eCommerce Usability Review: Advanced Search Pages
About a month and a half ago, I did an ecommerce usability review on search page attributes. It’s about time for a bit of a follow up on that. So this round, I’m offering a look at advanced search pages. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many of them left any more. But we’ll give it a shot.
I really like this Abe Books advanced search page. Book ecommerce Web sites, as you will see, remain the last strong bastion of what are considered “advanced search pages.”
You can see all the great search options that allow you to narrow it down to exactly what you are looking for. No searching through pages of results of nothing more than vague keyword matches. Some other features of this advanced search page include:
- Fully navigable to the rest of the Web site.
- Ability to look at top search terms (for inspiration).
- Capability of sorting results how you want them (price, relevance, etc.)
- Various options uniquely applicable to the ecommerce business.
This sort of page makes online ecommerce shopping much easier and more enjoyable.
Barnes and Noble also offers a good advanced search page. I especially like the tabbed advanced search, allowing you to search different types of media.
I like that Chapters.indigo.ca offers tips for more effective search on its advanced search page.
One thing that I’ve been finding in terms of advanced search pages is that they are becoming rare among ecommerce Web sites. Out of the top Web sites for usability, very few had the advanced search option. Instead, the “refine search” option is taking its place. This PC Connection page is a good example of how “refined search” is taking over.
You can see, above, how off to the side all of the fields that might be included on advanced search pages to narrow things down a bit are included. You can choose categories, and you can choose how to sort the search results from a sidebar. Of course, this means that you have to type in broad keywords to get to a starting point, and then narrow it down.
Coach offers search that I am not terribly fond of. It just flops of pictures of everything that matches, with no attempt to refine further. I do like all the images, which make it easy to instantly see whether you like something, but it is hard to narrow the results.
Below, see more examples of advanced search pages, and “refined search” options. Which do you prefer? Would you rather start broad and work from there? Or would you rather narrow the search immediately? With too much narrowing, I think, there is the possibility that you could miss something that you would otherwise find when you start broad.
Tags: advanced search pages, ecommerce usability review, ecommerce Web sites, online ecommerce search, online shopping, search page attributes
Posted by Miranda | March 13, 2008
Seth Brady March 13th, 2008
Miranda,
Thanks so much for your post. We’re really happy here at PC Connection to have been included in your short list and sincerely appreciate your feedback about our search capabilities.
You’ve highlighted some great examples on the finer points of searching, especially as it pertains to retailers like us or Barnes and Noble that sell high volumes of SKUs. Given that we’re carrying over 100k products, we’ve tested and refined our search feature over time to help get our customers closer to the products that they’re looking for. I really enjoyed haering your thoughts about the way we’ve implemented this feature.
Even for those retailers that don’t carry thousands of products, though, the need to get customers in front of the best quality search results is still a critical aspect to one’s e-commerce success. I agree that Coach could improve their offering by combining the strong visual aspect of their search results with a way to further narrow the results. Given their clientele, they’d presumably provide more value by adding lifestyle-based filter criteria like “Collection” or “Handbag Type” rather than filtering by price.
Based on the other retailer examples you’ve provided, I’d say Home Depot also does a great job with similar guided navigation, helping customers (including those of us that aren’t personally the most technically proficient when it comes to home repairs!) sort through the overwhelming list of products and hone in on the right tool for the job.
One aspect that Home Depot could further extend is to add filtering based on star ratings. Their products carry ratings, but Home Depot hasn’t extended this offering yet to their search parameters (i.e., “Show me all results 4-stars and above”). This type of social shopping seems to be the way the world is moving as more and more retailers look to these peer reviews to drive purchase decisions.
Best regards,
Seth Brady
PC Connection, Inc.
Rob March 13th, 2008
There is one thing I don’t like about the abe advanced search. It highlights certain fields with an asterisk to indicate that one of the fields needs to be filled. I think most people think of asterisks as a required field, and this may confuse them. If you check out barnes and chapters this isn’t an issue.
Miranda March 13th, 2008
Thanks both of you for your comments.
Seth: You make some great points about usability and how some sites could improve their offerings. I like the idea of being able to sort by reviews and by ratings. It helps you move the “quality” to the top.
Rob: Excellent point about the Abe Books page! It is a little confusing. I think you are right that other booksellers manage to have good pages without the confusion.
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