Econsultancy: 9 tips for creating shopping site filtering options

Only a small percentage of users come to e-commerce sites knowing what they want, and most choose to browse and consider different options. Therefore, sites need to provide users with tools to help them find what they are interested in.

Effective site search is a key part of this, but product filtering is also a user experience that cannot be ignored.

Kilt retailer buyakilt.com found that after offering type and style filtering options, conversion rate increased by 26% and revenue increased by 76.1%. So here are some ideas for improving filtering options:

Display user's filter options in breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are often used to tell users where they are in the navigation, but they can also be used to display product filtering options. John Lewis provides this feature, allowing users to easily return to each step.

Allow users to select multiple filters

Unless users know exactly what they want, they will generally select multiple options to filter products. No matter it is an AND or OR relationship. For example, some people just want to see products from two brands at the same time. Many websites provide this function. But the website below only allows you to select one brand.

Using Filtering to Solve Problems

Most sites have filters for size and colour, but it can be useful to think of unique filters that are specific to your audience or product type.

Many sites offer filtering options by size and color, but it would be much more appreciated if you could offer something more unique and more tailored to your target audience and product form.

Clothing retailer Lands offers highly personalized filtering options for its swimwear, such as flat belly, thin hips, etc.

Makes adding filters easy

If they don’t find what they’re looking for, users will need to adjust the filters, so a one-click removal feature is critical.

Quickly refresh the page

Speed ​​is a key metric for e-commerce websites, and product filtering is no exception. Users should be able to see results quickly after filtering.

Avoid returning 0 results

If there is indeed none, you should give relevant or some filtering suggestions and provide enough information.

It is also important to let users know how many products there are under each category.

Provide enough options

One problem with online shopping is that it is difficult to use in person. Providing enough filtering options can allow users to better buy the products they want and reduce the return rate.

Clear options

Needless to say, ambiguous and unclear options will only confuse users.

Smart use of accordion menu

Users don’t need to use all the filter options, so it’s a good idea to use the accordion menu to hide irrelevant options.

via: Econsultancy