StyleFeeder Tech Blog

According to recent data we’ve been collecting on StyleFeeder, not very.

It’s always been our contention that while major search engines may be effective if you know exactly what you’re looking for (like a Canon PowerShot 8D70I or a Free People Fleece Dolman Sweater), they don’t work for shoppers stuck at the category level. If you’re looking for a new shirt or coffee table but don’t have something particular in mind, you’re likely going to throw your hands up in frustration after wading through 10 or more pages of textual data. (This, by the way, is why we think starting your product search on a visually-oriented site that already knows your tastes and preferences is a no-brainer!)

We’ve recently been working to improve the experience of users who are discovering StyleFeeder through search engines, and were intrigued to find that 55% of shoppers are not finding what they are looking for using Google and the like. When natural search users land on one of our item detail pages, we show them a photo and description of the product the search engine pointed them to and ask a simple question: “Is this what you are looking for?” 55% of shoppers are answering “No”. Take bounce rates into account, and the percentage of people finding the right item through search engines may be as low as 20%!

We aim to gather more data in support of this theory, but our preliminary results suggest that there is lots of opportunity to help internet consumers shop more efficiently!