The State of Site Search in 2024: 3 Key Takeaways for Growing Businesses

1. More shoppers are buying online than ever before

Our lives are tied to the online world as never before, and shopping—as both a basic necessity and leisure activity—is no exception. To take just one country as an example, our survey found that:

• 94% of British adults have shopped online in the past 6 months
• One-third shop online once a week (or more)
• Another third make online purchases every 2-3 weeks

This spectacular increase in online shopping, sustained over many years, tells online brands everything they need to know about the importance of investing in their customer journey. Something that we do so regularly needs to be as effortless and enjoyable an experience as possible. 

2. Search usage is on the rise—along with shopper expectations

Site search is being used more and more by customers. In Q1 2024, 13% of website visitors used a site search tool, compared to 10% in the same period the year before. Our survey said only 6% of customers rarely or never use the in-house search engine. 

Features related to search make up two of the top three priorities of online shoppers: 

• Customers want control: Shoppers expect to be able to customize and toggle their way to a hand-crafted list of products personalized to them: The biggest number—69% of respondents to our survey —cited the “ability to apply search filters” as the most useful feature they look for. 
• Customers want accuracy: In addition, 58% wanted a search box that provided accurate results. 

The takeaway? Shoppers use search more and expect to be able to do more with it. However, those increased expectations also come with increased gains for brands that invest in search: Customers who use search have an average conversion rate of 7.6%, compared to 2.6% for other customers. Statistics like these highlight how site search plays a remarkable role in boosting online growth.

3. Abandonment & exit rates remain an issue for online brands

Despite these encouraging numbers, search isn’t a magic bullet for brands. Search abandonment and exit rates remain stubbornly high. In Q1 2024, the average exit rate was 20%, a percentage consistent with previous years.

Add-to-cart rates are an additional area of concern. In Q1 2024, while 58% of customer visits involved viewing a product page (a slight increase in 2023) only 13% of customers went on to add an item to their cart. Again, a similar figure to the year before.  

If a customer’s search query leads them into a highly intentional, well-directed search, they’re much more likely to add to cart and less likely to exit the session. When search term-driven, highly-motivated search traffic drops off part way through, it’s because something has gone wrong with the process. Either you didn’t deliver what the customer was looking for, or you didn’t deliver it as fast and simple as they wanted—yet another reason why AI-driven personalized search is quickly becoming the go-to solution for brands wanting to match shopper intent.