Search Sophistication

Neiman Marcus customers have discerning tastes, and visitors to its Web site deserve a shopping experience that offers the same level of sophistication, says Michael Crotty, vice president of marketing, Neiman Marcus Online.

Following the relaunch of its Web site last spring, Crotty earmarked the next priority: improve the site’s online search capabilities.

Previously, Neiman Marcus had an out-of-the-box solution that did searches only on a text and product-category basis. “It had to be a one-to-one match [to work],” says Crotty. “But we wanted shoppers to be able to search however they choose. We needed a very flexible solution.”

The need was especially important, Crotty says, because, “We’re different from other apparel retailers in that ours is a collection of the best brands.” Instead of displaying, for example, all the SKUs of belts together, Neiman Marcus officials wanted to display all Prada belts, handbags and shoes together, all Burberry products together, and so on. What’s more, such a plan would better match the organizational structure of the retail stores, as well.

Six Vendors Examined

To select a new search solution, Neiman Marcus invited six vendors to talk about their tools. RFPs from each revealed subtle differences among their capabilities. A proof-of-concept was done on several of the systems. Neiman Marcus Online sent its actual site database to the vendors and said, “Show us how your search tool will work with our data.”

Crotty says the One Step platform from Cambridge, MA-based iPhrase Technologies stood out from the rest.

“They clearly understood our needs, and were able to customize the program for our boutique-style business,” he notes.

One Step offers natural language processing and multi-source retrieval. Crotty offers an example of what the new system can do: “Type in ‘leather handbags.’ This will bring up search results grouped by designer. The shopper can refine the search in various ways within the designer, for instance, by color or price. Or a shopper can specify the size — for example, Prada shoes, size 8. Then she’ll see what’s available in her size and in stock.”

Another benefit for this multi-channel retailer: “We can direct people to our stores for brands we don’t sell online, such as Chanel.”

Three-month Search

Finding the right system took about three months. The new software platform launched last fall, prior to the holiday season. “There have been no issues whatsoever on the marketing side,” say Crotty. “And it’s been seamless from the users’ perspective.”

While Crotty says it’s too soon to have any reportable numbers, one of the key measures he’s looking at is how many people started their site visit with a search and left the site without making a purchase.

“We know it has drastically improved. We had a lot of ‘no results’ search matches previously and have virtually none now.”