Online shoppers faced with buying a gift often don't know what they want to buy until they see a product that catches their fancy. That presents a challenge for online retailers, who must present shoppers with the right mix of products without knowing what they'll jump at. A variety of search and navigation tools can help guide your customers through the process of looking for a gift and zeroing in on the best options. Your job is to make this process as fast and easy and possible; consumers don't have time for endless, random browsing.
Terry Costa
The day may come when more of your shoppers are making purchases on mobile devices than via laptop and desktop computers. While this milestone hasn't been reached quite yet, many mobile device users are eagerly embracing shopping on the small screen: According to eMarketer, U.S. mobile commerce sales will top $17.2 billion this year, up from $3.5 billion in 2010 - and by 2015, mobile sales will reach $31 billion.
Successful online retailers know that site search is a critical conversion-generating e-commerce feature. In many cases, site search users, while accounting for roughly one-third of all site visitors, generate more than half the revenues. If your site isn't seeing this kind of return from your site search, it might be time to make some improvements. After all, the holidays are just around the corner and this year promises to see even more spending online than in years past.
