Algolia for eCommerce: What it is and what its advantages are
Algolia is a search and discovery platform that helps users find exactly the product they are looking for in a matter of seconds.
Imagine the following case, which is very common among online shoppers.
You enter an online store looking for a brolly for the rainy days. You already know what you're looking for and want to see different options
So, you decide to use the site's search bar to find the product you need more quickly. You mistakenly type "broly" into the search engine, and the site's system shows you that they don't have any products.
You correct the spelling mistake and this time you write "brolly" correctly, but the system still marks that there are no results. Failing to find any results, you decide to change the search terms to "umbrella," and finally the system shows you several options of the product you want to see.
In this case, do you think other users would have been as patient in their search?
The reality is that many users, when they don't find the product they're looking for, would have abandoned the site in the first or second search without successful results. In fact, according to Kissmetrics, 12% of users go to your competitor's site after not finding what they were looking for.
The search experience your users have is crucial to driving conversion within your online store and achieving more sales. We only need to see two data points to verify this: 43% of users immediately use the search bar when they enter an eCommerce site. Users who use the search bar are 2.4 times more likely to make a purchase.
But how can I improve the search experience on my site? Nowadays, there are several options on the market to improve the speed and quality of your eCommerce site's search engine. One of those technologies is Algolia.
What is Algolia?
Algolia is what is known as a search engine.
A search engine allows users to search for content within an application. Through this technology, users can search for products within an eCommerce site, a job offer within an online job board, or a friend on social networks, and the list of examples could go on.
What makes Algolia special compared to other search engines is that it is focused on providing a better user experience for site visitors. Unlike other search engines, Algolia is able to: understand when a user commits a typo, detect synonyms in search terms, show results in milliseconds, or predict what the user wants to write.
What are the advantages of Algolia?
Tolerance for typos
The Algolia search engine understands when a user is making a spelling error in the words they enter. Therefore, if a user mistakenly writes "tsirt," the system is able to understand that the user actually meant to write "t-shirt," and it shows related products accordingly.
Synonims recognition
Algolia is capable of identifying synonyms in a search. Suppose a user searches for "infusion" on your site, but this type of product is registered under the name "tea" within your database. The search engine will understand that these two words are synonyms, so it will show products that have the name "tea."
InstantSearch
Los usuarios actuales son impacientes, no quieren esperar un par de segundos para que la aplicación pueda cargar. Por lo que es importante que tu buscador entregue resultados en menos de un segundo.
El buscador InstantSearch de Algolia muestra resultados de forma inmediata mientras el usuario sigue escribiendo palabras. 50 milisegundos después de teclear el usuario ya está viendo resultados.
Search suggestions
Before a user finishes typing a word in the search bar, Algolia already suggests several words and phrases to conduct a search. For example, if a user writes "televi," the search engine is intelligent enough to predict that they will write "television" and give them several options to complete their search term. These suggestions are based on searches that other users have made in the past.
Search Personalization
Show the best products for each of your customers and increase the conversion rate of your online store. Algolia has Artificial Intelligence that analyzes the profile and behavior of your user to show them products that best fit their needs and interests.
This functionality is key to always showing products that make sense to the customer. For example, it doesn't make sense to show the same sneakers to a gym instructor as to a woman who practices yoga at home. In this case, Algolia would analyze each buyer's consumption preferences and then show them the best products for them.
Product ranking
Decide which products to show first under certain phrases or search terms.
For example, you could establish that when a user searches for "wallet" to always show first a Michael Kors watermelon-colored women's wallet. You can be this specific in defining which products you want to show first. This way, you'll have greater control over the products customers see.
This functionality will help you give more visibility to products that you have on promotion, products that you want to reduce inventory for, and even products that give you a higher profit margin.
Where can Algolia be implemented?
Site search
Algolia is a technology mainly used on websites. Its search engine will allow you to present quality search results to your users in a short amount of time. This means that your customers can find the product they want to buy in a matter of milliseconds.
Voice search
Algolia can work with intelligent assistants like Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, or Windows' Cortana. Its technology will allow your users to perform searches in your application by voice commands.
Geolocation search
Algolia's search engine also allows users to search for places, businesses, or products nearby. By implementing its geolocation technology, your users can search from the nearest cinema with the movie they want to see to finding the best restaurants around them.
Mobile search
Algolia can be integrated into Android or iOS mobile applications. The technology allows your users to perform searches by voice commands. Your users can search for a product in your eCommerce with just a voice command.
Which eCommerce sites use Algolia?
Some online stores that use Algolia's search engine are Lacoste, Decathlon, Under Armour, Dior, among hundreds of other brands.
So if you want to try Algolia's search engine first-hand, you can go and search for products within their pages.
It is important to mention that Algolia can be implemented according to the needs of each company, so the search engine will not have the same characteristics and functionalities on all sites.
Success case of Algolia with Lacoste
We've already explained how Algolia works and why it's a great search engine to improve the experience of your users. But you're probably wondering, how does Algolia impact the metrics of my eCommerce?
When the search experience is improved in an online store, you can observe an increase in the use of the search engine, an increase in sales, and a reduction in bounce rate. This is because users, when they find exactly the products they are looking for, end up staying longer on your site, visiting more products, and making more purchases.
An example of a successful implementation of Algolia that impacts business metrics is Lacoste. The clothing brand implemented Algolia to boost product search on its site, which achieved the following results:
150% increase in sales attributed to the search engine
210% increase in search engine use
88% reduction in site bounce rate
34% increase in conversion to sale.
How can I implement Algolia in my eCommerce?
Algolia is not a technology that can be easily implemented. It is not a plugin that can simply be installed on your website and that's it.
Due to the complexity of the technology, implementing Algolia in your eCommerce will require writing code within your site. Therefore, you will need the support of software experts to correctly install the search engine in your eCommerce.
If you are currently looking to improve the search experience for your customers to increase search engine usage within your eCommerce, reduce site bounce rate, and increase conversions, Gluo can help. We will analyze the needs of your business to implement Algolia in a personalized way within your eCommerce or marketplace, so you can see the results in no time.
