This brand new feature makes it easier for online shoppers to find the products they are looking for – also when searching using numerical SKU-style parameters.
The latest feature released by Findify developers sees the leading Site Search and Personalization software company improve its Personalized Search function even further – this time with improved numerical search functionality.
As the most popular Findify solution, with an algorithm powered by the latest in AI and machine-learning developments, the company’s Search solution is constantly being improved, tweaked, and optimized – for the benefit of all merchants using the valuable ecommerce tool to increase revenue, boost conversion, and improve the overall user experience on their website.
The new numerical search functionality now encompasses SKU-style look-ups.
What is an SKU and how can Findify help customers who search for them?
A Stock Keeping Unit, or SKU, is a unique code that is assigned to a product to identify it, and helps merchants keep track of inventory.
To give an example, a paperback edition of the first book in the Lord of The Rings Trilogy could have this SKU: LOTR-1-PB.
Things get a little more complicated, however, when searching for items with similar, or complicated, SKUs. Take computer gaming company Nvidia for example. The company could have a product with the SKU of: Nvidia gfx1080.
“Previously, Findify search would take this term and treat it like a word, meaning searching just for ‘gfx’ or just for ‘1080’ wouldn’t find the product,” explained Anders Gullander, Findify Head of Product.
“Now, we split it into parts, so that it’s easier to search, improving our text analyzer to break down these SKU-style strings. Searching just for ‘gfx’ will find all products with gfx in it, including ‘Nvidia gfx1080’ and ‘Nvidia gfx960’ etc. Searching for ‘gfx1080’ or ‘gfx 1080’ will show exact match products first, followed by partial matches. If there are no exact matches it will fall back to the usual expanded search, as it did before.”
An example of numeric search functionality on the website of Findify client Shopping Express
While this new functionality may seem basic, it is actually quite a complicated matter behind the scenes.
Mr Gullander explained there is a lot of complexity involved in breaking down not only words, but also numbers, and teaching the system to understand the endless ways and combinations that a product title could be written into a search bar.
After extensive testing of the new feature, which involved invaluable feedback from merchants, the experts at Findify have reported this improved numeric search feature greatly improves the search functionality for shoppers conducting SKU-style searches.
“This is a really great new feature, which I think a lot of merchants, and online shoppers, are going to benefit from. Our customers that are already using it see a great improvement,” said Mr Gullander.
“We have a lot of big projects in the works at the moment, but it’s great to still have the capacity to roll out these smaller, but extremely useful, features which will help our clients to continue to sell more online.”
For more information on Findify’s powerful ecommerce tools, including personalization software and solutions such as Personalized Search, Smart Collections, and Recommendations, book a demo here.
