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Record-Breaking Cyber Monday Delivers Important Message to Retailers

Avoid “No Results” Page and Increase Conversion Rates with these 4 Tips:

Cyber Monday sales were stellar, with some of the largest U.S. retailers seeing a 30 percent increase from last year, according to Smarter Commerce.  Research firm ComScore Inc. (SCOR) says that Monday spending reached a record $1.46 billion!  Some retailers were punished however, as sites with poor eCommerce site search lost customers due to the dreaded “no results” page.  Mobile shoppers, who accounted for 18 percent of Monday’s retail traffic, are a major percentage of that group who left, as mobile devices offer cramped screens and clumsy navigation.

Here are four tips you can apply to avoid the “no results” page to improve conversion rates and ensure you capture your share of this holiday season’s online and mobile sales.

Auto complete and spell correction
Show your shoppers full search terms as they type, so they can pick and click.  And automatically correct or compensate for your customers’ typos to provide the most meaningful results.

Relax Long-Tail Searches
Many “No Results” pages are the result of long-tail searches, such as “Men’s black Ferragamo loafers.” The worst thing an Internet retailer can do is return a “No Results” page because the visitor will just jump to another site to find what they’re looking for. A good site search and merchandising solution will “relax” out words to find something close to what the buyer is looking for. In the example above, if the retailer doesn’t carry Ferragamo brand, they can show “men’s black loafers”. The best search-relaxation systems recognize concepts, like understanding that “black” is a color and “loafers” is a category. With this understanding, a top-notch site search solution can prioritize which concept to drop first.

Explain why there are No Results and offer solutions
The most frustrating “No Results” pages don’t indicate why nothing is displayed.  Use this space to tell them why the search failed and give them options and instructions on how to continue their search.  Many sites offer a list of popular searches or popular brands offered and, if possible, personal assistance via phone or chat.

Provide a rich, mobile eCommerce solution
There are new mobile eCommerce solutions that enable Smartphone users to just hit the microphone button and speak directly into the search-box.  The very best eCommerce solutions provide this, transforming iPhones, Androids and Window’s Phones into a fully functional eCommerce shopping experience.

These are just a few tips you should consider implementing within your eCommerce software solution to mitigate the “No Results” page.  What other ideas do you have to improve your site search results? Let us know in the comments section, or Tweet them to us with #EasyAsk.

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