What is a search bar and how it works

A search bar helps shoppers quickly find the products they need. A search bar is typically placed in the header of ecommerce sites. Instead of browsing through countless categories, customers can simply type a keyword or phrase into the search box and get relevant results in microseconds.

A well-designed predictive search bar enhances the shopping experience by providing instant suggestions, refining queries, and leading customers to the right products with minimal effort. This not only improves user satisfaction but also boosts conversion rates, making site search a critical feature for any online store.

Behind the scenes, an e-commerce search bar relies on algorithms, indexing, and machine learning to deliver accurate results. When a user starts typing, the system processes their input in real time, comparing it to a database of products, categories, and other searchable content.

More advanced search solutions incorporate Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand intent, typo tolerance to correct errors, and AI-driven personalization to tailor results based on user behavior. The more intelligent and intuitive the search bar, the easier it is for shoppers to find what they need—leading to higher engagement and increased sales.

When users hit ‘Enter’, or click on the search button at the side of the search bar, they are taken to the Search Engine Result Page (SERP), where they sees a thorough list of relevant products, advanced filters to narrow down results, sorting options and often product recommendations. Learn more about Shopify Search pages in this article.

The Impact of a Search Bar

Simply put, search users generate more than six times the revenue compared to non-search users, according to our data.

However, only 10-20% of users utilize the search function on e-commerce sites—though this can vary significantly depending on the industry.

Additionally, among search users, 60% click on predictive search suggestions, whether they are product or keyword-based.

Thus, encouraging more users to engage with the search functionality—which always begins with the search bar—is one of the easiest and most effective ways to boost conversion rates and revenue. How? Check our separate article on best practices for making predictive autocomplete search experience better.

Shopify’s Predictive Search Bar: an overview

Shopify calls its own smart search bar ‘Predictive Search’ in their Search & Discovery app. Predictive Search provides real-time suggestions as users type, helping them refine their search without navigating away from the current page. Predictive Search suggests products, collections, pages, and blog posts based on the user’s input. By default, Shopify’s search bar displays up to 10 relevant results, drawing from searchable properties such as product titles, types, variant titles, and vendors. Customization of these suggestions is possible through the Search & Discovery app.

Limitations of Shopify’s Predictive Search

While functional, Shopify’s Predictive Search some issues:​

• Only English language support: Query suggestions are exclusively available in English, limiting accessibility for non-English speaking users.
• Limited customization: Altering the default behavior, such as changing the number of displayed results or modifying searchable properties, requires advanced theme customization using Shopify’s Predictive Search API.
• Issues with relevance: Extensive product catalogs lead to slower response times and less accurate results.
• Limited customer support: Shopify’s customer support is often slow to respond, and the answers provided are too generic.

Prefixbox Rich Autocomplete search bar

Prefixbox’s AI Search & Filter app calls its smart search bar solution ‘Rich Autocomplete’, aligning with the search industry’s standard naming. It is designed to accelerate the shopping journey by offering intuitive recommendations and easy paths to purchase as soon as shoppers focus on the search box. It deciphers user intent and immediately offers search query, category, and product suggestions.

When a user click into the search bar, a dialog box pops up and automatically populates with the most popular products and keywords (and collections) by default. As shoppers start typing, the results update with each keystroke to show the most relevant matches to the query typed.

Prefixbox’s predictive search bar can be enhanced with customizable product tiles that include pricing, discounts, add-to-cart buttons, and other relevant information to help shoppers jump-start their shopping journey. Some of the design settings can be customized natively inside Shopify’s Theme Editor, just like any other Shopify element. Advanced design customizations may require custom CSS coding.

The layout of the search bar can also be customized, allowing you to set the number of columns, products, and suggestions displayed, as well as customize all labels.

Advanced features of Prefixbox Rich Autocomplete

Prefixbox’s Rich Autocomplete stands out due to its comprehensive set of advanced features:​

• Search Results Preview: As shoppers hover over autocomplete query suggestions on desktop, product suggestions dynamically change to preview search engine results pages (SERP), providing an interactive and seamless experience.

• Language Processing (NLP): Prefixbox’s NLP features understand natural language, ensuring relevant results every time. It supports typo-tolerance, multi-language support, suggestion removal, and manual suggestion blocking, enhancing the overall search experience.

• Merchandizing capabilities: Set up promotions under Merchandizing menu to override product results in autocomplete and showcase the products you want at the top – whether for a sale period or to clear out excess stock.

Wrap-up

A well-optimized search bar is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity for e-commerce success. According to Prefixbox data, search users generate more than six times the revenue compared to non-search users. Yet, only 10-20% of visitors use site search, meaning there’s a huge opportunity for online retailers to drive conversions by improving search functionality. Additionally, among those who do use search, 60% click on predictive search suggestions—making the quality of these suggestions critical for boosting engagement and sales.

While Shopify’s Predictive Search offers a basic solution, it has notable limitations, including restricted customization, English-only support, and relevance issues for large catalogs.

Prefixbox’s own predictive search solution, Rich Autocomplete, on the other hand, delivers a superior shopping experience with NLP-powered recommendations, real-time search result previews, advanced merchandising controls, and fully customizable layouts. By providing smarter, faster, and more relevant search results, Prefixbox helps online retailers increase search adoption, boost conversion rates, and maximize revenue.