In ecommerce, site search is equal to buyer intent, and is proportional to conversions.
How? Site search is often the first action users take when they land on your online store. According to Forrester, 43% of users on retail websites go directly to the search bar.
Searching for a product shows a clear buying intent. Shoppers who use site search know what they are looking for. Consumers who use search are 2.4 times more likely to buy. Searchers also drive more revenue, spending 2.6x more across mobile and desktop.
What if your site search is missing the mark? Losing shoppers with clear buying intent would be an expensive miss. Search frustration leads to a churn rate of 68%. This means your business could lose over half of potential customers to a competitor.
As a fast-growing enterprise brand, your store cannot afford to lose customers to your competition at the very first phase of the buying journey.
Most of the ecommerce platforms like Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) that power mid-market and enterprise-level brands realize the importance of site search and provide capabilities out of the box.
However, Magento's focus is on improving the overall ecommerce experience, unlike a third-party system that exclusively focuses on providing advanced capabilities for product discovery.
Is that enough? Today's buyer expectations have evolved significantly, compelling brands to deliver advanced experiences such as personalization and voice search. Integrating a search system tailor-made to provide such experiences can fill the gap. If you still doubt it, ask your agency providing Magento development services for expert advice.
Throughout this piece, we’ll hear from Algolia partner Ziffity Solutions discusses the opportunities that Adobe Commerce customers have to modernize their search capabilities.
Why do Adobe Commerce stores need to modernize search?
Adobe Commerce and Magento provide a solid product search experience for their users through their out-of-the-box functionalities like keyword-based matching and Elasticsearch support (for Adobe Commerce editions). These search features are suitable for online stores with less complex search needs, smaller catalogues, or standard product types.
However, if you are a fast-growing or enterprise-level brand holding a vast product portfolio, complex product data or looking to deliver highly personalized search experiences, you may benefit from exploring search systems with much advanced capabilities.
Advanced search systems offer personalization, NLP support, real-time indexing, analytical capabilities, and so on. Also, Adobe Commerce, being a highly customizable platform, provides the flexibility to integrate modern search systems, giving your business the chance to modernize and scale search performance as you grow.
How site search impacts your store’s ROI?
1. Search drives higher conversions
Shoppers who use site search are far more likely to buy. According to Forrester, 43% of users on retail sites go straight to the search bar and these visitors are 5 to 6X more likely to convert than non-searchers.
2. Relevance boosts average order value (AOV)
When search results align with user intent, shoppers don’t just convert, they spend more. ThinkwithGoogle reports that 39% of purchasers are influenced by a relevant search, which directly lifts cart size and order value.
3. Great search creates repeat buyers
Fast, accurate, and personalized search builds trust. Once shoppers see that your site “gets it right,” they’re more likely to return with stronger purchase intent, improving lifetime value and customer retention.
4. Smarter search lowers bounce rates
Modern search doesn’t just help people find products, it keeps them from leaving. When Lacoste adopted Algolia for improved product discovery, they saw an 88% drop in bounce rate, leading to more completed purchases and subscriptions.
What to look for while choosing a system to modernize search
Speed
Speed is no longer the only determining factor for good search results. Modern users expect predictive search features like autocomplete and suggestions as they type, and results to appear as they type. Any delay not only frustrates users but also directly impacts your bottom line. In fact, high-quality site search is 1.8x more effective at driving conversions, while slow search leads to higher bounce rates, abandoned carts, and lost retention opportunities. Look for a system engineered for low latency and real-time response.
Relevance
Shoppers who use search typically arrive with clear buying intent, making relevance the most critical factor. If the results don’t match what they’re looking for, a sale could be lost. According to ThinkwithGoogle, 39% of purchasers are influenced by a relevant search. That means nearly 4 out of 10 buyers make decisions based on how well your system interprets intent. When modernizing search, prioritize engines that leverage AI and NLP to understand queries in context, not just by keywords.
Personalization
Generic results are outdated. Today’s customers, especially return buyers, expect personalized search results based on their behavior, purchase history, and preferences. According to Google Cloud, 79% of consumers encounter irrelevant results, which weakens engagement. A strong search system should deliver tailored discovery paths that surface products relevant to each shopper, improving conversions, average order value (AOV), and long-term loyalty.
Mobile Friendliness
Mobile is now the dominant commerce channel, accounting for 70%+ of all traffic and sales. Shoppers expect the same level of speed, relevance, and personalization on small screens as they do on desktops. A search system that isn’t optimized for mobile usability and responsiveness isn’t just a UX issue, it’s a revenue blocker. Ensure the system you choose delivers a seamless, mobile-first experience.
Voice Search
The way people search is shifting from typing to talking. According to Google, 20% of Google App searches are voice-based, and this number continues to grow. Voice queries are typically longer and more conversational, making natural language processing (NLP) essential. When evaluating a system, ensure it can handle long-tail queries, extract context from phrasing, and deliver accurate, conversational results. This not only future-proofs your store but also creates a more intuitive shopping experience.
Analytics & Insights
Search data are a goldmine of customer intent. A modern search solution should go beyond showing results to providing analytics on what users search, click, and ignore. Features like Zero-Result Tracking and Query Analysis can uncover content gaps in your catalog and improve product data. These insights also feed back into AI models, strengthening relevance over time. The right system should make analytics actionable, turning search into a continuous optimization engine.
Seamless Integration
Even the most powerful search solution is useless if it’s challenging to implement. A modern system should offer APIs, SDKs, and plug-and-play connectors for platforms like Adobe Commerce. Compatibility with REST APIs or GraphQL ensures flexibility and scalability. Easy integration translates to faster time-to-value, lower technical overhead, reduced costs, and fewer implementation risks. In short, choose a system that blends into your current tech stack without creating friction.
Algolia is the best option for modernizing your site search
As a B2B or B2C business owner catering to evolving consumer expectations, integrating an advanced search system and finding the right one is essential. An ideal search engine shouldn’t be just about returning results. It should adapt, learn, and understand user intent and behavior to drive conversions.
Here’s where Algolia emerges as a scalable and developer-friendly search platform that aligns perfectly with Adobe Commerce’s flexibility. Among the advanced search systems available, Algolia stands out as a purpose-built platform to cater to the modern search expectations of your customers.
Algolia brings to your business speed, intelligence, and scalability, which are critical for delivering real-time, intent-driven search experiences. You can integrate Algolia easily with your Magento storefront, leveraging APIs, Algolia UI libraries, and Adobe’s Edge Delivery services and open source libraries.
How Algolia benefits online shoppers and store owners:
Case studies of Algolia
Swedol
Swedol is a Swedish B2B brand that sells a vast collection of products, from tools to workwear. Hosting thousands of products across several categories, the brand had to provide relevant search results for its B2B buyers.
The limitations of the native search system made it challenging to test and improve their search experience frequently. Without search analytics, Swedol was unable to develop data-driven strategies to enhance its search experience.
Swedol turned to Algolia to overcome these challenges. Algolai’s advanced search enabled Swedol to improve search relevance, enhancing the overall search experience.
Algolia’s speedy indexing helped show every change in the portfolio on search results. Swedol was able to maintain product information up-to-date and provide personalized search results for its B2B customers based on past purchases, behavior and preferences.
Swedol achieved a 22% higher conversion rate, saw a 7.5% increase in searches, and saw an increase of 26% in time spent on their online store.
Hager Group
Hager Group is a manufacturer of electrical products with customer bases in over 100 countries. The brand offers over 20,000 products, which are complex and usually part of a larger electrical component. The brand had 25 websites featuring its products and information, which provided customers with guidance on selecting the most suitable option.
The brand used a search solution they developed in-house, but soon switched to Algolia. Algolia was easy to integrate and get going. Algolia aligned with the site’s PIM system to surface relevant products and information upon customer search.
Algolia’s performance, relevance, provisions like Semantic Search, Autosuggest, and Error Tolerance enabled customers to get information as they typed. This enabled Hager Group to reduce the effort put in by their customers to find the right product they want to buy. Now Hager Group has integrated Algolia search across 10 sites, simplifying the search complexity for millions of users across the globe.
Adobe Commerce and Algolia are a perfect match
Search is a conversion driver, not just simple navigation. In the fast-evolving digital commerce landscape, your Adobe Commerce store’s search isn’t just a feature; it’s the first-level conversion funnel. Your site’s search is now about creating highly responsive and intuitive experiences that customers love.
With consumer expectations on fast results, relevance and personalization increasing like never before, modernizing your Adobe Commerce store’s search becomes a competitive advantage rather than a technical upgrade.
Whether you are a B2C brand aiming to boost conversions, or a B2B brand looking to surface millions of products with utmost relevance, search sets the tone for your customer engagement, reducing friction in the buying journey.
The final phase of your pursuit to modernize your search is finding an experienced Adobe Commerce partner agency and Algolia partner like Ziffity who can handle both your store and search integration effectively. While Adobe Commerce powers your commerce layer, let Algolia handle your search experience that sets the stage for conversions.
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