I’m still astounded how weak most major retailers are at retailing online. Its as if though the Internet arrived last week, Amazon two days ago and they got going yesterday. 

From search to the site, it remains a horrid experience. Take my search this afternoon for “Caifornia King Size Sheets”.

#1 Don’t Waste Time On Paid Search When You Don’t Have What the Customer Wants

First, a number of Australian retailers respond with paid search. Challenge is they are selling King Size sheets, not California King. A waste of money and time for me.

#2 A Specific Search Should Yeild a Specific Result

So, I turn to Macys who takes me to a generic bed linens page. When a consumer conducts a specific search, respond with a specific result. By not doing so I abandon the site completely as not relevant and go back to my original search.

#3 Don’t Present, in the eCommerce Funnel, Products You Don’t Sell Online

Then over to Bed Bath & Beyond, they have a good selection of product at first glance. But click one level deep and you discover the item is no longer available online. Catalogs masquerading as eCommerce sites frustrate consumers and drive them away. Moreover, there is no omnichannel experience indicating where you might get them in the real world. Save this for another part of the site or search experience.

Now, head over to Amazon and type the same search query in. There you have it, specifically the products you want instantly. No blind alleys, no unavailable product, no results not relating to your search.

Google as much as retailers need to wake up to this performance disparity. If they don’t, it is going to cost them revenue and share.