EasyAsk rolls out levels of enhancements to its core search product

The market for site-search technology continues to become more competitive. EasyAsk Inc. is rolling out two new applications to its site search product.

In one case, EasyAsk is introducing a My Store capability in which customers can store information about the type of products they are interested in, Steve Morse, product manager, tells InternetRetailer.com. When they return to the site, the My Store function automatically updates the information from a search of the retailer’s current database. So, for instance, a customer who shops frequently for educational toys for a 5-year-old can store those criteria and every time she accesses the My Store area, EasyAsk launches a new search and displays educational toys for a 5-year-old. It differs from a wish list in that it is not a static list of products but is dynamically generated each time a customer accesses it.

EasyAsk is also starting to promote an analytics function tied to how customers use its search tool. “We’ve had this for some time, but now we are bringing it front and center,” Morse says.

The analytics portion allows retailers to view how customers use the search tool, then employ that information to make merchandising decisions. For instance, the analytics portion can show items that customers searched on that the retailer doesn’t carry so the retailer can add those to its assortment, or show early on that there is a greater demand for a product in one style over another so the retailer can order more of that style. Using analytics from the search tool gives faster results than waiting for sales and merchandising reports, Morse says. In addition, the analytics can show what customers are searching on, viewing, but then not buying, indicating that a retailer may need to take some action in regards to those products.