July 23, 2015

Snow+Rock Search

SLI Systems explain how they worked with Snow + Rock to improve the website’s conversion rate


Site search usage increases with SLI Learning Search

Since SLI’s Learning Search was implemented, the number of visitors using search has risen by 33 per cent and this number continues to increase. Conversion rates increased by 11 per cent for site search users, and the revenue per visit has risen by eight per cent for people using site search. These increases resulted in higher revenues and a much healthier bottom line.

Snow + Rock
Snow + Rock is the UK’s leading premium-quality ski and sporting goods retailer, operating 24 brick-and-mortar stores as well as an online store. With a wide range of brands and offerings, including technical equipment and gear for many different outdoor sports, Snow + Rock customers have many choices available to them. David Kohn, Head of Multichannel, commented “The SLI Customer Success Managers have helped us transform the way people search and shop on our site. It’s clear from the results that with SLI’s expert assistance, our site search now delivers on the promise of making shopping easy and productive for our customers.”

Easy-to-integrate site search contributes to peak performance
Snow + Rock’s previous site search function was built into their ecommerce platform and did not provide the range of features they needed to help their customers better find the products they were looking for. Searches often generated no results or poor results, since their platform’s default search lacked key features and did not account for synonyms or offer alternative keywords for equipment or brand names with complex spellings. Customers also expressed dissatisfaction when they reached a product page, only to discover that a given size was not available. “We had to bring in a new search solution, and seek guidance on ways to attract more visitors to use the search box. We’re a growing company with a busy team, and we needed expert help,” said Kohn. “We needed a solution that could be up and running quickly.”

Fast, easy ecommerce platform integration
Snow + Rock replaced the site search built into their ecommerce platform with SLI Systems’ Learning Search. SLI also worked closely with Snow + Rock to enhance the shopping experience and encourage visitors to purchase. For example, when Snow + Rock introduced the new Stock- Checker and Quick View functions, SLI integrated the features into Learning Search to improve usability while also maintaining a consistent experience across the site. The Stock-Checker feature shows whether a product and specific size is in stock on the search results page, saving customers clicks and time.

The Quick View feature offers basic product info in a new window, as well as allowing customers to add the item to their shopping carts without having to navigate to the product page. SLI also helped Snow + Rock add Auto Complete to its search box, which offers search suggestions as a drop down list when visitors begin typing keywords. A new price slider feature makes it easier for shoppers to refine results by price. Other useful search features include search suggestions, which offers other keyword search terms that visitors may want to use to broaden their search; broad refinement categories to narrow down results; attributes that allow visitors to reorder searches by price or ratings; and the option to view results as a grid or list.“As we continue to add new features and enhance site usability, we’re confident the SLI team will work with us to integrate those features into our site search, maintaining a good user experience for our customers so they can easily find the items they need and quickly make a purchase,” concluded Kohn.