Case Study
Retail Chain
"With a presence in three markets, using three different languages and a countless number of synonyms and products names, we were in dire need of a smart solution to improve the search experience."
Johan Thorell,
Online Manager/Business Area Manager
- E-commerce at Jula
Jula is a retail business that was created in 1979 on a courtyard in Västergötland, Sweden. Since then it has expanded to a chain that currently operates 96 stores and operations in Sweden, Norway and Poland and employs 3000 people. During 2017 the business turned over €6.5 billion.
Jula’s wide-ranging catalogue consists of over 15,000 products for DIY enthusiasts and professionals such as farmers and craftsmen. In May 2017, the company launched its e-commerce store.
For many years Jula had a website that offered product search for browsing – customers were able to peruse the catalogue and find out which stores stocked their selected products.
For an improved shopping experience, Jula launched its e-commerce site in May 2017.
The e-commerce store was developed with the company’s core focus in mind: to help customers access the products they want. The investment also enabled Jula to continue to meet consumer expectations of a modern business. The launch was the company's largest project of the year and quickly became a big success.
Pleased as they were with the success of the new site, the team soon realised they needed to improve the site-search function to give customers a better shopping experience and increase transactions. The site-search needed to make more distinct connections between different products as well as understanding the context in which the search was made – e.g. seasonal browsing.
With a presence in three markets, with three distinct languages, Jula’s catalogue includes a variety of synonyms and product names within different categories,making it even harder for the existing search engine to meet the rigorous demands of discerning e-commerce customers.
As many as 32% of Jula’s visitors use the site-search box, so it offers great opportunities for driving purchases. Members of Jula staff also use the site-search to find products within the inventory, and, with the original solution, they felt this did not work as smoothly as it should. So, there was an internal as well as external need to improve develop the site’s search function.
For Jula, it was important that the search supplier they chose could meet the following criteria:
After exploring the market for potential partners, the team chose Loop54 for our:
To implement our solution, we worked with the consultancy firm Knowit. Through our collaboration, we made sure Jula achieved the best possible results.
Knowit creates unique customer values by offering digital and cross-functional solutions from three business areas: Experience, Insight and Solutions. The talented teams are set apart by their ability to combine expertise in design and communication, management consulting and IT.
After 7 months using the previous search engine, Jula switched to Loop54. No other changes were made during this period. Thanks to the switch, Jula saw a 30% increase in conversion rate.
Jula uses the anonymised data they receive through the solution for their marketing and exposure of products. Today, Jula decides how to merchandise the shelves of their physical stores based on the data they get from Loop54, rather than just highlighting products with the best margins.
With Loop54, Jula can also easily track issues such as null-results searches and rapidly act on them, across their various markets.
Through Loop54, Jula has effectively connected the digital and physical environment, and the team intends to continue to develop its digital touch-points for customers. The next step is to implement the service on customer search terminals within stores, as well as in their app.
Shoppers expect the same level of relevance and personalisation online as they experience in-store. Powered by Machine Learning and built exclusively for eCommerce, Loop54 delivers that exceptional online shopping experience.
Jula is just one of the clients who has seen conversion rate soar after implementing our exceptional site-search. Book a demo to see what we could do for you.
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