Search by Algolia
Algolia's search propels 1,000s of retailers to Black Friday success
e-commerce

Algolia's search propels 1,000s of retailers to Black Friday success

In the midst of the Black Friday shopping frenzy, Algolia soared to new heights, setting new records and delivering an ...

Bernadette Nixon

Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Algolia

Generative AI’s impact on the ecommerce industry
ai

Generative AI’s impact on the ecommerce industry

When was your last online shopping trip, and how did it go? For consumers, it’s becoming arguably tougher to ...

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Senior Digital Marketing Manager, SEO

What’s the average ecommerce conversion rate and how does yours compare?
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What’s the average ecommerce conversion rate and how does yours compare?

Have you put your blood, sweat, and tears into perfecting your online store, only to see your conversion rates stuck ...

Vincent Caruana

Senior Digital Marketing Manager, SEO

What are AI chatbots, how do they work, and how have they impacted ecommerce?
ai

What are AI chatbots, how do they work, and how have they impacted ecommerce?

“Hello, how can I help you today?”  This has to be the most tired, but nevertheless tried-and-true ...

Catherine Dee

Search and Discovery writer

Algolia named a leader in IDC MarketScape
algolia

Algolia named a leader in IDC MarketScape

We are proud to announce that Algolia was named a leader in the IDC Marketscape in the Worldwide General-Purpose ...

John Stewart

VP Corporate Marketing

Mastering the channel shift: How leading distributors provide excellent online buying experiences
e-commerce

Mastering the channel shift: How leading distributors provide excellent online buying experiences

Twice a year, B2B Online brings together America’s leading manufacturers and distributors to uncover learnings and industry trends. This ...

Jack Moberger

Director, Sales Enablement & B2B Practice Leader

Large language models (LLMs) vs generative AI: what’s the difference?
ai

Large language models (LLMs) vs generative AI: what’s the difference?

Generative AI and large language models (LLMs). These two cutting-edge AI technologies sound like totally different, incomparable things. One ...

Catherine Dee

Search and Discovery writer

What is generative AI and how does it work?
ai

What is generative AI and how does it work?

ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, YouChat, DALL-E, Jasper…chances are good you’re leveraging some version of generative artificial intelligence on ...

Catherine Dee

Search and Discovery writer

Feature Spotlight: Query Suggestions
product

Feature Spotlight: Query Suggestions

Your users are spoiled. They’re used to Google’s refined and convenient search interface, so they have high expectations ...

Jaden Baptista

Technical Writer

What does it take to build and train a large language model? An introduction
ai

What does it take to build and train a large language model? An introduction

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Vincent Caruana

Sr. SEO Web Digital Marketing Manager

The pros and cons of AI language models
ai

The pros and cons of AI language models

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How AI is transforming merchandising from reactive to proactive
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How AI is transforming merchandising from reactive to proactive

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Lorna Rivera

Staff User Researcher

Top examples of some of the best large language models out there
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Top examples of some of the best large language models out there

You’re at a dinner party when the conversation takes a computer-science-y turn. Have you tried ChatGPT? What ...

Vincent Caruana

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What are large language models?
ai

What are large language models?

It’s the era of Big Data, and super-sized language models are the latest stars. When it comes to ...

Catherine Dee

Search and Discovery writer

Mobile search done right: Common pitfalls and best practices
ux

Mobile search done right: Common pitfalls and best practices

Did you know that 86% of the global population uses a smartphone? The 7 billion devices connected to the Internet ...

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Cloud Native meetup: Observability & Sustainability
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Cloud Native meetup: Observability & Sustainability

The Cloud Native Foundation is known for being the organization behind Kubernetes and many other Cloud Native tools. To foster ...

Tim Carry

Algolia DocSearch is now free for all docs sites
product

Algolia DocSearch is now free for all docs sites

TL;DR Revamp your technical documentation search experience with DocSearch! Previously only available to open-source projects, we're excited ...

Shane Afsar

Senior Engineering Manager

4 questions to ask for relevant search results
product

4 questions to ask for relevant search results

Relevance – it’s what we’re all going for with our search implementations, but it’s so subjective that it ...

Jaden Baptista

Technical Writer

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In the previous blogs (on ecommerce product discovery and in-store kiosk and store locators), we covered how a Composable Commerce approach enabled you to leverage your product catalog to engage directly with shoppers. But shoppers are not the only audience that benefit from a seamless access to this catalog. Retail employees working in store or in customer care departments are often at the center of the most impactful interactions shoppers will have with your brand. Enabling your employees with advanced enterprise search applications to access your product catalog will ultimately benefit your shoppers.

Companion app 

App: Store Assistant mobile app / Companion app with Service Cloud and Voice Search integration for sales associates

Medium: In-store

Goal/problem solved:

  • Support store sales associates by providing real time information about stock availability in-store, online, or at nearby locations

Main user:

  • In-store sales associates

Ensure flawless in-store shopping experience by equipping sales associates with an Algolia store assistant app. One app combines in a single interface: POS (Place-of-sale), Stock App, and Clienteling Service Cloud App. Store sales associates don’t need to juggle multiple tools attempting to provide good customer service. Moreover, if the sales associates’ hands are full, they can simply use a voice search to find any product or customer related information they need on the fly, without the need to head to a static point of sale location. For example, saying “Find me a black overcoat size M in my store” will show a search result page of all the relevant items in stock in the current geographic location. The dataset is very dynamic and the inventory is constantly changing throughout the day, yet with a powerful search tool, the results returned are accurate and real-time updated.

Customers looking for help are always expecting accurate and reliable information about stock availability in-store, online, and at nearby locations for various items as well as smooth communication with sales associates and easy transaction process. Set up a high standard for your in-store customer service and eliminate mistakes and delays in customer care, encouraging customer loyalty.

Brands will be able to maintain high quality customer service not only by investing in customer supporting technology, but also by ensuring that their support associates are equipped with the best technology on their side as well. Ensuring that sales associates are equipped with a single, intuitive, and powerful app serving all their needs should be each retailer’s priority. Empowered store sales associates are more likely to provide more personalized customer experience, ensure higher customer satisfaction, and improve the brand image in the eyes of customers.

Inventory management, operations, and logistics

App: Algolia interaction with Service Cloud for Logistics Operations

Medium: Global operations

Goal/problem solved: 

  • Improving operational efficiency and processes productivity

Main user: 

  • Company employees

Large retail corporations need to ensure their global operation teams are equipped with top-notch technology tools in order to keep up with the fast pace of the industry. All the necessary materials should be easily accessible and searchable at a lightning fast speed. Integrating Algolia with Service Cloud providers helps empower the corporate employees by providing them with best in class operational tools, significantly improving employee performance and efficiency.

App: Image Search app (Optical Character Recognition/OCR) via integration of Algolia and Google Cloud Vision

Medium: In-store

Goal/problem solved:

  • Logistics operations productivity

Main users:

  • Store employees, warehouse employees, office employees

With the recent expansion of online shopping and the growing pressure on warehouses, optimizing logistics operations and productivity is vital for every retailer. Combining optical character recognition (OCR), Algolia search, and Slack notifications, lets warehouse employees scan a shipping label with a phone and send a Slack message to the recipient of the package. The label-scanning app combines optical character recognition (OCR), Algolia search, and Slack notifications.

https://github.com/algolia-samples/image-search-ocr-with-algolia-and-google-cloud-vision

App: Enterprise Search (GDrive, Confluence, Salesforce)

Medium: Global operations

Goal/problem solved: 

  • Improving operational efficiency and processes productivity

Main user: 

  • Company employees

Behind a successful retail brand stands a very efficient organization. To lead in the highly competitive retail market, companies must invest in improving their operational efficiency and processes productivity. To support these strategic efforts, Algolia offers an enterprise search tool, combining Lycos with Google Drive, Confluence, and Salesforce. All the essential elements of a highly efficient organization. 

About the author
Tanya Herman

Product Manager

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