Ecommerce Site Search Trends For 2025
Updated December 12, 2024.
We all know the importance of site search within the eCommerce world. High intent shoppers need to find their products quickly and efficiently. For low intent users, site search can be used as a product discovery tool. Shoppers should be able to search using the language that suits them best, and in the way that is easiest for them. Moving into 2025, lets look at some of the strategies that we will see more of in eCommerce site search, optimizing the way your search platform functions.
Vector Search
AI technology has created the capacity for vector search. Through using machine learning, vector search identifies similarities in vectors between inputs and subjects, creating a more human-centric and intelligent search than ever before. Vector search detects semantic relationships between objects in an index, meaning that users will see search results that are accurate and based on so much more than keywords.
Vector search can make sense of language in a way that previous algorithms have been unable to. It can be used in your eCommerce store for a variety of reasons:
- Semantic search: search results without exact keywords
- Recommendations: being led by past actions
- Answers: understanding intention behind queries
- Personalization: user behavior can be described
These are all reasons why vector search will be being more deeply used in eCommerce site search in 2025. It takes search to the next level, making the most of AI technology to enhance your users’ search experience.
Multimodal search
Another advancement of AI technology within the search sphere is multimodal search. Shoppers are no longer interested in just searching using language. This can create many problems, whether it’s to do with spelling mistakes, specific names, or lack of understanding of the topics being searched.
Multimodal search gives shoppers the chance to search using images, sounds, or other modes of input. This could be very useful for product discovery as sometimes shoppers might have images, but not the name of the image. Or even the name of a specific color.
Furthermore, this solidifies the link between social media and eCommerce. Shoppers may view something on social media, or a targeted ad that appeals with them. Multimodal search means they can add this to input, and find a search result based on this image alone. This mode of search enhances the capacity of the site search experience in 2025, and means that your shoppers have more freedom to find the products they want to.
Visual Discovery
Visual Discovery perfectly blends the product discovery journey with visual merchandising. We are visual creatures; we see with our eyes before anything else. It only makes sense that shoppers would want to discover and search for the products they like with their eyes. Having a site search that contains images within the search creates the capacity for shoppers to find products they like in this way. Names simply aren’t enough. To have a small visual icon of what the user is searching for can make all the difference. We will be seeing more of this when it comes to site search in 2025.
Voice Search
We have already begun to see, and we will continue to see the advancement of voice technology in 2025. Shoppers are interested in searching in the most convenient way for themselves. Voice commerce is expected to boom further in the year ahead, as the technology becomes more advanced and less fool-proof. Shoppers want to be able to simply ask their phones for a query.
We see this already in voice bots such as Siri or Alexa, which answer peoples queries as they go about their business. Search will not be exempt from this advancement. Shoppers want to be able to find their products in the most effective way, and voice search offers this.
There are many ways that AI technology is improving the user experience for shoppers worldwide. Site search is just one area that will ensure that shoppers are getting the best eCommerce experience possible. These site search trends, backed and powered by always growing AI technology, are set to be some of the most seen and innovative in site search in 2025.