July 21, 2015

Paul Smith Online Shop

With an extensive line of designer products, Paul Smith required an intuitive search solution that would put relevant products in front of shoppers as quickly as possible. They partnered with SLI Systems, who tell us more about the work

A Distinctive Experience In-store and Online

Iconic British designer Paul Smith is known for his eclectic aesthetics and eccentric designs. The brand bearing his name includes 14 different collections and retail shops across Europe, Asia and North America, including more than 200 throughout Japan. In line with Paul Smith’s reputation for offering the unexpected, each shop is completely different. Wanting to extend a distinctive shopping experience to its online space, Paul Smith turned to SLI Systems to improve its site search functionality and deliver relevant products in as few clicks as possible. The website boasts a wide selection of more than 2,000 products, including men’s and women’s apparel, shoes, accessories and even designer children’s clothes.

Paul Smith knew allowing shoppers to find the products they desire quickly was key to improving conversions. SLI Learning Search Connect™ allowed Paul Smith to seamlessly integrate award-winning site search with its existing Magento platform.

Stylish Site Search Wins Conversions

With the goal of providing a seamless brand experience for online shoppers, Paul Smith highlighted improving site search as essential to its growth. After researching the market, Paul Smith chose SLI Systems for its true learning-based site search technology. SLI patented technology learns from visitors’ site search activity and click-throughs to deliver the most relevant results.

Paul Smith paired Learning Search Connect™ and SLI Rich Auto Complete™—a combination that proved cost effective in less than six weeks, making it Paul Smith’s most successful third-party implementation.

With the power of SLI Learning Search™, shoppers find the items they want to buy faster. In addition, Rich Auto Complete™ speeds shoppers’ paths to the right products by automatically presenting relevant items as soon as visitors start typing into the search box.

Paul Smith also adopted SLI Mobile™, so that its smartphone and tablet users have an equally rewarding shopping experience. Paul Smith uses the SLI Merchandising and Reporting Console to identify new opportunities and help predict where trends are headed. The phrases that shoppers type when searching for particular items provide Paul Smith with insight regarding what customers want.

This differs on each of the fashion company’s sites using SLI, including Paul Smith sites in the UK, Europe, Australia and the United States. SLI’s team of experts, including a dedicated customer success manager, also helps Paul Smith achieve its ecommerce goals.

SLI Delivers Revenue-rich Results

Since implementing SLI, Paul Smith’s site search conversions increased 39 per cent and the number of visitors using the search box jumped 45 per cent. The result has been 11 per cent growth in total site revenue. Paul Smith visitors also spend more time browsing online since SLI was implemented. Site search users now spend about six minutes on the site, compared to the four-minute stay of most non-search users. The longer shoppers stay, the more likely they are to buy.

In addition, shoppers who engage with the intuitive Rich Auto Complete spend twice as long on the site and visit double the number of pages.

“Partnering with SLI, Paul Smith now offers the kind of online shopping experience that meets the expectations of its discerning customers,” says Simon Young, Web Development Manager for Paul Smith.