Research from the UK company E-consultancy shows that retailers could double sales made from keyword-based searches within a site if they improved poor search mechanisms.
Its study of UK retail sites, including Amazon, Argos and Tesco, revealed that on average only 43% of all goods available were listed in results after shoppers searched for particular items.
E-consultancy said it was a usability issue and blamed companies for using unsophisticated search tools that don't predict the varying search terms and word formations consumers use. Another usability consultant said: "It's extremely important that companies watch how people are using their search engines -using off-the-shelf software is no good."
I totally agree with this view. In my experience this problem is particularly bad for older users who have to grapple with on-site search engine functionality that was designed for the computer geek. This problem is not just limited to search engines and extends to all types of Web commerce.
The static elements of Web sites can be ultra 50+ friendly but the instant you enter the transactional parts of the site they become complicated and intimidating for many older people. I am sure the reason for this is that marketing has responsibility for the overall look and feel of the Web site but the transactional part still remains the responsibility of IT. Not a group of people renown for their sensitivity to the users’ sensibilities. Dick Stroud: www.20plus30.com
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