Global ecommerce and Site Search Survey

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Global ecommerce and Site Search Survey"

Scot Parks
8 years ago
Views:

1 SURVEY Global ecommerce and Site Search Survey 2013 New Year s Resolutions sli-systems.com

2 Introduction In November 2012, SLI Systems conducted a survey among global ecommerce companies to understand their main areas of focus for the New Year, and the top business strategies they re employing to drive brand awareness and loyalty, enhance customer engagement, and increase online revenue. The survey also illuminated the importance site search plays in meeting these business goals. While attracting customers and increasing conversion continue to be the biggest challenges for ecommerce brands, respondents said that an increased focus on SEO, more relevant site search, better refinements and navigation, are all ways they plan to overcome these challenges in Improving their ecommerce platform and placing more emphasis on mobile commerce strategies were also identified as key priorities. While retailers work to improve search and usability of their ecommerce sites, other features such as A/B testing, refinements, merchandising and Rich Auto Complete were ranked the most important site search features and capabilities that they ll implement in the coming months. Surprisingly, nearly half (40%) of retailers indicated that they still plan to build a mobile version of their website in 2013, with 20% planning to create a mobile app. Of the retailers that already have a mobile site, 18% said they ll take measures to improve the user experience and increase sales by enhancing site search functionality on their mobile sites in The survey was answered by 457 ecommerce professionals across several geographic regions: the US/Canada, Brazil, the UK and Europe, and Australia/New Zealand. The raw results of the SLI Systems survey are listed in the report below. An infographic summarizing the results can also be found at sli-systems.com Page 2

While attracting customers and increasing conversion continue to be the biggest challenges for ecommerce brands, respondents said that an increased focus on SEO, more relevant site search, better

3 1. In what country is your company headquartered? UK 24% US/ Canada 41% Europe 5% (Non-UK) Latin America.2% Australia/New Zealand 27% AsiaPac (non-australia/new Zealand) 24% 2. What is your company s total online revenue? Less than $1M % $1M-$9.9M % $10-$49.9M % $50M % Don t want to reveal/don t know % Page 3

2% Australia/New Zealand 27% AsiaPac (non-australia/new Zealand) 24% 2.

4 3. What percentage of your company s business is conducted online? 100% % + 75% % + 50% % + 25% % Under 25% % 4. Please rank the top priorities for your ecommerce site in ecommerce platform 18.4% 84 Site Search 17.9% 82 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 17.5% 80 Mobile 14.2% 65 Customer-focused analytics 7.7% 35 Social media 6.3% 29 Content management 5.0% 23 CRM 4.2% 19 Security 3.7% 17 Recommendations 2.2% 16 Payment processing 1.8% 8 Ratings and reviews 1.1% 5 Page 4

4% 84 Site Search 17.9% 82 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 17.5% 80 Mobile 14.2% 65 Customer-focused analytics 7.

5 5. What are the biggest challenges you face as an ecommerce organization? Improving conversions % Attracting more buyers to your site % Improving logistics % Expanding internationally % Rising advertising rates % 6. What strategies have you added to your ecommerce site in preparation for the December holiday shopping season? More SEO % Better merchandising % Better refinements or navigation % More relevant site search % Better visualization % Mobile % Online Videos % Ratings and Reviews % Recommendations % Customer-focused analytics % New ecommerce platform % Page 5

What strategies have you added to your ecommerce site in preparation for the December holiday shopping season? More SEO 203 44.4% Better merchandising 185 40.

6 7. Which of the following non-product content do you already have or are you planning to add to your ecommerce site in 2013? already Have Tweets 255 out of 445 responses 57.3% Articles & press releases 251 out of 448 responses 56.0% Blog posts 241 out of 447 responses 53.9% Online videos 240 out of 452 responses 53.1% How to information 226 out of 446 responses 50.7% Plan to add in 2013 How How to information to 153 out of 446 responses 34.3% Online Online videos videos 138 out of 452 responses 30.5% Blog Blog posts posts 124 out of 447 responses 27.7% Articles & press & press releases 121 out of 448 responses 27.0% Tweets 88 out of 445 responses 19.8% Page 6

9% Online videos 240 out of 452 responses 53.1% How to information 226 out of 446 responses 50.

7 8. What is the most important priority for you choosing a site search solution? Relevance % Ease-of-use % Total cost of ownership % Level of control 50 12% Customization % 9. Which of the following are true for your 2013 Mobile ecommerce strategy? Plan to build a mobile ecommerce site % Already have a mobile ecommerce site % Plan to build a mobile ecommerce app % No plans in the next 9 months % Plan to improve the site search on % mobile ecommerce site or application Already have a mobile ecommerce app % Page 7

Which of the following are true for your 2013 Mobile ecommerce strategy? Plan to build a mobile ecommerce site 184 40.

8 10. Which of these site search features do you already have or are you planning on adding or improving in 2013? already Have Merchandising Merchandising 46 out of out responses of 102 responses 45.1% 45.1% Refinements Refinements 35 out of out responses of 83 responses 42.2% 42.2% Rich Auto Rich Complete Auto Complete 75 out of out responses of 179 responses 41.9% 41.9% Ajax Ajax 27 out of 86 responses 31.4% 27 out of 86 responses 31.4% A/B testing A/B testing 33 out of 112 responses 29.7% 33 out of 112 responses 29.7% Mouse-over pop-up images Mouse-over pop-up images 35 out of 83 responses 26.7% 35 out of 83 responses 26.7% Floating bar search Floating bar search 8 out of 107 responses 7.6% 8 out of 107 responses 7.6% Plan to add in 2013 A/B testing 60 out of 112 responses 53.6% Refinements 40 out of 83 responses 48.2% Merchandising 40 out of 102 responses 39.2% Rich Auto Complete 61 out of 179 responses 34.1% Ajax 28 out of 86 responses 48.2% Mouse-over pop-up images 36 out of 131responses 27.5% Floating bar search 28 out of 107 responses 26.2% Page 8

2% Rich Auto Rich Complete Auto Complete 75 out of 75 179 out responses of 179 responses 41.9% 41.9% Ajax Ajax 27 out of 86 responses 31.4% 27 out of 86 responses 31.

9 MOre information: Watch the SLI overview video at WatchSLIVideo.com Download our ebooks at GetSLIeBooks.com Full Service, Customized, On-Demand Solutions for Site Search and Navigation MERCHANDISING LEARNING SEO

Global ecommerce Site Search Survey

GLOBAL SURVEY Global ecommerce Site Search Survey Top Missed Marketing Opportunities for Retailers Revealed sli-systems.com Key Findings: Site Search is Among Retailers Top Three Priorities for 2014, yet