Autosuggestions As Smart Helpers For Your Online Store

It all started in 2008 when Google implemented an autocomplete suggestion feature in the search bar. The feature was very useful because the suggestions incredibly simplify the search process. One can just start typing in a query and the search bar immediately offers different variants of the phrase's extension.

Global search engines such as Bing, Baidu, Yahoo, and Yandex quickly picked up the trend. People use autocomplete tips in all the top online stores like Amazon, AliExpress, Rozetka, and Epicenter. We are so used to the autosuggestions that we unconsciously expect to see these smart assistants on any site, whether it's a global search engine or an online store.

The autocomplete suggestions are so handy that if they are not present a user immediately feels that something is wrong. Imagine you're in a restaurant where there are no waiters and no one comes to serve you. In such a situation, you would probably think how do you make an order and does the place even work?

Invisible Assistants: Why Does An Online Store Need Autocomplete Suggestions?

In any store, interaction with the search box should be simple and convenient and the search results should be relevant. Automated tips make our life easier, save time, and make searching for products more comfortable and faster. One does not have to waste time typing in an entire query. As you enter the first letter, you get the extensions of the searched phrase. Voila! All you have to do is to choose the most appropriate one.

Autosuggestions present the most appropriate extensions of queries, categories, and products. However, they should not be confused with search results which offer a wider range of choices.

Here is an example of search autosuggestions and search results.

The website search is like a consultant who with the help of suggestions builds a dialog with a customer and offers products. If the automated tips aren't displayed, it's difficult to understand if the products are not in the assortment or do you need to change your request. In both cases, these are annoying obstacles to purchase.

Types And Functions Of Autosuggestions

Autosuggestions are also known under different names. They are called a quick search, autofill, search tips, autosuggestion, and autocomplete. The autotips may be of different types and continue queries or give suggestions to categories, brands,and products. One or several types of autosuggestions can be implemented in an online store.

For example, Epicenter extends customers` queries.

Online store Meloman displays extensions of queries and shows categories.

On the Pampik website all of the autosuggestion types are used.

Search with autosuggestions resembles a VIP service. They adjust to customers, help them formulate the queries, make search more accurate and faster, offer error-free query options, and allow users to navigate through the assortment.

But first things first, let's look at the important functions of autosuggestions.

Autocomplete Suggestions  Refine A Search Query

Often we do not know the exact name of the product and write a query as we remember it. Tips guess our thoughts on the fly and suggest a query extension with additional product features. It helps to quickly find the right product and go to it.

Autocomplete Suggestions Show An Assortment

When we enter a query and see the search tips, it becomes clear that the desired product is on the website. If there are numerous tips, it means that the online store has a large assortment and there is a lot to choose from.

For example, Amazon offers different variants of suggestions even for a long request which consists of several words. It's obvious that the store's assortment is wide, and the site supports thematic search.

Autocomplete Suggestions Continue The Queries With Errors Already Corrected

Even if you make a mistake, autosuggestions will offer you variants of the query with a typo or keyboard layout already corrected ("rhtckj" instead of "chair", "хуавей" instead of "huawei"). The probability of making a mistake with autosuggestions is minimal. Thanks to them there is no need to type in a complete query as the search immediately offers relevant options.

Here's an example. We look for an air conditioner but find e-books.

Here we made a mistake in the word "screwdriver" but found a product even with the misspelled name.

In the example below, we entered the word "бассейн" in the English layout and made a mistake writing the word with one с. As a result, we got ",fctqy". As the suggestions did not work, the search did not find anything.

Here is an example of a website that can deal with this task. The search corrected the errors and showed relevant output in the autosuggestions.

Errors, typos, and incorrect keyboard layout ruined the nerves of many customers, especially those who shop from mobile gadgets. There are a lot of them as about 60% of all requests on the Internet are entered from tablets and smartphones. So it's important to save customers' nerves by offering them correction options in the tips.

Autocomplete Suggestions Speed Up Search And Navigation On The Site

We don't need to type in the whole query, we can see the variants of its extension right away. In other words, the suggestions save time and speed up the search. They make it much easier to find a category with the right product. For example, if we look for hair dye and already in the tips see the appropriate sections of the catalog. This helps us decide what to look for next, namely products for toning or products for bleaching and lightening.

Another example is the following. We look for a dryer and in the tips we see the appropriate heading "dryer for laundry", so that we go straight to it. However, dryers can be for hands, and for dishes, and for shoes. Without query extensions, tips on category and popular items, the search would take much longer.

Autocomplete Suggestions Encourage Users To Explore An Assortment

Query extensions show a variety of products sold by a store that the customers may not even be aware of. This encourages them to explore the assortment and browse more interesting products.

autosuggestions show products that are difficult to find using traditional catalog navigation. For example, when asking for "chair" we see an office chair, a beanbag chair, a rocking chair, and a beanbag chair.

So, thanks to autosuggestions, users learn that there is a rocking chair in the assortment. A rocking chair is a great idea for a gift for mom, so why not buy it in addition to the usual one? Finding this product through the catalog is much harder. The “Upholstered Furniture” section has subcategories of “Sofas”, “Armchairs”, “Beanbag Chairs”, and “Upholstered Furniture Sets”. Guess which one to look for the rocking chair in? It's quite challenging as it`s in the "Living Room" section.

Autocomplete Suggestions Recognize Synonyms And Slang

The autocomplete suggestion feature in the search bar has a super ability to read customers' minds. The tips which suggest products by synonyms and slang show that it's easy to search the site. It's great when search understands simple language in queries and the search phrase doesn't have to be typed in again.

Recommendations For Getting Autosuggestions Right

Any great idea can be ruined by improper implementation. This also holds true in case of autocomplete suggestions. If they do not work correctly, product search turns into a confusing and long quest. suggestions should make customers' lives easier, not more difficult. Here are a few tips on how to properly implement this functionality in your online store.

1.Emphasize the extension of queries.

The first thing autosuggestions should offer is to continue queries, so that users do not waste time writing an entire phrase. They should be placed immediately below the search line or above other tips for easy access.

2.Continue a general query with keywords.

When customers use general queries such as "doll" it's logical to show similar keyword phrases and categories in the suggestions. This helps to navigate the assortment.

Suggesting specific products for a general query is not as informative. Specific product suggestions create the illusion of a narrow assortment and are more likely to confuse than help with selection. Are you sure you can hit "the mark" with a couple of products and guess the desires of every customer? It's like the lottery where you can guess or you can miss.

Let's have a look at some examples. This toy store only offers product tips for the general query "doll". To find the right one, you have to run your eyes over each name. You should be lucky if the right item is at the top. And if it's not? Are you going to scroll down? All 1,010 items?

Imagine you go to a regular toy store and say to the consultant, "I need a voodoo doll." And the salesperson immediately brings a stuffed doll, "Mishania Tigress La-0029." What do you mean? Why Mishania and not Barbie or Rapunzel? What other dolls are there in the assortment? Most likely, you will either start looking for a doll yourself or simply leave such a store.

Here's an example of the correct output for the same query. Check out yourself: the search shows different kinds of tips, including query extensions, categories, and products. The autosuggestion search bar is like an attentive consultant. It asks clarifying questions, identifies needs, and guides you through the different types of products.

3.Give specific products suggestions for exact queries 

Suggestions for specific products will be relevant if a visitor enters an exact query or the search phrase matches a popular product. If there are very popular items that match the query, make sure that the products complement the keyword suggestions rather than overshadow or replace them.

4.Visually separate query extensions, category, brand, and product suggestions

When different types of suggestions are visually separated from each other, it is easier to perceive information. This way, users can evaluate all the types of autotips the search bar offers and choose the most appropriate option.

This is how query extensions, category and product suggestions are displayed in the search of the online store Stylis. Everything is clear, understandable, and well-structured.

5.Offer queries extensions from different categories and subcategories

Autosuggestions should help people find products faster and easier. But if a person writes one word, for example, "refreshing", how do you know what he or she needs? Refreshing can be a shower gel, spray, cream, shampoo, tonic. So it is advisable to include tips and queries extensions from different categories and subcategories to represent the assortment as widely as possible.

The example below illustrates a good implementation of this advice as it shows 5 versions of queries extensions from different categories.

As opposed to that, the example below combines various flaws. First, the search offers only product suggestions and no categories. Secondly, search results display a gel and a face cream. In other words, the store shows products from two categories, although its assortment also includes a refreshing facial tonic, shampoo, and mouthwash.

These details are very important to consider for a mobile version of any store. With an active keyboard and no scrolling, users need to see as many autoretrieve options as possible. Store also has to display query tips from different categories and subcategories.

On the left is an example of a successful implementation. The suggestions represent the assortment as widely as possible and feature options from 6 different categories. The example on the right has a problem with autosuggestions. There are no category tips and search results display products from only two categories such as foundation and hair dye cream whereas everything else remains behind the scenes'.

Below you will find a couple more examples of how to use the limited space on the smartphone screen. On the left is a great implementation enlisting 10 options of a query extension. Example on the right displays three products (all of the same brand) and two categories. If some of the suggestions are hidden under the active keyboard not all users will start scrolling down.

Test: Check How Well Autosuggestions Work On Your Website

Let's see how well autosuggestions are implemented in your existing store. You will either find out that they work perfectly or quickly notice that this functionality needs to be improved.

Conclusions

Now you know that autocomplete suggestions play an important role on a customer's path to purchase. Search with tips is like a qualified salesperson who knows the user's desires and helps make successful purchases. Today this functionality is not just a necessity but also a way to get ahead of the competition.

If the suggestions on your site should be improved and you don't have enough time and resources for development, you should definitely consider a ready-to-use solution offered by Multisearch. Autosuggestions are not the only great functionality you get with smart search. Explore Multisearch for free for 14 days and find out all the benefits of Multisearch.