Why catalog number and multiple options are key to effective search
Catalogers have been the most successful merchants on the web so far because they know direct selling and fulfillment and their merchandise is already organized in a numbered system that both the customer and the company know. To continue to be successful on the web they should leverage that organization into their web-site search functions, analysts say. “If you have a catalog and you don’t offer search by catalog number on your web site, you’re missing the boat,” says Arvin Jawa, manager at retail consultants LakeWest Group of Cleveland.
But e-retailers should not stop there, he says. Offering advanced search that allows customers to search on a number of criteria is crucial. Jawa notes that outdoor sporting goods retailer Cabelas.com has a particularly effective advanced search that allows searching by keyword or product, then by other criteria that the customer wishes to input, such as size or color. “It allows a very broad search that many other sites don’t have,” he says. “I see mostly keyword searches, but it’s easier to narrow your selection when you have multiple search criteria.”
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