Most consumers say retail website search functions need ‘upgrade’

More than six-in-10 shoppers (61%) do at least half of their online shopping from their mobile device.

Many consumers are dissatisfied with product discovery and search experiences on retail websites.

Search and product discovery platform Constructor’s second annual State of Ecommerce Search and Product Discovery report found that More than four-in-10 online shoppers (42%) give product discovery experiences on retail websites a “C” grade or below, according to search and product discovery platform Constructor’s second annual State of E-commerce Search and Product Discovery report. Similarly, nearly seven-in-10 (68%) said the search functions on retail websites need an upgrade.

The survey, which included 900 shoppers in the U.S. and the U.K., found that 44% of shoppers say it takes at least three minutes to go through search results and locate the product they need. For more than one-in-five (21%) respondents, it takes at least eight minutes, and only a quarter of shoppers (24%) describe finding products online as “quick.”

More than four-in-10 (41%) shoppers say they have to “frequently” or “always” reformulate search queries to get e-commerce search engines to understand what they mean, while a large majority (85%) do so at least “sometimes.”

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Nearly half (44%) of those surveyed say that when they shop with their favorite retailer online, the site treats them like a “total stranger” — with generic recommendations and a total lack of personalization across the buyer journey. Less than a third (32%) say finding products online is “enjoyable.”