Defining Search for Staples

My Role

Product Design / Product Research

Project Type

Staples Print and Marketing

In 2024, I lead the initiative of defining the search experience for Staples Print & Marketing. Research suggested that the search experience deserved its own workflow which had been shared with the template selection workflow until then.

Relying on key insights from internal data and usability testing, I designed a workflow tailored to the search habits of our users while addressing the business needs.

  • The Problem

    When users interacted with the search bar, they were directed to the template selection page featuring design templates that, to the best of the site’s capabilities, matched their search terms. However, our data unveiled that most search users weren’t anticipating templates. They were searching for products. By solely presenting template-focused search results, we overlooked user habits, resulting in a dissatisfactory experience and lost business opportunities.

  • Key Insights - Internal

    From internal data and recordings of anonymous user sessions:

    • Customers are searching more often for products (>80%) than they were for specific templates (<10%).
    • Only when customers had narrowed down on a product and started browsing templates, did they begin using themed search terms (i.e. cleaning, holiday).
    • 5% of search sessions ended with “no results”, and 95% of which were abandoned by the user.

  • Key Insights - External

    From usability testings:

    • Most users do not interact with the dropdown menu in the search field. They tend to complete typing the words they have in mind and immediately hit the enter key, without pausing midway to select an option from the dropdown menu.
    • On a search result page, users are naturally drawn to the prominent visuals of product categories. Among the various components, visual buttons are the most interacted.
    • Once the users moved on to selecting design templates of a specific product, they preferred to interact with filters rather than use the search bar again.

  • Solution - Part 1 - New Search Result Page

    To make the search results more relevant and useful, I introduced a search result page that highlights product suggestions as well as popular designs.

  • Solution - Part 2 - New Product Directory Page

    I designed a Product Directory page that provides an overview of our product categories, serving as a bird's-eye view of our entire range of offerings.

  • Solution - Part 3 - Refined Search Pattern

    If the customer is in the template selection workflow, and search for a term, we will only be showing results within templates.

    This matches what we found with the search data. While users are browsing for templates, they tend to search for ‘theme’ related keywords such as “landscaping” “cleaning” etc. When users are on the homepage, they really tend to search for products.

  • Result

    This is a big step in making our search more useful and seeing a much better conversion rate for those users who interact with search.

    The search workflow is scheduled to launch in Q4, 2024. I will be tracking the stats for % of users who proceed to the product landing pages after using the search function and % of users who proceed to the template selection page after using the search function.

    I also anticipate a decrease in users who abandon their sessions after getting no match for their search terms.

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