Škoda’s journey in the world of automobiles
Škoda Auto, founded in 1895 as Laurin & Klement in Czechoslovakia, has grown from a small bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer into one of Europe’s leading automobile brands. Initially focusing on local production, the company began manufacturing cars in 1905, eventually merging with Škoda Works in 1925.
In 1991, Škoda became part of the Volkswagen Group, bringing global resources and advanced technology to its operations, which boosted its international market presence. Volkswagen Group is one of the largest automobile makers in the world, with a market share of 27.6% in Europe, while Škoda is the 4th most-sold car brand in Europe.
Today, Škoda is expanding its footprint in the electric vehicle market, investing heavily in sustainable mobility solutions. Additionally, they started selling their own line of merchandise for sports and outdoor activities.
The original search engine we used was only minimally adaptable and didn't always work to our liking
From this point of view, it was like switching from the old Škoda Felicia to the modern Škoda EnyaQ. The fact that we have such a solution on our platform gives us a great advantage in the further expansion of our platform. Don’t wait for anything because every day without Luigi’s Box means lost revenue. Luigi’s Box is what we at Škoda Auto call “Simply Clever,” so it fits perfectly with our ecommerce platform.
Jaroslav Kvapil
Delivery Manager, Škoda Auto
Driving the search experience further with Luigi’s Box Search
Škoda wanted to provide a user-friendly search functionality that would be easy for visitors to use. After careful consideration, Škoda decided to give Luigi’s Box a try for their online shop that sells various merchandise, car equipment, clothing, and more.
Search that works despite typos
Škoda wanted a search that works effectively even if customers accidentally enter typos and misspellings into the search bar.
They could achieve this with Luigi’s Box, as it offers Typo Correction and Typo Tolerance features that deal with typos. These features work hand-in-hand, as they can recognize the right word and replace it or correct it, so Luigi’s Box Search can provide the right product options.
Typos won’t stop customers from getting relevant results.
Improving the relevancy of results
Škoda wanted to improve the relevancy of search results on their website and better match the customer intent during searches. When customers are looking for car equipment, they need to be able to find equipment compatible with the model of the car.
For example, if a customer were looking for Škoda Octavia IV wipers, they would need to find those exact wipers in the results instead of wipers for older generations of the same car model.
Luigi’s Box products are made to match the customer intent on any website. The Search takes into consideration how customers use Luigi’s Box Search on a website. Škoda was able to match the user intent and increase the relevancy of results with Luigi’s Box.
Personalization
Another requirement was to have a search that could deal with personalization and show products that match customer preferences.
Luigi’s Box offers Personalization features out-of-the-box. As the system learns customer preferences, it then uses Luigi’s Box Analytics data to personalize the product selection and search results for individual customers.
Removing searches without results
Searches without results are basically show-stoppers, where customers have to enter a new search query to find what they need. They lead to frustration since customers can’t find what they want. What’s worse, the products are often available on websites, but customers can’t find them due to insufficient search functionality. Škoda wanted to avoid this.
Thanks to features that allow customers to find the closest matches, even if they don’t precisely fit the entered search query, and even query redirects, Škoda doesn’t have to worry about searches without results unless they are absolutely necessary to make the shopping experience pleasant.
Categories in Autocomplete
Besides the standard search for products, Škoda wanted to provide customers with the ability to search for product categories on their website.
Luigi’s Box offers this feature as a part of the Autocomplete, so whenever customers enter a search query, they can also choose to select product categories besides just products.
Easy search within product categories improves the experience.
Synonyms for search queries
Synonyms allow the customers to write product names that might be different from the names in Škoda’s product catalog. That’s why Škoda wanted to include synonym detection in the search functionality of their website.
Luigi’s Box offers Synonyms Management feature that allows users to set up synonyms that will be included. In addition to this, it also has an Automated Synonyms Suggestions feature that suggests the right synonyms automatically.
Synonyms bring flexibility into the shopping experience.
Adding merchandising options
Škoda wanted merchandising options to be included with their new solution, as it would allow them to influence the customers’ shopping journeys and highlight certain products.
Luigi’s Box offers a variety of Merchandising features, including Product Boosting. This feature allows Škoda to boost selected products and queries in search results so that they will show up sooner and higher in the search results selection.
Search suggestions
Search suggestions through Autocomplete make searching faster and give customers ideas about what to search for on the website. Škoda wanted to include this option to help their customers and improve their search experience.
Luigi’s Box Search includes Autocomplete Showcase, which shows suggestions for search queries in the search bar. This encourages them to use it and gives them a sneak peek of their product selection.
A custom search solution proved to be the right upgrade
The main positive results were the instant change in better search functionality that positively influenced Škoda’s sales.
The results after 30 days since Luigi’s Box implementation brought a 92% increase in conversions from Autocomplete. The conversion rate from Search grew by almost 19%, and the Search exit rate decreased by 9%.
Results after installation of Luigi’s Box
19%
increase in Search conversion rate
92%
increase in Autocomplete conversion rate
9%
decrease in Search exit rate
What does Škoda like about Luigi’s Box
- Škoda enjoys the extensive customer support provided by Luigi’s Box and the ability to contact us for troubleshooting anytime they need it.
- The effectiveness of Luigi’s Box Search in providing a broad product selection while ensuring the customers will find what they’re looking for on their site.
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