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The top takeaways for every retail �company focused on digital commerce

Each year, retailers lose over $300 billion from bad online search experiences in the U.S. alone. Search abandonment, when a consumer searches for a product on a website but does not find what they are looking for, is a top-of-mind issue for many retailers.

The shift to ecommerce and omnichannel has been fast tracked in recent years and today, consumers expect seamless and simple search experiences, yet 94% of U.S. consumers report they’ve received irrelevant search results. As ecommerce competition skyrockets, what can we learn about the importance of search abandonment?

$300B

lost each year from bad online search experiences (U.S. only)¹

85%

of global online² consumers view a brand differently after experiencing search difficulties

64%

Of U.S. retail website managers have no clear plan for improvement

1. Calculated using the mean number of times the search function/box did not provide the item the consumer was looking for in the last month (mean: 4), multiplied by the median cost of the last item searched for ($32), multiplied by 12 months, totals $1,536 per person. Multiplied by 216,920,317 online consumers in the U.S., according to the U.S. census, totals over $333B lost per year

2. Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, UK.

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Takeaway #1

Retailers recognize search abandonment as a problem

With 88% of retail website managers admitting that abandoned searches are a company problem, and 90% sharing concern about the cost abandoned searches have on their company, retailers recognize the problem. However, 64% reveal their company has no real plan.

Takeaway #2

Search is vital for a positive�shopping experience

9 in 10 U.S. consumers (90%) say a good search �function is very important or absolutely essential, �with 97% agreeing that their favorite retail websites are ones where they can quickly find what they are looking for. Additionally, the search function is the most commonly used feature on retail websites compared with the navigation menu, filter feature, �or promotions on the homepage.

Takeaway #3

Consumers move to �competitors quickly

After an unsuccessful search, 3 in 4 consumers (76%) report that it resulted in a lost sale for the retail website, with 48% purchasing the item elsewhere. In fact, more than half (52%) say they typically abandon their entire cart and go elsewhere if there’s at least one item they can’t find.

Takeaway #4

Search abandonment is high �risk–high reward

69% of consumers say that a successful search experience often leads to the purchase of additional items, with almost all consumers (99%) saying that they are somewhat likely to return to a website if it has a �good search function.

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The consumer search experience

A breakdown of our findings for retail websites

90%

of consumers say a very important/absolutely essential search function trait is being easy-to-use

97%

of consumers believe an easy-to-use website is a big part of a brand’s customer service

97%

of consumers’ favorite retail websites are ones where they can quickly find what they are looking for

The sentiment towards search

Simplicity and speed sit at the top of the list

Thoughts across the board

Overall, the consumer sentiment towards search is positive. On average, consumers made 5 purchases on retail websites in the past week. 94% had an overall positive experience (46% said ‘excellent’ and 47% said ‘good’), with 92% saying retailers are doing enough to help them find what they need on their website.

When thinking about their shopping experience, consumers universally emphasized the priority of being able to locate exactly what they need, easily and quickly. The research shows that a positive search experience directly correlates to customer retention, with the majority of consumers (71%) and website managers (60%) saying that an easy-to-use website is linked to consumers being very likely to return.

Beyond ease, consumers also call attention to speed. More than 4 in 5 consumers (84%) and website managers (88%) say a retail website that loads quickly is very important or absolutely essential, with 67% of consumers and 60% of website managers agreeing that a fast-loading website is very likely to make customers return to the same site.

Consumer behavior

Typically, consumers spend 15 minutes — and an average of 6 clicks — searching for a specific item on a retail website. When it comes to the maximum amount of time consumers are willing to search for a specific item, this is capped at 26 minutes, on average, before they give up and move on; however, nearly half (48%) won’t dedicate more than 20 minutes to one search.

Outside of the U.S., some consumers are willing to dedicate more time to searches. In Brazil and India, consumers are willing to spend an average maximum of 33 – 34 minutes searching for a specific item before moving on. In other countries, consumers are willing to move on more quickly. In Australia, Canada, and Germany, retailers have an average maximum of 21 – 22 minutes to give consumers what they’re looking for before they lose them.

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9 in 10

consumers say a good search function is very important or absolutely essential for retail websites

78%

of consumers typically use the search function on retail websites, making it the most common way to find products

99%

of consumers are at least somewhat likely to return to a website if it has a good search function

The importance of search

The game-changer for a positive shopping experience

Search in comparison

The search function is arguably the most important feature of an ecommerce website, which is why almost all website managers (96%) say their company’s website has a search function or search box.

More commonly used than the navigation menu (49%), filter feature (37%), and homepage recommendations (30%), consumers depend on the search function when online shopping, with 78% saying they typically use it to search for products. In fact, when searching for an item on a retail website, 80% of consumers, at least half of �the time, go directly to the search function or search box before browsing, with 62% doing this most or all of the time.

When compared to other website features, the importance of a good search function rises to the top of the list, with 90% of consumers reporting it’s absolutely essential/very important. Trailing behind on the list is the visual appeal of a website (60%), the ability to sort content in multiple ways (64%), and the ability to filter results (74%).

The impact

The power of a good search function is undeniable, with 89% of website managers saying that it is very important or absolutely essential for consumers. Results show that almost all consumers (99%) are at least somewhat likely — and most (68%) are very likely — to return to the same retail website if it has a good search function.

Interestingly, however, website managers do not always recognize the value of the search function for retention. Less than half (48%) make the connection between a good search function and consumers being very likely �to return.

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Evaluating search

The ratings for search functions are good, but not great

98%

of website managers are confident consumers are able to find what they need when visiting their website

1 in 10

consumers say they find exactly what they’re searching for every time while using the search function

78%

of consumers say the search function on retail websites sometimes provides irrelevant items

In the U.S.

When asked to grade their experience using the search function on retail websites, 35% of consumers say it’s ‘excellent’ and 57% say it’s ‘good’. More specifically, the majority say that the search function provides exactly what they are looking for (95%) or provides good alternative items (84%) at least some of the time. However, only around 1 in 10 say they get exactly what they are looking for (11%) or good alternatives (10%) every time, with most consumers running into problems often. This includes sometimes providing items that are not relevant to what consumers are looking for (78%), showing out of stock items above available items (69%), or running into other glitches.

Website managers

Website managers feel more optimistic about their search function capabilities with 98% expressing confidence that consumers are able to find what they need when they visit their company’s website, including 63% who are very confident of this. Of those who have a search function, 58% say it does very well at allowing consumers to find items that are relevant to what they are looking for, 56% say consumers can find exactly what they are looking for, and 52% say they offer good alternative items to what consumers are looking for.

In fact, website managers generally agree with consumers that key problems arise at least some of the time with searches providing out of stock items above available items (74%), not allowing them to narrow the search using filters or categories (62%), or not providing consumers with the item they are looking for (59%).

However, while 60% of website managers think searches provide items that are not relevant to what consumers are looking for at least sometimes, 78% of consumers say this happens at least sometimes.

Outside the U.S.

Similarly, most adults (82%) globally say that the search function on retail websites provides good alternative items to what they are looking for at least some of the time, but only 9% say this happens every time. Likewise, many say that the search function provides items that are not relevant to what they are looking for (75%) or does not provide the item they are looking for at least some of the time (60%). More than half report that they cannot narrow the search using filters or categories (59%) or that the search function takes too long to process the search at least sometimes (55%).

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Impact of an unsuccessful search

The experience, the immediate impact, and the future consequence

3 out of 4

consumers report that after an unsuccessful search, the sale is often lost to competition

52%

of consumers abandon their entire cart and go elsewhere if they cannot find one item

77%

of consumers avoid websites where they’ve experienced search difficulties

Defining an unsuccessful search

Consumers define an unsuccessful search result as being provided items that are not relevant to what they are looking for (61%), not being provided the item they are looking for (59%), and being told there are no applicable items even though they know the store sells them (53%). �In the past month, this has occurred an average of 4 times per consumer.

After an unsuccessful search, consumers will stay on the website for an average of 8 minutes before giving up on looking for the item.

The future consequence

Website managers recognize the long-term impact of search abandonment on their company, with more than �4 in 5 reporting that consumers are less loyal to brands where they’ve had unsuccessful searches (84%) and avoid websites where they’ve experienced search difficulties in the past (87%). Similarly, 91% of website managers agree that an unsuccessful search would make consumers think twice about returning to make a purchase.

It is evident that loyalty and repeat business are at risk with unsuccessful searches. More than 3 in 4 U.S. consumers (77%) say they view brands differently after having an unsuccessful search on their website. Most commonly, they view brands as not providing the shopping experience they are looking for (46%) and as needing to invest more in their website (41%). Outside of the U.S., consumers are more likely to say they view brands differently following an unsuccessful search (85%), particularly in Brazil (92%), India (91%), Mexico (89%), Australia (87%), and the UK (86%).

Echoing the sentiment of website managers, the majority of U.S. consumers (75%) and global consumers (69%) admit they are less loyal to a brand when it’s hard to find what they want on a website, with the majority of U.S. consumers (74%) agreeing that if a company won’t invest in improving their website, then they don’t want to give them their money.

The immediate impact

Following an unsuccessful search, consumers most commonly leave the website (89% at least sometimes, 48% often / every time), try a general search engine instead (86%, 46%), or go to a competitor’s website �(84%, 42%).

In fact, more than half (52%) say they typically abandon their entire cart and go elsewhere if there’s at least one item they can’t find on a website. Globally, a similar proportion agree (55%), with those in Brazil (60%), �Japan (60%), and Mexico (60%) likely to abandon carts.

This is money lost for online retailers as U.S. consumers estimate, on average, the cost of the item they were searching for during their most recent unsuccessful search was $84¹, with 23% saying the cost of the item �was $100 or more.

1. Mean calculation trimmed by 3 standard deviations.

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The future strategy

Retail companies recognize the problem, �but have no clear solution

It is not surprising that almost all website managers �(93%) underscore that one of their company’s top priorities should be making it as easy as possible for customers to find their products on the website, but �what is being done about it?

More than 4 in 5 website managers (84%) measure the impact of abandoned searches on their company. Among those who do, more than half track the number of product pages a visitor views (55%), the number of clicks it takes consumers to find what they are looking for (55%), whether a visitor uses the search function on the site (54%), and the amount of time visitors typically spend searching for an item (52%).

78% admit that their company is struggling to meet consumer expectations when searching for a product on their website, and 41% say abandoned customer searches leading to lost sales is one of their biggest barriers to increasing revenue related to their website.

Are retailers finding a solution?

99% of website managers affirm that their company is taking, or planning to take, action to reduce abandoned searches on their website, most commonly by testing the load times to ensure the search function speed is reasonable (60%) and regularly testing the search function to make sure it’s easy to use (53%).

However, nearly two-thirds of website managers (64%) say their company doesn’t have a clear plan of how to make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for. Only around half strongly agree that their company is equipped with the right technological tools to minimize abandoned searches (49%) and has a consistent, real-time view of inventories in-store and / or online (47%).

The gap

There is a disconnect between what consumers want and what website managers do after an unsuccessful search takes place. The majority of website managers indicate they ask for consumer feedback (61%), however only 29% of consumers say this is a way a brand can win back their loyalty.

Most consumers (88%) say that a brand can win their loyalty back by taking any action; with a discount or promotion (49%) or upgrading the website (48%) at the top of the list.

Recognizing the issue

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How Google Cloud can help

Product Discovery Solutions for Retail

We've built a suite of solutions to help retailers and brands enhance their digital commerce capabilities and deliver personalized consumer experiences across channels.

Learn More

Recommendations AI

Recommendations AI �can understand nuances behind customer behavior, context, and SKUs in order �to drive engagement across channels through �relevant recommendations.

Vision Product Search

Vision Product Search �uses ML-powered object recognition and lookup to provide real-time results �of similar, or complementary, items from your �product catalog.

Retail Search

With Retail Search, retailers can implement Google-quality search that is customizable and built upon Google’s understanding of user intent and context.

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In recent testing, Macy's saw �a 2% increase in conversion, and a 1.3% increase in revenue per visit. We are excited to partner more closely with Google Cloud to continue to provide the experience our customers expect."

Jilberto Soto, �Director of Product �Management, Search

15% of our customers are giving us search queries that we’ve never seen before...Google is helping us decipher what our customers are asking for so we can get our customers what they need and what they are looking for.”

Neelima Sharma,�Senior Vice President, Technology, Ecommerce, Marketing and Merchandising

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Research methodology

A Harris Poll survey of consumers and website managers

The global consumer survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Google Cloud from June 24 – 30, 2021. Over 9,000 adults (aged 18+) were surveyed online within Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, and the UK. Of this, over 8,000 have used the search function on a retail website in the past six months. Results were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

The U.S. survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Google Cloud from June 22–July 7, 2021. Over 1,000 consumers (aged 18+ who have used the search function on a retail website in the past six months) as well as over 200 website managers (aged 18+ who are employed full-time in the retail industry and work in the IT function as a website manager or employee who monitors the status of website traffic) were surveyed. Results were weighted by age by gender, education, race / ethnicity, region, household income, size of household, and marital status, to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

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