How to address today's supply chain challenges through efficient site search

Ecommerce site search and supply chain management are more connected than many businesses care to admit.

In brick-and-mortar stores, the connection between the supply chain and merchandising is more apparent. When retailers want to offload merchandise, they can display it in prominent locations and offer attractive discounts. However, this can be challenging to do with online retail. And so, the supply chain can suffer from unused inventory.

Another example is when a customer wants a product and tries to buy it but finds out it is out of stock. This can have a negative impact on their online shopping experience.

A successful ecommerce site search must be able to effectively and accurately find items in the supply chain while also providing consumers with a streamlined shopping experience.

That is where smart site search comes in. Using site search, we can optimize the supply chain of an ecommerce store. Ecommerce site search systems can be used to highlight products, streamline order selection, offer discounts and maximize conversions. A well-designed ecommerce site search system can help ensure that customers can quickly and easily find the products they are looking for.

This blog will dive into how businesses can use on-site search to solve many supply chain snags in ecommerce.

Hide or boost certain products, collections, and categories

Smart search engines offer searchandising capabilities such as hiding low-inventory products or boosting specific brands or categories that make sense from a business perspective.

"Searchandising" is a combination of the words search and merchandising and can unify the power of search with the sophistication of supply chain management. Using smart site search, ecommerce businesses can control the products customers see when they log on. This can allow retailers to leverage search to optimize customer journeys and refine product recommendations based on sales goals. Products or categories that need to be highlighted more can be boosted to appear in searches more often, while products selling out fast can appear toward the end of search results.

For example, for a fashion e-retailer, it might make sense to boost winter collections around the time the season is getting over. Items like jackets and hoodies can appear in search results more often to entice customers to purchase these items at discounted rates. This way, the business can ensure less leftover inventory after the season ends.

Offer alternatives for out-of-stock products

Smart site search and supply chain management are interconnected. Advanced search algorithms consider multiple aspects of supply chains, such as item availability, pricing, and delivery times, when providing search results. This ensures that the most relevant results are displayed to customers, reducing the risk of search abandonment and boosting conversions.

For example, if a customer is searching for a product that is out of stock, the search engine can quickly identify and recommend similar products that are in stock. This saves the customer time and frustration and helps ensure that the retailer doesn't miss out on a sale.

By implementing smart search, ecommerce sites can maximize customer satisfaction by providing time-saving options and helpful recommendations. They can also provide a vastly better customer experience by offering valuable and informative results tailored to individual searches.

Offer back-ordering solutions

For out-of-stock products, back ordering can be an effective way to ensure the customer knows you care about their needs. It also serves as a way to connect or keep in touch with your customers.

This is done by tracking the product's real-time availability in the supply chain. The platform proactively suggests back-ordering solutions for customers when the demand exceeds the current inventory level. The website can also recommend other products as suitable alternatives. With advanced analytics, the system can also configure back-ordering solutions tailored to the customer's past buying habits and preferences.

With this solution, site search can let customers know that their business is valuable to the brand, and the brand can deliver the unavailable product at a later date without losing the sale.

Merchandise products based on business goals and priorities

Businesses can experiment with promotion rules based on criteria such as discounts, profitability, free delivery options, and more. With rule-based search merchandising, businesses can experiment with various combinations according to consumer preferences and optimize search results. Rule-based search merchandising can directly impact business performance.

Businesses can identify the most profitable and successful promotional strategies by experimenting with different rules and criteria. This also helps companies continuously update their merchandise offerings, price points, and promotional tactics to optimize the customer experience. Additionally, businesses can identify the most effective search terms to increase visibility in search engine results.

Offer personalized recommendations in search results

Businesses can leverage user data to offer personalized product recommendations directly in search for a more intuitive customer experience. By analyzing user search data and the intent behind the query, brands can customize search results and display offerings that cater to the user. Additionally, monitoring user interactions with the search results can help brands further narrow down the results to provide even more tailored offerings.

Rather than forcing customers to type in different search terms or keywords manually, smart search analyzes the customer's past behavior and suggests relevant products or services. For example, before a customer can begin typing the word "laptop", smart search can display related results like laptops, laptop cases, and laptop accessories based on the customer's previous experience with the website.

By leveraging search and supply chain data, retailers can create a more personalized and targeted shopping experience. Through targeted search results, product recommendations and profiling, retailers can create an engaging journey tailored to the individual customer's needs. The result is a customer-centric experience that increases customer satisfaction and drives sales and conversion.

Conclusion

Ecommerce site search and supply chain management go hand in hand to provide customers a comprehensive and efficient service. With the right systems, customers can be assured of a reliable and enjoyable shopping experience.

Zevi is an AI-driven search and discovery solution that can help you build an efficient site search into your website to drive conversions and sales. Find out more about Zevi by booking a demo today.