Algolia’s proprietary report reveals insights from global B2C retail decision-makers on search, AI, personalization, and merchandising trends
Algolia, the world’s only end-to-end AI Search solution, released its annual B2C Ecommerce Site Search Trends report, compiled by research specialist Coleman Parkes Research. The report reveals global insights from 1,100 senior business and IT decision-makers at B2C retailers on their plans to use search this year alongside the growing emergence of AI in retail and ecommerce merchandising.
“the data suggests that AI’s influence in B2C retail extends beyond search. As personalized experiences continue to be pivotal for ecommerce success, retailers are progressively harnessing AI to elevate personalization, employing innovative applications such as conversational commerce.”
Reshma Iyer, Product Marketing Director at Algolia, emphasized the exceptional benefits of AI-powered search and personalization experiences in enhancing revenue and gaining competitive advantage: “According to Algolia’s latest B2C Ecommerce Site Search Trends report, more than half (64%) of respondents recognize the importance of AI in their search strategy and how it affects their business. As such, there is a persistent and strong commitment to investing in AI search solutions to drive even greater accuracy and relevancy of search results, while generative AI leans more towards better product comparisons, product reviews, improved buyer’s guides, proactive query refinement, and conversational interfaces.”
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Key findings from the B2C Ecommerce Site Search Trends report include:
Top Search Considerations in 2024
- The primary motivations behind B2C retailers’ implementation of search this year include the ability to increase revenue, customer demand fulfillment, and customer experience enhancement.
- Over a quarter (27%) foresee AI expanding its role in search experiences in 2024, and 18% expect the demand for voice-activated search functionality to grow.
- Sixty percent (60%) believe AI plays an important role in their business’s search strategy, with more than half (51%) pointing to AI as a technology to improve the accuracy of search results.
Money Matters in AI and Search
- Most B2C retailers (61%) are satisfied by the revenue achieved through search investments.
- Of those who are already leveraging AI to understand users’ behavior, over half (51%) have seen increased revenue.
Personalization Priorities
- Most B2C retailers (70%) consider personalization to be a large or integral part of their business for the next 12 months.
- Key personalization initiatives include personalized shopping profiles (offered by 56%), followed by product recommendations (46%).
- Over a quarter (28%) offer conversational commerce to their customers, and more than two-thirds (69%) are planning to implement this functionality over the next year.
AI’s Impact Beyond Search
- Fifty-two percent (52%) of B2C retailers plan to implement AI tools to aid merchandising teams.
- More than half (51%) would like to use generative AI for better product comparisons.
- Forty-six percent (46%) believe that AI-driven customer interactions will see a significant increase in the next 12 months.
Andy Easton, Research Director at Coleman Parkes Research Ltd, highlighted how these insights illuminate the present and future integration of AI in shaping retailers’ site search strategies and noted: “the data suggests that AI’s influence in B2C retail extends beyond search. As personalized experiences continue to be pivotal for ecommerce success, retailers are progressively harnessing AI to elevate personalization, employing innovative applications such as conversational commerce.”
