2023 was a great year, or as we call it, the year of the AI breakout.
Over the past months, our focus at Miros has been laser-sharp on enhancing the Wordless Search solution. Our latest client, Ravensburger is proof of how advanced our AI is getting and how it can work for other industries besides fashion.
We also created this segment, Retail Insights, and this is our third edition. In the first two, we analyzed how regular people and tech people search online.
To wrap up this year, we analyzed how Miros users interact with our proprietary search. Taken from 100k (a precise 107,139 to be exact) queries sourced from online clothing retailers, our goal was clear – uncover search patterns, explore the average word count and length of queries, identify popular search terms, and gather nuanced insights to enhance the overall user experience at Miros.
Read on to discover the top 10 (and one BIG insight) of how Miros’ users search online.
- Search By Style
- Search By Color
- Search By Pattern
- Search By Material
- Search By Activity/Event
- Search By Brand
- Search By Animal Print
- Search By Characters
- Search By Mood
- Search By Food and Drinks
1. Search By Style
The most popular way users search online is style-based. We might have some influence on this since our user interface suggests users search by style.
From all the styles, we would have never guessed that GOTHIC is the most searched style on the Miros platform, with French Chic as a close second.
Let’s just say we are happy “Hawaiian” is in the last place.
2. Search By Color
Searching by color is the second most popular method. We hypothesize that this might be seasonal, like wearing brown for fall and yellow for spring, but either way, our users love searching by color and even adding shades to it.
In 2023, Red (23.8% of color-related queries) was the new black.
Kudos to the user who searched: “Turkish patriotic themes red and white” and “red cocktail dress to see the president.”
3. Search By Pattern
Searching by patterns is the third most popular search, right after color. Floral takes the lead with 27.3% of the style-based queries, followed by geometric (22.7%) and Print (13.0%)
Somebody needs to bring back the “Polka Dots” so it ranks higher than a mere 2.4%.
4. Search By Material
This year’s trends have a big influence on the fourth on our list. Remember how lace got popular this summer? Well, it ranked first, with 17.1% of the material-based queries, followed by iconic leather (15.2%) and denim (12.4%).
It’s also good to note that material-based searches come with other keywords like color and garment.
5. Search By Activity or Event
The fifth most popular way of searching is a perfect example of how shopping can inspire us when we have no exact items in mind.
To the users searching sports, the results may be way too broad, and we hypothesize they don’t have a clear intention of buying, so breaking it down to other sports helps.
Surprisingly, basketball is the main sport Miros’ users search.
6. Search By Brand
Regarding brand-related searches, the most popular brands are Nike, Zara, and Adidas.
Brand-based searches make up to 50% of all ecommerce searches, and it’s proven that users search this way to help them get a certain style instead of giving more importance to the brand itself.
7. Search By Animals
As we get lower on the list, it gets funnier. Animal-based search ranks #7 in the list, and felines lead it.
Leopard (21.3%) is the most searched animal, followed by Cat (19.6%). It makes sense when considering animal print and other cool cat t-shirts.
Now, it’s with the dog people that things get weird.
Users searched: “A person who is conservative but likes dogs,” “spaceman on steroids flying dog,” “boxy dog eating a rainbow,” and also “flat-faced dog who farts a lot”, and that was our third most searched animal terms.
8. Search By Fictional Characters
This summer, Barbie (65.1%) took over the world and over the search by fictional characters. The world had fun dressing up to watch the Barbie movie, and many users took the chance and searched for “Barbie style,” “Barbie dress,” “Barbie theme,” “Neon pink Barbie dress.”Barbie goth is proof of how users personalized this query as well.
9. Search By Moods and Emotions
As we get closer to the bottom, we discover how people search based on their moods and emotions.
Love (36.2%) and Sadness (20.6%) are the two top emotions, and as it makes sense for people wanting to dress romantic, we wonder what dressing up sad looks like.
10. Search By Food and Drinks
The last term on our list is Food and Drink. While it’s no surprise Cocktail (50.7%) takes half of the list when we know Cocktail Dresses are a thing.
Now, we want to see more of Bacon this upcoming year.
To wrap this up
Understanding how people search for clothing is crucial for making the Miros experience easier and better for everyone. This list proves that people DO actually use regular words to search, not just specific fashion terms.
This 2024, we’ll work hard to please people looking for a simple “Cocktail Dress” or “red cocktail dress to see the president” alike, closing the bridge of fashion interpretation, intelligently interpreting and responding to the broad spectrum of people’s expressions and preferences in fashionAs we continue to improve Miros.ai’s wordless search, these insights are invaluable in shaping a more user-friendly approach.
See you next year!
