Are customers leaving your online pharmacy without buying? Learn how personalized search can can help keep them on your site, increase sales and create better shopping experiences.
Online shoppers are impatient, especially in pharmacies where they need quick relief for urgent health concerns. These shoppers face two big challenges. First, a huge range of products, from prescription medicines to supplements and cosmetics. Second, the variety of search queries, from general terms like “child cough” to specific (and often misspelled) terms such as “zetterizin 50.”
Your shop’s success depends on how well it delivers the right search results to each shopper. It results in a satisfied purchase or a frustrated bounce. A key metric to monitor is your search bounce rate, which tracks how many people leave after searching without selecting a product.
How can you lower your bounce rate? This article shows how AI-powered tools can make searches easier and more personalized, creating a smooth shopping experience that works.
Reduce bounce rates with personalized search
Every search is different because each shopper has their own needs. AI-powered personalized search adjusts results based on what each shopper wants. It looks at their past purchases, preferences and even what they’re doing on your site right now.
For example, if someone searches for “cough syrup” and usually buys sugar-free products, their results will highlight sugar-free options. Another shopper who buys products for kids will see child-safe syrups, like alcohol-free ones, at the top of their results for the same search.
Personalized search helps customers find what they need faster, which reduces bounce rates, increases sales and builds trust in your brand. Research shows 60% of customers are more likely to return after a personalized shopping experience (Segment, 2021).
1:1 personalization with Atlas AI
Personalized search sounds simple, but doing it right is key. Many systems depend on big data or customer groups, but these don’t always work well. Most pharmacies don’t have enough clicks or purchase data to make these systems accurate. And grouping customers by age or location doesn’t reveal what they actually want to buy.
That’s why we built Atlas AI. It doesn’t need lots of data or extra customer info. Instead, it focuses on understanding your products and matching them to what each shopper wants, much like a helpful pharmacist would. Atlas AI uses just one interaction to personalize results in real time.
How it works
Atlas AI maps out all your products and their details, like ingredients or uses, creating a smart system of connections. Think of it as a map where related products are close together. When a customer interacts with your site, Atlas AI uses this map to understand what they’re looking for. Even with just one click, it delivers highly accurate results, solving the problem of limited data.
Key benefits of Atlas AI for reducing bounce rates
- General relevance: Atlas AI understands products deeply, so it shows relevant results without needing manual adjustments. For example, a search for “ibus” will prioritize ibuprofen over unrelated items like rooibos tea.
- Real-time relevance: Atlas AI adjusts instantly based on what the customer does. If they search for “vitamin D” and then “Ratiopharm,” it shows vitamin D from Ratiopharm instead of random products from the brand.
- Preference-based relevance: Atlas AI remembers preferences. A shopper who usually buys Verla vitamins will see Verla products ranked higher in searches like “winter vitamins.”
- A blend of artificial and human intelligence: An intuitive interface allows you to align the AI with your business goals while automating routine tasks like search optimization.
Largest online pharmacy in the Netherlands achieves +12% conversion
DeOnlineDrogist.nl is a compelling example of how personalized search can transform eCommerce KPIs. As the leading online pharmacy in the Netherlands, it faced problems with its old search system, which couldn’t handle its large product catalog. After switching to our AI-powered system, its results improved dramatically.
In just three months, they saw a 12% increase in conversions from searches. They also saved time:
“Previously, we spent about 30 hours a month maintaining our search system. Now, we spend no more than four hours a month. This is a major improvement for us, freeing up time and resources for other areas of the business.” — Joachim de Boer, Co-founder of DeOnlineDrogist.nl
Continue reading the case study.
Why personalized search is essential for online pharmacies
Personalized product search isn’t just nice to have — it’s a must for online pharmacies. AI tools like Atlas AI lower bounce rates, boost search conversions and help you stand out from competitors. And they do this without needing big data.
With customer expectations higher than ever, combining technology with personalization creates a shopping experience that exceeds expectations. It makes finding the right products faster, easier and more tailored to each shopper.
