What is Ecommerce Faceted Search

Consider the very last time you went out shopping for something in a retail store. If you didn't understand where to look, you asked someone to guide you to where the product lies. Online website navigation performs the same function, and facet search in eCommerce is important to the customer experience. Then let's talk about faceted searching as well as how you utilize it to specify things the customers can add to their shopping carts.

If your consumer cannot locate what they are looking for, they will grow frustrated. Although if you have precisely what they're looking for, if they can't locate it readily (generally due to a difficult interface), they'll simply purchase it from a rival with a better-designed site.

Although if you do not have any information they are searching for, it's best if they discover it and as soon as possible so customers don't link your business with the experience of wasting time.

Faceted search, also known as guided navigation, is a searching approach that uses the information associated with a particular item in a shop to allow users to filter or improve their search terms while seeking specific goods.

Filters are connected to faceted search and navigation, although the terms are not identical because the latter provides a more flexible & effective approach. Faceting entails establishing a sophisticated structure in which customers are provided with a clever, logical interface that makes it simpler for them to find the things they are looking for.

Making searching simpler & faster, multi-faceted search also aids in the enforcement of purchase choices and reduces site abandon rates, resulting in improved conversion rates & total profit.

How does faceted search work?

A faceted search program allows you to utilize filters intelligently. Simple filters have traditionally been used for site-wide searches to narrow down results to a specific category, brand, etc.

You may propose even more appropriate filters to consumers using facet search.

If you have hundreds of goods in your business, you're probably dealing with tens of thousands of unique qualities. Providing them all as filtering choices would be unhelpful (and impractical). However, depending on inquiries & results, you may assist customers in narrowing their search by giving appropriate filters.

For instance, if a shopper conducts a site-wide query and 8 of the top 10 most useful results belong to the same category, you may give a filter that focuses on that category plus add further filters based on the most prevalent qualities (that work as commodity filters) within this category.

This can dramatically enhance user experience because it is as near to reading their minds as search tech can currently go.

We can't honestly argue it saves the time of the user or clicks because it's significantly different from the simplest basic search methods.

The goal is to improve the purchasing experience. One in which the user can see they're getting ever closer to the thing they're looking for since the result & filters grow more pertinent with each stage.

It also gives the consumer control while making the buying experience too complex. Shoppers may refine search results depending on their requirements without being swamped by the 'conundrum of variety.'

Distinctions between filters & facets

So let's take a closer look at the distinctions between filtering, faceted navigation, or search.

Consider the three ways as adding layers of difficulty.

Filters enable customers to filter down search results and look at goods in specific categories such as kitchen equipment or books. Nevertheless, just one generic filter may be used at any one moment.

Faceted navigation employs numerous filters that may be applied to certain product properties at the same time. This makes it easier for the consumer to find the specific thing they're looking for.

Faceted searching enables you to create keyword-based filters. You may offer customers several filters, making the experience comparable to that of faceted navigation, however, facet searching yields more precise findings. This is also a more intelligent approach to searching since the search engine refines filters depending on query results that are the aptest to meet user intent.

Faceted searching, for example, keeps visitors from becoming lost within your product catalog. If your site sells a large number of goods, particularly comparable ones (auto parts, for instance), it's critical to provide buyers with a point of reference, which facet search does.

It also allows users to locate precisely whatever they're seeking even faster because just the most pertinent filters are displayed. These criteria are based on the query that was conducted as well as the results that were shown - about this later.

How common are facets?

Nielsen Norman Group (NNG) found in their research that "eCommerce sites without facet searching are the rare exception, instead of the rule." In other words, it's rather prevalent.

They also discovered that while assessing the successfulness of queries, 27% of failures were driven by the inability to identify relevant products on the sites, even though each case had at least one comparable product accessible.

The pervasive use of faceted search ads towards the notion that average query success on eCommerce websites has substantially increased over the past 20 years.

When (and when not) to use faceted search

Faceted search makes it easier to discover things, but it doesn't necessarily indicate that your site requires it. If you only have a few hundred goods, you could most likely utilize a few filters to properly lead your clients to precisely where they need to be.

As previously said, faceted solutions are more complicated, requiring more effort in your designing the prototype. Implementation will require time & money.

Most eCommerce sites require it, although not all of them.

Ecommerce faceted search influences purchase decisions

Online buyers are confronted with an immense number of alternatives, both in terms of the number of shops competing for their interest as well as the volume of items available from these retailers. By improving eCommerce facet search, you'll make it simpler for customers to find what it is they're searching for while also helping your shop distinguish itself from its rivals.