boost Conversion, Average Order Value, and Customer Retention

Duy: I started using Searchanise a couple of months ago. In the beginning, I didn't have a lot of expectations, to be honest. I just wasn't satisfied with the default search experience, for example, it was not possible to apply multiple filters at the same time. You couldn't pick the size you want, the pattern you want, and then refine the search results.

When I installed Searchanise, I was really happy the search results page came out like this. I can apply multiple filters, for example, pick the size and the pattern and then narrow down the search results to only relevant products.

Duy: I love that search results include pages, this is so unique and different compared to the default search we had before:

Duy: Then I also like the fact that you can add a recommendations widget. Upsell and cross-sell is a very helpful feature too, as it generates additional sales.

Duy: I've been thoroughly impressed with Searchanise because there was more to it than I initially expected.

Duy: We don't make all of our sales on Shopify, as we also have Amazon and Etsy. But speaking about Shopify, yes, it did help.

Let's compare the period before we installed Searchanise (from November 16th, 2021, to February 28th, 2022) to the period after we installed it (from March 1st, 2022 to June 13th, 2022):

• the conversion rate increased by 14%;
  
• the average order value grew by 7%;
  
• the returning customer rate climbed by 35%, indicating that the customers are more satisfied and have more trust in us.
  
  

Duy: I can think of 3 of them: the widget that is displayed when a customer starts typing in the search bar (Instant Search Widget), analytics, and filters.

Duy: What I like most about ISW is the search suggestions it pulls up instantly. The suggestions include not only products and categories, but also pages. Since we're working on the content it's essential for us to show blog articles as well.

And I think the design is really well laid out. I can't show you now how the search looked when we used the default Shopify search, but it was terrible. It was like an almost blank page with lines of results without any separations of the different result types. So the product search results looked the same as the blog posts and as any other page that had that keyword.

I love that the Searchanise widget is strategically broken down into different areas: products, suggestions, categories and pages. It does make a difference not just because it looks nice, but also because it creates visual blocks.

Also, it plays well with people's expectations. The first thing they see is the block with products and I think it's natural for the eyes to look first at the block in the middle. And then they would glance down and see what else is there. I think it is really important.

Duy: The analytics is something that's fairly unique, something that we can't find in the other tools we use. When I'm inside the app's dashboard, the first things I look at are the top search queries and the search queries with no results. I go through them every two weeks or so to pick up the clues and try to read between the lines.

For example, we have "leaf" among top search queries and it's a good indicator of a customer's intent to try and search for a specific design. The search queries with no results include "tissue", "large mailer" and "Easter". They also indicate what is important for customers.

Honestly, I haven't thought about doing tissues until I saw this query in analytics. The same with larger mails, we've been getting requests from customers to do them, so it looks like we're going to add them too.

In a nutshell, we use the information we gain from analytics and customer feedback to create new products or add new designs of the existing products. And if it works out, obviously it's going to open up a new avenue for us.

Duy: Product filters are absolutely a must. When people land on a collection page with a long list of products, they are usually clicking to the second, third page, and so on. We saw that from analytics. The more time and effort they spend trying to find what they want, the less likely they are to convert. In fact, if they haven't found what they want on the second page, chances are high they will leave the website. And filters help to quickly narrow down the search results, displaying only relevant products.

Duy: We do a lot of one-to-one talking with our audience. And I specifically asked that question after we've installed Searchanise. The general feedback we got from the customers is very positive: they like the suggestions better and the more visual way the products are displayed in the Instant Search Widget. Before, the search suggestions were poorly laid out, and the customers could not get the results they wanted quickly.

Duy: I was thoroughly impressed. Not just with the app itself but with the team as well. You guys have been nothing but wonderful. I asked a lot of questions but there was not one ticket I raised that was not answered. I also asked for a lot of customizations.

For example, I saw in the demo store that it is possible to add a block with the pack size under the product price on the search results page:

Duy: I asked for the instructions on how to do it because I was not very tech-savvy. And your support just set it up for me and then sent me all the instructions, so that I could do it myself or give it to my team in case we need to change it in the future. That was really cool.

Then I wanted to replicate the whole settings from my US website to the UK site and your team helped me to do it. I didn't have to do anything. I was really grateful because otherwise, it would take me hours if not days to do this.

Duy: I've been telling about Searchanise in a whole lot of communities because that's how impressed I've been with it.

Since our customers are mainly owners of small shops, we've decided to build a community called Small Shop Circle. It's like a directory of business owners, as well as specialists, such as photographers and designers. The idea is that they can find each other here and collaborate. Brands can work with brands to do giveaways, collaborate on certain collections, or find photographers or designers.

My main goal is to help other businesses get off the ground and warn them about the mistakes that we've made in the past. After I build up a significant community, I plan to introduce the tools, software, and services that we use and can recommend. And I'll definitely add Searchanise to the list of the recommended services.

Searchanise does create a lot of value for e-stores. The main points Duy mentioned boil down to:

✔️Customers reported better user experience thanks to search suggestions and filters;
✔️ Business development insight gained from search analytics: top search queries and queries with no results give an idea of what products the store might add;
✔️Improved metrics: the conversion rate increased by 14%, the average order value – by 7%, and the returning customer rate – by 35%.

If you've been thinking about improving the user experience on the website, you're in the right place. Install Searchanise and see what our app can do for you.