The automatic prompt function of searching in the station of the online retail platform

I noticed a trend is that some industry software sites, more and more use of search automatic prompts this function. That's something I rarely see in other online retail outlets.

Dell.com, for example, uses a simple search-and-prompt feature in its search box.

Searching for automatic prompts is very useful for customers because it prevents misspellings or synonyms that lead to search engine "unsupported"

(It is because the customer does not understand the exact name of the product, and there are 0 items). For example, I might think of a "USB stick", but when I enter "USB" I can see the "USB flash drive" Suggestion on the search box, so I chose it (this will result in more results than the "USB stick" search results)

With the rich search automatic prompts, retailers can add thumbnails, prices, valuable suggestions, special offers, and more. Take a look at these examples:

Apple Store

Because the brain recognizes the image faster than the text, the thumbnail of the Final cut Pro software appears better than the text link when you view it quickly. Apple's cue message also contains persuasive price information, such as "Just $199" and "$999".

Although Apple managed to add the click links unrelated to "Final cut Pro" to the hint column, such as "App Store" and "Snow Leopard operating System", these options will disappear after the customer continues to enter more keywords into the search box (e.g. from "Fi" to "Final"). ）。

I like Apple's way of splitting the category menu into chunks. This will help customers find a product that has results in different categories. For example, retailers have software products and books on one item. The results are displayed in chunks, just like the category navigation in the search box.

Adobe

The product results include an easily identifiable thumbnail, as well as a two-level link for each product, such as "Buy Now" (right away), "Try" () and "Get Support" (for help support). These are great for "hunter" customers, who know exactly what they want and don't want to mess with menu navigation. Instead of loading a product page and searching for "Try now" links or navigating to the Help section and search products, you can simply jump to the page you want from the search box after typing two keywords.

Adobe not only blocks product results but also provides product-related tutorials. (Unfortunately, many retailers don't put basic documents like purchase guides and customer service terms on their search index).

Microsoft

Its search box is also simple, Microsoft shows thumbnails, and it's smart to put promotional bundles in the first place.

I have an interesting idea that I would like to see the auto tip feature that can put the highest priced products, the best-selling products, the lowest price and the newest arrivals of the product blocks. Different options will attract different types of buyers. Just don't forget to put "View all results" (see all results) This link to customers who want to see all the products.

Is this just the beginning?

Even if you only see it at some sites now, I expect the auto Tip feature to evolve as a feature of a good retail site. I look forward to seeing more and more creative ways to use creative and strategic sales planning on site search and navigation menus.