Do your customers quickly find what they are looking for – or do they give up and leave the site empty-handed?
A well-functioning, intelligent search function can be crucial for your sales, conversions, and customer experience.
That’s why you need to know which features your customers expect!
From Visual Search to Zero-Result Avoidance – we explore the key trends that ensure your search function becomes a strong competitive advantage. Read on to discover how you can optimize your site search to increase sales and enhance the customer experience in 2025!
1. Visual Search
Visual search makes it possible to support searches using product images. It is ideal for customers who cannot precisely describe what they are looking for – or only realize it when they see it.
The main goal is to help customers by displaying product images directly in your search overlay. This adds an extra dimension to the search experience and is a great example of how existing product data can be leveraged to assist customers.
Example: If a customer searches for a red suitcase, the search results should only display suitcases with the attribute “red”.
2. Type-Ahead and Predictive Search
Type-ahead and predictive search guide customers in real-time by suggesting relevant results as they type. This reduces search time and improves the customer experience.
It is certainly not a new concept in the market, but it is a feature that most customers already expect from you today. Everyone has experienced making spelling mistakes in a search query, while still experiencing that the search engine understands our intent.
Modern search engines like Typesense (which Raptor is built on) understand intent based on both personal search history and collective behavior through the principle of “wisdom of the crowd.”
Example: A customer searches for “Nkie shoes” – but the search engine automatically suggests “Nike shoes” instead of returning a zero result.
Read also: Ahlsell’s context-based search solution drives customer loyalty and conversions
3. Advanced Filtering and Sorting
You are already familiar with product list pages, where you can refine your preferences using sorting and filtering by specific categories and attributes. This is now also gaining traction in site search.
For customers who already have a clear idea of what they want to buy or order, this is a great help, as it allows them to skip unnecessary steps in the purchasing journey.
Especially in B2B e-commerce, where product catalogs can be more complex than a Rubik’s cube, this can significantly boost conversion rates. B2B buyers are often searching for products and spare parts with very technical specifications, which can be difficult to locate if they don’t know exactly where to look.
Example: A B2B buyer searches for a specific screw – and only products with the correct specifications (such as length, material, indoor/outdoor use) are displayed. This saves time and minimizes ordering errors.
Trend 4 – Personalization and Recommendations
Personalization and recommendations in a search engine are certainly not groundbreaking news. So why many still not utilizing them to their full potential?
Again and again, we see how delivering more relevant search results leads to noticeable improvements in both revenue and user experience.
By implementing a data-driven search engine that integrates data from existing systems such as CMS, PIM, CRM and e-commerce, you can deliver hyper-relevant search results. With AI, search solutions continuously improve to provide the most relevant outcomes.
What has the customer previously purchased? What are their preferences? What products are trending among other shoppers right now? If a customer consistently prefers a particular brand, style, or price range, the algorithm can prioritize these in the search results.
Example: A buyer in a manufacturing company who frequently orders specific bearings for industrial machines will have those bearings and/or compatible alternatives prioritized based on previous purchases and machine type.
5. Voice Search
Voice search could become a game changer – and it is likely to happen sooner or later. More and more people are using voice search to quickly find what they are looking for, especially on mobile phones.
It creates a more natural interaction for some and provides faster access to results, ensuring a seamless experience for the customer.
If you also focus on web accessibility, where the goal is to make your online experience as accessible as possible, then offering voice search in your search function is a logical next step.
5. Voice Search
Voice search could become a game changer – and it is likely to happen sooner or later. More and more people are using voice search to quickly find what they are looking for, especially on mobile phones.
It creates a more natural interaction for some and provides faster access to results, ensuring a seamless experience for the customer.
If you also focus on web accessibility, where the goal is to make your online experience as accessible as possible, then offering voice search in your search function is a logical next step.
6. Zero-Result Avoidance
Nobody likes searches that end with “no results”. As a sales manager, it’s frustrating. For a customer, it can be discouraging.
Zero-result avoidance ensures that customers don’t leave your webshop empty-handed but are instead presented with relevant alternatives.
Tip! Consider promoting products in a zero-result search. By combining semantic search and AI, you can suggest similar products or seasonal items when a search doesn’t have an exact match. This can help introduce your customers to products they may not have realized they needed.
7. Merchandising in Search
This is where you can truly take control and make your site search an integrated part of your overall e-commerce strategy.
With Merchandising linked to your search engine, you can make decisions based on strategic and commercial considerations. This allows you to manage search results and maximize conversions by highlighting specific products, such as bestsellers, promotional items, or high-margin products.
It’s a smart way to optimize the search experience in alignment with your campaigns and promotions. With user-friendly solutions like Raptor Site Search, you can continuously work in an intuitive user interface, ensuring that high-demand products appear early in the search results.
Build a Search Strategy that Delivers Results
If you’re looking to enhance the shopping experience in your digital channels, the search function is often a great place to start. By leveraging your existing setup and data, it can be implemented without significant costs.
Make it a central part of your digital strategy by utilizing AI and data insights to create a tailored experience for your customers.
How do you know if your Site Search meets expectations? 🤔🔍 Try Raptor’s 7 simple tests you can try today
Feel free to reach out to us and get inspired to create a search strategy that drives results!
ROLAND VILLEMOES
CTO
