Benefits of Hybrid Search for Online Fashion Retailers

Fashion is all about staying on top of trends. But trends change so often. So do the ways people describe them. One day, it’s athleisure. Another day, it’s cottagecore. And what happens if people search for a trending phrase like “demure looks?” Can your eCommerce site’s search technology understand this fashion slang and show relevant results? If not, it may be time for you to rethink about it. Hybrid search can be a game-changer for your onsite search. It can finally help shoppers accurately find whatever is on their minds.

Can your Site Search Find “Demure Looks”?

Have you ever wondered how an eCommerce site’s search engine works? If you run an online store, the answer to this question is key to picking the right fashion search technology for your site.

Most online stores rely on exact keyword matching to display relevant products. This approach works effectively for simple queries. Let’s say someone types “white pants” into your site’s search bar. The traditional onsite search engine will look for items containing the exact words “white pants,”  “white,” and “pants” in their titles, descriptions, and tags. It will then display these items to searchers. 

But what if a search isn’t so straightforward? What happens if someone types “quiet luxury?” Can your search engine understand this vibe? Or does it just display any product with "quiet" or "luxury" found in its title, description, or tag, regardless of whether it is the right fit?

Similarly, can your site search find “demure looks?” Or does it miss the mark?

The Problems with Traditional Onsite Search for Online Fashion Stores

The examples above reveal the limitations of general text-based matching search engines. Most of them are not specifically designed for fashion. So, they lack fashion-specific datasets and AI to create context. This makes it hard for them to understand the human intent behind each fashion search query. The problems become even more complicated when everyone’s search intent differs.

That explains zero results or irrelevant suggested products when shoppers use:

- Adjectives or make typos

- Fashion slang, trendy terms, or complex sentences. 

- Natural language to describe an exact look they have in mind 

If your online fashion store can’t display relevant results in these cases, it risks losing potential sales.

The Game-Changer: Hybrid Search Powered by Fashion AI  from YesPlz 

Fashion, at its core, is about visual and personal taste. So, when people search for something, they expect more than just matching product names or descriptions. Sometimes, they’re still in the research stage of shopping. Sometimes, they don’t know what they’re looking for. So, they rely on your onsite fashion search technology to find trending vibes or styles like “quiet luxury” or “demure looks.” 

This is where YesPlz AI technology can make all the difference. Our innovative AI-powered solution is specifically designed for fashion. Not only does it understand the exact keyword but also various fashion contexts and search intents. Thus, fashion searchers can find exactly what they are looking for.

Understanding Hybrid Site Search: The Future of AI Search Technology

As its name implies, hybrid search blends multiple search technologies including: 

Text Search: To match exact keywords like brand names, SKU numbers, and categories

Semantic Search: To understand context

Vector search: To capture the essence of fashion style

Image tagging: To enrich product information that is not provided from text

Trend agent: To update the search engine with the latest fashion buzzwords

Fashion-trained large language model (LLM):  To understand human natural language and the nuances of fashion

Key Benefits of Hybrid Site Search for Online Fashion Retailers

With these multi-layered search technologies, YesPlz AI’s hybrid site search can solve all the problems of keyword-based search engines. As a result, shoppers can receive accurate and rich results, regardless of how complex or trendy their queries may be.

Accurate Results for Every Search Query

It is common for a searcher to make a typo or spelling mistake, especially when using mobile phones. Traditional search engines, relying solely on text, struggle with these cases. They fail to understand the search intent behind the misspelled words. It leads to “no results found” or the wrong product suggestions.

How does YesPlz AI hybrid search solve this?

Combining semantic search, vector search, and LLM can correct typos and spelling mistakes. Our search engine can still understand human intent to return accurate results for every fashion search query.

Shoppers don’t need to type words perfectly or try multiple keywords to see their desired results. Our AI search technology handles all the adjustments, so your shoppers don’t have to.

No more Manual Updates for Product Titles and Descriptions

Fashion trends change so often. As an online fashion retailer, you need to keep up. This means regularly updating your product details with the latest fashion trends and buzzwords. Otherwise, your shoppers might not find them when they search using these trending phrases. However, doing this manually takes a lot of time and effort.

How can YesPlz AI hybrid search make it easier?

Our technology doesn’t just rely on product titles and descriptions imputed by retailers. When retailers upload product images, our system “reads” these images to pick up contextual styling details. This helps us automatically tag your products with extra information (Vector Search and Image Tagging.)

Additionally, our system constantly updates the latest trends (Trend Agent.) It is trained to understand various fashion occasions and appropriate styling options (Fashion-trained LLM.)

This means your shopper can search using their natural language, whether or not they’re familiar with the latest fashion slang. You don’t need to worry about missing product information and manually updating search dictionaries. YesPlz AI hybrid site search handles it all automatically, saving you time and effort!

How does this AI Search Revolutionize Fashion Discovery on Your eCommerce Site?

Let’s try a user case by returning to our “demure looks” example. Enter this keyword into the YesPlz search bar. You’ll see how well our hybrid search technology understands the context and the intent behind the keyword. 

It knows this term refers to the elegant and subtly sophisticated style. So it suggests the correct outfits for demure looks. Plus, it gives you filtering options like color, pattern, and other styles. These options are all automatically generated with fashion AI.

Now, let’s explore how some online fashion sites handle the search term “demure looks” and see what they return.  

When you type “demure looks” on the search bar of Farfetch, its search engine returns some products from the Bazar Deluxe brand. This is likely because this brand name contains the word “deluxe”, which is spelled similarly to “demure”.

On the other hand, when you search for “demure looks” on Mytheresa, it returns zero results. 

Ready to Explore the Hybrid Search for your Online Fashion Stores?

Your online fashion store regularly shows “no results found” or irrelevant items for different search queries. But, you know the item people are searching for... it’s there... somewhere… on your site. Do not let poor onsite search experiences cost you potential sales!

Looking for more detailed info about how hybrid search helps you avoid missing out on sales opportunities?

Schedule a demo today to see how quickly our AI search technology can start working for your shoppers, enhancing both their experience and your sales!

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