@inproceedings{b0abaf6b17e745489c27a0661997182a,
title = "Beyond the search bar: The value of search quality on e-commerce platforms",
abstract = "E-commerce platforms match online buyers and sellers using their search technologies. A more precise search algorithm may improve search targetability at the cost of preventing consumers from exploring not directly related products. We take advantage of a 2019 quasi-experiment on a leading e-commerce platform that refined some product categories into finer subgroups to increase search precision. Using granular panel data on consumer search behaviors, we find that the improvement in search precision results in a 37.3% increase in consumers' click-through rates and a 64.4% increase in gross merchandise volume. The improvement in matching outcomes in the short run, however, is accompanied with a substantial decrease in consumer engagement in the long run. On average, consumers conduct 1.2% fewer searches and spend 3.4% less time on the platform in the following week after the search precision increases. Overall, our findings illustrate the tradeoff between exploitation and exploration in e-commerce search design.",
keywords = "Consumer engagement, Consumer search, E-commerce, Platform design, Search precision",
author = "Wei Zhou and Mingfeng Lin and Mo Xiao and Zidong Wang",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} ICIS 2020. All rights reserved.; 2020 International Conference on Information Systems - Making Digital Inclusive: Blending the Local and the Global, ICIS 2020 ; Conference date: 13-12-2020 Through 16-12-2020",
year = "2020",
language = "English (US)",
series = "International Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2020 - Making Digital Inclusive: Blending the Local and the Global",
publisher = "Association for Information Systems",
booktitle = "International Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2020 - Making Digital Inclusive",
}