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Site Search Could Kill Amazon

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Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#11

Post by deaps »

jrockway wrote: post #4
jcrawfordor wrote: post #3

While I think that they're overdramatizing the problem, perhaps Amazon should worry about this since I feel like the search is the only way to actually interact with Amazon. The quality of the metadata they use for browsing by category and filtering on features is so poor that any way of finding things on amazon besides search seems just unusable. I regularly "showroom" on other websites with better product browsing…

Yeah, me too actually. Especially when searching for things like PC parts, Newegg does way better (though PC Part Picker is even better). I feel bad not buying from the interface that worked best... but Newegg's order process is pretty evil, so I don't feel that bad. ("Pay $9 to have your order shipped possibly today, instead of waiting an unspecified amount of time." Do they still do that? I saw that once and never…

I do this often myself - search another site for the correct item, and then take those results to Amazon to actually purchase.

For me, personally, while "Joe's Truck Parts dot com" might do a better job of finding me the floor mats that fit my truck (or the manufacturer) - Amazon already has my credit card on file, and my address, and (for the most part) ships anything I order to my doorstep within two days. So I know I'm not transferring my credit card data to some random, sketchy company who stores it on some Windows 98 server, and takes 2 weeks to ship me my product, and when they finally do ship it, it could take 7 days to get to me.

In either event, I do like to support local business and small business - but I enjoy the convenience and familiarity that Amazon offers...so even if their search isn't the greatest, I'll still be clicking purchase on their site, for the most part.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#12

Post by mcphage »

If site search is something that Amazon does that badly (which they do), then why would you think that doing it well is the key to beating them? If it's not necessary to be a sales giant, then why assume it's sufficient?

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#13

Post by ztratar »

Eli & his team are very smart -- personalized search is incredibly difficult, and very few people actually do it. But realistically speaking, there's not a product out there that wouldn't benefit (as long as the price point is ok).

Looking forward to see AI search grow in popularity and become democratized for developers.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#14

Post by CommieBobDole »

jrockway wrote: post #4
jcrawfordor wrote: post #3

While I think that they're overdramatizing the problem, perhaps Amazon should worry about this since I feel like the search is the only way to actually interact with Amazon. The quality of the metadata they use for browsing by category and filtering on features is so poor that any way of finding things on amazon besides search seems just unusable. I regularly "showroom" on other websites with better product browsing…

Yeah, me too actually. Especially when searching for things like PC parts, Newegg does way better (though PC Part Picker is even better). I feel bad not buying from the interface that worked best... but Newegg's order process is pretty evil, so I don't feel that bad. ("Pay $9 to have your order shipped possibly today, instead of waiting an unspecified amount of time." Do they still do that? I saw that once and never…

I always assumed that was the ordering equivalent of the "door close" button on an elevator. I've ordered from them a couple of times, never paid the fee, and it shipped either the same day or the next morning anyway.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#15

Post by Finnucane »

tyingq wrote: post #5

Not better managing 3rd party sellers is what's going to kill Amazon. It's pretty common to see orders sit two weeks without shipping, or marked as "shipped" with no tracking number, or counterfeit items, items different than what's pictured/described, etc. Banning the crap sellers would also make search easier. Less duplicate listings.

Yes, the biggest threat to Amazon is Amazon. If buying something from Amazon becomes as much of a crapshoot as buying from eBay, then why bother? St least if I buy from say, B&H or Elderly, I know I'm going to get the thing I paid for.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#16

Post by whitepoplar »

My dream for an online store is the following:

A magic list that I can add any item to, select a delivery date, and have the backend automatically fulfill each item, at the cheapest price, on time. I want to completely abstract away the concept of a store. I want a to-do list that automatically delivers stuff to me. Additionally, I want a standardized return policy no matter who fulfills it.

I want to be able to say:

- (3) Organic Roma tomatoes

- (6) Sonicare replacement brush heads

- (1) Patagonia Down Sweater, Black, Medium

- (1) Bookshelf assembly service, in-home, 3/16/19

and magically have it fulfilled. One could have a slider to make the tradeoff between speed of fulfillment and cost.

Amazon already sort of does this, but not at the best prices. One would hope that in the magic to-do list model, local retailers would be able to outbid non-local retailers, as their shipping costs would be inherently lower.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#17

Post by fyrabanks »

I'm not sure why I'm replying to click-bait PR, but here it is anyway:

Maybe I'm alone here, but I have an extreme distaste for personalized search results. I know what I want to see; it's pretty rare search knows what I want to see when it's trying.

Take the "chips" example from the interview--maybe I'm tired of eating the same fucking chips every day. Maybe I just want to know what the most popular options out there are without having to scroll a lot. Not to mention that I have a preference for Pringles, I'm going to type the brand name into the search when I want to find it. (If I'm a dog lover, I don't expect Google to rank dog results first when I type in "animals." I expect information about animals in general.)

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#18

Post by AstroChimpHam »

fyrabanks wrote: post #17

I'm not sure why I'm replying to click-bait PR, but here it is anyway: Maybe I'm alone here, but I have an extreme distaste for personalized search results. I know what I want to see; it's pretty rare search knows what I want to see when it's trying. Take the "chips" example from the interview--maybe I'm tired of eating the same fucking chips every day. Maybe I just want to know what the most popular options out ther…

Founder here. It's a probabilistic problem from the perspective of solving personalization. If you tend to want something different after trying the same thing a bunch of times, the algorithm should learn that as well-- that's also personalization.

There's also been a ton of research done that most consumers do want personalized experiences, will pay more for them, and will be more likely to churn if they don't have them. There's a pretty good list at https://venturebeat.com/2017/08/18/hyper-personalization-mar....

Some examples from that article:

>>> Forrester uncovered the fact that 77 percent of consumers have chosen, recommended, or even paid more for a brand that provides a personalized service or experience.

Accenture found that 75 percent of consumers are more likely to buy when you show you recognize them as an individual and provide recommendations based on their unique wants and needs.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#19

Post by flareback »

I didn't read the whole article. When I got to the page I was presented with a modal for something I didn't care about. Read the first paragraph scrolled a tiny bit and another modal popped up so I just closed the page. You know what kills sites, an annoying user experience.

Re: Site Search Could Kill Amazon

#20

Post by AstroChimpHam »

mcphage wrote: post #12

If site search is something that Amazon does that badly (which they do), then why would you think that doing it well is the key to beating them? If it's not necessary to be a sales giant, then why assume it's sufficient ?

This is a really fair question. Amazon doesn't do it well, but just about no one currently does it better. It's like looking at Yahoo or AltaVista before Google came out and saying they're plenty successful without having incredible search.

Of course, it's not the same, and retailers need to do a hundred other things correctly as well, but there is a lot of data to show that people go where the good search is.

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