"Most legacy search bars are "dumb". They look for exact word matches-if a user searches for "crimson dress" but you labeled your product "red gown," they get zero results. On mobile, search is often hidden behind hamburger menus or tiny icons. Brands forget that on a six-inch screen, typing is hard. If the search bar doesn't support autosuggest, typo tolerance, or voice input, the friction is too high."
"There's no overstating the impact that the rise of social media, AI and Google Search has had on the value of onsite search toward product discovery. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have taken over the top of the funnel-where people discover they "need" a green velvet sofa-turning onsite search into a bottom-of-funnel capture mechanism. When shoppers arrive at a site, they are no longer browsing; they are on a mission to find a specific item."
Search bars once served as essential e-commerce tools for product discovery, but many have become superficial and ineffective. Legacy search often requires exact word matches, failing when product labels and queries differ. Mobile search suffers from hidden interfaces and typing friction. Lack of autosuggest, typo tolerance, and voice input raises user friction. Treating failed searches as errors wastes merchandising opportunities. Social media platforms and AI moved discovery to the top of the funnel, leaving onsite search as a bottom-of-funnel capture mechanism. When shoppers arrive, they are mission-driven; onsite search can reveal demand signals and trends if modernized and prioritized.
Read at Inc
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