John Lewis Direct has implemented search technology on its website to improve service and usability as sales soar and its online catalogue expands.

While search engines like Google have made finding just about anything on the Internet easily possible, a surprising number of retail websites still depend on hierarchical catalogue structures and a list of product groups rather than that a search box using natural language. The result is not only frustrated shoppers likely to abandon the site, but a missed opportunity for making ad hoc and personalised offers based on a shoppers search activity and preferences.

John Lewis Direct – currently experiencing a 78.5% increase in online sales and an increased catalogue of 22,000 product online – has implemented FAST’s Enterprise Search Platform which over the past year has not only proved scalable but has also enabled add-on service offers and information links for customers researching products.

“Our search challenge was one of supporting rapid growth balanced with our determination to offer the best customer service,” says Ian Tansley, head of web selling at John Lewis Direct. “We chose FAST because the technology allowed us rapidly to re-index our growing product catalogue and enabled users to find what they need very easily. In addition, the flexibility of the FAST solution has allowed us to also present relevant service information to customers on a variety of topics ranging from “how to select the right child seat” to “how to manage returns.”

Many retail websites offer little more than basic product categories (bras, jam, v-necks etc) which click through to a catalogue of what is available often in seemingly random order. In addition many search tools work by funnelling requests along pre-defined paths and they can rarely cope with spelling mistakes, free text descriptions or very specific requests. Searching for “a v-neck sweater not plain but patterned” will either confuse the system or simply generate a selection of all v-neck jerseys available regardless of style.

In contrast FAST’s uses product attributes to drive a dynamic navigation engine. There are no pre-defined routes so each search request can be processed and navigated to the most appropriate product. The system can also track shopper’s reactions to search results to deliver more appropriate choices for an individual customer. The system has been available in the US for around three years wand users include such companies as Best Buy and Nordstrom.

“FAST was the only search vendor that really understood our focus on establishing the most intelligent, informative product index,” says Ian Tansley. “We believe that this is a corner stone of providing a high level of customer experience.”

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