6 Innovative Ways to Enhance Product Filters on Your Shopify Store
Are customers getting lost in your Shopify store? Studies show a shocking truth – only 16% of major online stores offer a decent filter experience (according to Baymard Institute)! That’s a lot of customers leaving empty-handed (and grumpy). Want to make their shopping experience a breeze? The answer lies in optimize your product filtering!
In this guide, we’ll dive into six innovative ways to supercharge your Shopify store’s search functionality. From simple tweaks to advanced strategies, we’ll show you how to:
- Simplify the search: Make it easy for shoppers to find what they need.
- Boost conversions: Guide customers toward the perfect products.
- Enhance customer satisfaction: Create a smooth and enjoyable shopping experience.
Ready to level up your Shopify store? Let’s get started!
The Power of Product Filters in Shopify Stores
Product filters are your secret weapon, teleporting shoppers to the goods they crave. They’re more than just a search bar – they’re personal shopping assistants built-in.
The Nielsen Norman Group defines two essential elements related to this:
- Findability: When users can quickly locate content or products they expect to find on a website.
- Discoverability: When users encounter new products or features they weren’t actively searching for.
The Shocking Truth About Crummy Filters
Unfortunately, most eCommerce sites fail to optimize their filters fully. Research by the Baymard Institute reveals that:
- Only 16% of major eCommerce sites provide a good filtering experience.
- 42% don’t offer category-specific filters for primary product categories.
- 20% lack thematic filters, such as seasonal or style-based options, despite selling products that would benefit from them.
Even major companies, like Apple, sometimes fall short with simplistic or unintuitive filtering systems. If global brands can struggle, it’s easy to see why smaller eCommerce sites often miss the mark.
Level Up with Filter Magic
The perfect filter setup depends on your products. But here are some popular filters that work wonders:
- Brand (unless you’re a one-brand wonder)
- Price (who doesn’t love a sweet deal?)
- Reviews (because everyone trusts their online friends!)
- Color (red T-shirts FTW!)
- Size (because one size definitely doesn’t fit all)
- Theme, Popularity, Promotions (add these 3 for brevity)
Curious to see how these strategies are applied in real ecommerce stores? Read on to explore 6 best examples of product filters that can transform your store’s shopping experience!
😀 You may be concerned: 6 Eye-Catching Product Image Ideas to Make Your Shopify Clothing Store Shine!
6 Must-Try Product Finding Hacks for Your Shopify Store (Comes with App Recommendation)
1. Promote Size Filters for Sale and Clearance Pages
Let’s face it: When a sale or clearance hits, your customers are ready to pounce. But if they can’t find their size, they’ll bounce. By making size filters prominent, you allow customers to focus on items that fit their needs, improving satisfaction and speeding up the purchasing process. For stores with frequent sales or flash discounts, this feature becomes even more critical to keep pace with customer expectations.
Examples of Effective Size Filters in Action
- Fashion Nova excels in guiding size-conscious shoppers within its sale and clearance sections. By adding a “Select Your Size” block, prominently displayed and easy to use, they ensure customers can filter out items that aren’t in their size without scrolling through irrelevant options.
- Alo Yoga goes a step further by placing size filters at the top of its sale section, making them impossible to miss. Their inclusion of a “Just Added to Sale” subsection caters to customers who want to see newly discounted items but still need them to be available in their size.
App Recommendations to Filter Products in Shopify
After testing and analyzing popular Shopify apps for search and filtering, we’ve identified two standout options that effectively enhance customer navigation and product discoverability. Here’s how Searchanise Search & Filter and Smart Product Filter & Search perform and what makes them special.
| Searchanise Search & Filter | Smart Product Filter & Search |
|---|---|
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2. Minimalist Product Filter with a Desktop Filter Nudge
Unlike mobile users, who often encounter filters in a collapsible menu, desktop users typically see filters displayed prominently on the side or above the product listing. However, many shoppers scrolling through long product lists might overlook these filters altogether.
However, many shoppers scrolling through long product lists might overlook these filters altogether. The nudge can take the form of a clean, eye-catching design element such as a floating banner, a sticky filter bar, or a highlighted section that draws attention to the available filtering options.
Example for Desktop Filter Nudges
Marc Cain: This high-end fashion retailer implements a desktop filter nudge using a sleek and minimalistic design. While the filters are visible, their placement and subtle styling blend seamlessly with the website’s layout, ensuring they don’t distract from the product listing.
However, this approach also means some users might overlook them, which could be mitigated by placing the filters in a more conventional sidebar or making them sticky.
Recommended Shopify Apps for Desktop Filter Nudges
- Synonym groups, product boosts, native integration.
- Simple, effective filters for small to medium stores.
- Multilingual support, search analytics, upsell options.
3. Mega Menu Attribute Product Filters
Mega menus are especially useful for stores with diverse product offerings, as they let customers zero in on their preferences quickly, avoiding unnecessary clicks and frustration. For example, if your store sells health supplements, embedding filters like “Vegan,” “Organic,” or “Gluten-Free” directly into your mega menu can guide customers toward relevant products immediately. Shoppers gain a clearer understanding of the key features and benefits of your products right from the start.
Example of Mega Menu Attribute Filters
Four Sigmatic’s mega menu includes attribute filters like “Organic,” “Vegan,” and “Mushroom Type,” enabling customers to pre-filter results.
- This intuitive system is not only convenient but also educates customers on the unique selling points of the brand’s product lines.
- On mobile, these filters are designed as large, tappable chips, ensuring a seamless browsing experience on smaller screens.
Best Shopify Mega Menu Filters & Navigation App
We tested two popular Shopify apps, Qikify Mega Menu & Navigation and Globo Mega Menu, Navigation, and analyzed their features for creating intuitive and user-friendly mega menus. Both apps excel in providing tools to implement mega menu attribute filters effectively. Here’s a breakdown of their capabilities and how they can help you achieve the desired results.
| Globo Mega Menu, Navigation | |
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Sell More with Wizz Flash Sales & Bulk Discount!
4. Nested Multi-Level Filters - Best Product Filter for Shopify
Imagine your Shopify store is a massive library, overflowing with knowledge. How do you find that specific book buried deep within the stacks? Nested Multi-Level Filters are your Dewey Decimal System for product discovery!
These filters empower customers to navigate complex product catalogs with ease. They work by allowing users to drill down through increasingly specific subcategories, just like following a detailed map to buried treasure.
Real-World Examples of Nested Multi-Level Filters for Those Don't Like Boring Text
- H&M‘s got a pretty neat filter system! You can sort by size, color, pattern, or product type right away. If you need more options, just click “All Filters” to dive deeper. You can filter by material, fit, occasion, price, and even brand! It’s a great way to find exactly what you’re looking for, but sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming. So, H&M, maybe keep the core filters front and center and let shoppers dig deeper when they need to!
- IKEA’s product filters let users drill down by dimensions (e.g., Width, Height, Depth) when browsing furniture. If you’re looking for a couch, you can filter by size attributes such as length or depth, helping you quickly narrow your options based on your space and design requirements.
- Fashion retailer NA-KD offers a dynamic multi-level filtering system that allows users to select different attributes such as color, size, and style in separate filter menus. The system dynamically updates to show the number of available results, making the filtering process more interactive.
Recommended Shopify Apps for Nested Multi-Level Filters
We recommend you test the Product Filter & Search by Globo that we’ve already suggested in the first example. Additionally, here are our recommendation for two excellent AI-powered search and filter apps for Shopify that can make your stores look cooler.
| Boost AI Search & Filter | |
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😀 You may be concerned: The 6 Most Impressive Popup Examples for Shopify Stores
5. Product Finder in Header
A product finder is an interactive tool that asks customers a series of questions about their preferences. Based on their answers, it then recommends the most suitable products. Think of it as a personalized shopping assistant, guiding customers through the decision-making process.
Real-World Examples of a Product Finder in Header
- Crutchfield enhances user experience with a category-level product finder that functions like a mini-quiz. This tool is placed prominently above the product results, inviting customers to input preferences, such as budget, brand, or technical features, to receive tailored recommendations.
- Amika, a haircare brand, recognizes that their product thumbnails alone may not convey enough information to guide customers effectively. To bridge this gap, Amika offers a quiz-like product finder in the header banner, allowing users to select their hair type, style goals, and desired results.
Recommended Shopify Product Finder Apps
We found 2 Shopify apps on Shopify that can help you implement product finder features like Crutchfield and Amika. Let’s see what they offer:
| Quiz Kit: AI Product Finder | |
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6. Filtered Navigation Toggle Examples for Shopify Stores
The last one in our today’s list – Filtered navigation toggles. They are an intuitive and visually distinct way to refine product results. Unlike dropdowns or sidebar filters, toggles are immediately noticeable and require minimal effort to use. This feature is particularly helpful for products with overlapping attributes or subgroup distinctions, where customers might need to evaluate multiple criteria.
Real-World Examples of a Product Finder in Header
Vetsak, a furniture brand, uses toggles to differentiate between indoor and outdoor fabric options. This simple yet effective solution helps customers quickly find the right products for their needs, reducing confusion and improving the overall shopping experience.
This approach prevents “tab blindness,” a phenomenon where customers overlook options hidden in menus or dropdowns. Additionally, it encourages shoppers to think critically about their needs (e.g., where the product will be used) earlier in their buying journey.
Recommended Shopify Apps for Navigation Toggles
Here is an analysis of two popular Shopify apps, Buddha Mega Menu & Navigation and Qikify Mega Menu & Navigation, including their features, benefits, and how they help implement toggles like Vetsak’s example.
| Qikify Mega Menu | |
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Enhance Shopping Experience with Filters Today!
So, there you have it! Product filters are a powerful tool to elevate your Shopify store and make your customers’ lives easier. Remember, the key is to understand your audience and tailor your filters to their needs.
Whether it’s simple size filters for a quick sale or complex, nested filters for tech-savvy shoppers, the right filtering strategy can make a huge difference.
Ready to take your store to the next level? Start experimenting with these techniques and watch your sales soar! Don’t forget to choose the right Shopify app to match your specific needs. Each tweak brings you closer to a seamless user experience, happier customers, and boosted sales.
Sell More with Wizz Flash Sales & Bulk Discount!
Sophia Dao is a content strategist at WizzCommerce, specializing in e-commerce and Shopify solutions. With a passion for digital marketing and a keen eye for detail, Sophia creates engaging content that helps businesses thrive online. When she’s not writing, she enjoys exploring the latest trends in tech and commerce. Follow Sophia for practical e-commerce tips and the latest marketing insights!
