Shopping web site search engines: you'd think they would be so good by now....

[Qs Laptop]

It's not about whether it "should" be different, it simply IS different. I can walk down the street and easily ignore billboards, but it's kind of hard to ignore the results of a search where you expect to see what you're looking for.

A distinction without a difference. Even if he goes to Home Depot for a 2x4 he will have to walk past the Halloween decorations taking up lots of aisle space, all the grills around the entrance, all on heavy promotion.

If a billboard can be ignored so can an ad for something the shopper is not interested in. This is a pet peeve looking for a shoulder to cry on.

Apples and oranges. Here's why.

Most stores worth a lick, especially national chains like Home Depot, Walmart, etc. have the option of searching IN STORE for the item you are looking for. For example, let's say you are going to buy a Fluidmaster toilet fill valve universal fit. You type in those search terms and you see that it's in your local Home Depot located in Aisle 31, Bay 009.

You go to the store and you don't even glance at the Halloween decorations or the gas grills because you are going directly to Aisle 31. You get to aisle 31 and you look in slot 009 and there is your Fluidmaster toilet fill valve, model 400A. Couldn't be easier. Not only that but in the slots around the Fluidmaster 400A are other Fluidmaster internal toilet parts.

What motley and ERD50 are talking about with extraneous search results is a situation where you go into aisle 31 and see the Fluidmaster 400A toilet fill valve in slot 009 but right next to it are tubes of outdoor silicon caulking, paint brushes, 2 cycle engine oil, and work gloves.

 

[MichaelB]

I still disagree. When I do a walk-around 'search' in the B&M store, the pine 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x6, 1x8, etc are all next to each other. Nearby are the various lengths and qualities, 'good' (marketing speak for 'bad'!), prime, select, etc. There's not a bunch of unrelated stuff between the 1x2 and the 1x3s.

The problem we are talking about is when you are doing a more selective search online at the store site, you may need to scroll through pages of unrelated stuff. Or worse, and my main gripe, is often they don't show what I'm looking for at all, they only show somewhat similar stuff - and then I change my search term slightly, and what I want comes up. I would have moved to another store site had I not made that change.

OP is right, IMO - many store search functions are poor. I don't accept that it is a marketing ploy, it is incompetence/unawareness.

I’ll let you have the last word on this. It becomes too dependent on definition and circumstance.

 

[OldShooter]

... Are you trying to tell my this is by design - that Home Depot is thinking, "Hey we got him! He is going to slog through 13 pages of 300 mostly unrelated items, and buy some other bolts along the way, because they came up on page 11. We'll make an extra sale!" ...

Well, that hyperbole is unhampered by any actual facts, but I'll answer and then I'm outta here.

What is clear to me is the motivation for the way the shopping searches are designed: Show the customer a good assortment of what he is looking for and then add some complementary or impulse items in hopes of padding the ticket.

Is every set of search results a success? Of course not. But enough are successful that the search designers feel that they are on the right track.

I also suspect, but am unhampered by facts, that sellers on Amazon and similar sites work to include keywords that will increase their probability of being featured for as many search terms as possible. This is not a good thing for either the site or the customer. Certainly if I were a seller I would do that, though.

 

[Koolau]

You mean "site'?

I thought we quit doing that. You know, by "gentleman's" agreement. Perhaps I was misinformed.

It's a fun game to play for a while, but it can get old pretty quick. Some folks get irritated. Not me, of course though YMMV.

 

[aja8888]

I thought we quit doing that. You know, by "gentleman's" agreement. Perhaps I was misinformed.

It's a fun game to play for a while, but it can get old pretty quick. Some folks get irritated. Not me, of course though YMMV.

Sorry, I guess I forgot (age related memory). Next time I won't correct you.

 

[Koolau]

Sorry, I guess I forgot (age related memory). Next time I won't correct you.

Thanks. Mistakes in grammar don't have much effect on the group and just seem like nit picking.
I usually do catch the homonyms for myself but after a few thousand posts, we all do a to/two/too type mistake occasionally. I never correct those mistakes for others since there is no actual misunderstanding of the meaning. IOW their (I mean there, no, wait, they're) usually not critical to forum members' understanding.

But if I screw up the facts, please correct me. I do not wish to misinform my fellow forum members. And I'm still trying to learn from my own mistakes.

 

[indiajust]

I have been exposed to folks that swear by Brave browser and integrated search. Have not used personally.

 

[triangle]

That would only apply if it was an intentional by design. I don't believe that is what we are talking about - we are talking about incompetence/indifference.

OK EXAMPLES: I did a search for: 1/4-20 hex head bolt stainless steel 3"

Search Results for 1/4-20 hex head bolt stainless steel 3" at The Home Depot

Search Results for 1/4-20 hex head bolt stainless steel 3" at The Home Depot

www.homedepot.com

https://www.menards.com/main/search.html?search=1%2F4-20+hex+head+bolt+stainless+steel+3%22&sf_categoryHierarchy=Hardware_8693%7EFasteners+%26+Connectors_8706%7EBolts_8728%7ECap+Screws+%26+Hex+Bolts_8730&skipKeywordInCategory=true

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=1%2F4-20+hex+head+bolt+stainless+steel+3%22&crid=DEP2V5Y0P22W&sprefix=1%2F4-20+hex+head+bolt+stainless+steel+3+%2Caps%2C258&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Amazon results in this case are pretty good, and at the top of the page, they have a generic selector for a wide range of bolt specs:
View attachment 52620

Home Depot ignores the 3" (even if I add 'length') - and has no filter for length, so I have to slog through 13 pages to find 3" bolts with my specs.

Menards respected the 3" length - but also adds a filter sidebar that allows me to select a length.

So in this case, Home Depot was quite a bit worse. Are you trying to tell my this is by design - that Home Depot is thinking, "Hey we got him! He is going to slog through 13 pages of 300 mostly unrelated items, and buy some other bolts along the way, because they came up on page 11. We'll make an extra sale!"

Well, no, I'll get frustrated, try Menards and instantly find exactly what I want, and buy it.

UPDATE: I went through the first 6 pages on Home Depot before giving up, and only one bolt was 3" long, and that was a Carriage head, not the Hex Head I specified. No sale.

In general I find Home Depot's website to be much more useful and to the point than Lowes. (There is no Menards near me). In my experience HD's website is one of the best in that they make it easier to search and find what I am looking for as well as providing some related things further down the page. And their local store inventory is usually correct. Lowes has gotten better in recent years but they are still far behind HD in both respects. Harbor Freight is has a reputation for their cheap overseas tools, but their product line has been improving and their website is good.

I found the specific example about bolts interesting, as I was searching for some bolts about 3 weeks ago while repairing a door latch on my vehicle. I did notice that the bolt search feature was less on point. But I also did not know exactly what I was looking for when starting my search. Though I would have excepted them to have a set filters for generic item like a "bolt" based on diameter, head type, length, etc., much like they do for construction lumber, pipes, etc.

Amazon also fails because they hid their customer Q&A and seem to have too many too many "paid/freebie" reviewers. Last week I tried shopping on Amazon for some winter clothing items and gave up. Try searching for a rain jacket or hoodie and too many other things come up.