Donald Russell recoups lost revenue within 1-week of switching back to Klevu from Nosto search

Donald Russell, a multi-award-winning food supplier, has been around for almost half a century, supplying some of the world’s best restaurants, including royalty. Since becoming a consumer-facing brand in 1996, they have predominantly marketed using meal packs and catalogs, with a high percentage of orders taken over the phone. However, with the shift towards e-commerce, Donald Russell has seen an increase in online orders, with two-thirds of their retail orders coming from their website. To aid in their goal of inspiring shoppers to discover new products, they turned to Klevu, an AI search and discovery platform.

By using Klevu’s trending products, popular searches, and promotional panel functions, Donald Russell has been able to divert customer attention to special occasions and trending products, ultimately inspiring customers to try something new while also finding what they are looking for.

Search is a vital component of Donald Russell’s eCommerce operation. Customers who know what they want rely on search to quickly find and purchase their desired products. Efficient search functionality not only helps retain customers but also impacts average order value and overall website conversion rates. The company is committed to providing its customers with the best shopping experience and has a strong customer retention rate.

To stay ahead in the ever-evolving eCommerce industry, the ecommerce team at Donald Russell believes that it’s healthy to test the market even if you are happy with the results of your current provider. In fact, testing the market can drive good value through suppliers and enlighten users to features they were not aware of. Donald Russell tendered their search function and tested a competitor solution, Nosto, for search.

Unfortunately, the test proved to be a disappointment. Nosto’s new search solution had several technical limitations that created problems for Donald Russell’s customers. Issues with caching, search results showing outdated deals, and inadequate AI capabilities caused a sharp decline in performance for users who utilized the site’s search functionality.

With Klevu, Donald Russell search performance was steady, consistently converting at over 20% over the course of a year. When Nosto replaced Klevu, search conversion and per session value declined rapidly and continued to decrease over time.

Key results by the end of the Nosto trial from Dec 2022 – Feb 2023:

• Revenue from search fell by 60%
• Search average order value fell by 15%
• Search conversion rate dropped by 44%
• Overall per session value decreased by 52%

Donald Russell decided to return to Klevu for on-site search after experiencing a significant drop in conversion rates and overall site performance with the competitor’s solution. Since reactivating Klevu, the improvements were immediate. The company believes that Klevu’s system is best of breed and far superior to the Nosto search solution for their business.

Results within 1-week of re-activating Klevu, after the period of decline with Nosto search:

• 30% increase in search conversion rate, back to the over 20% typical conversion rate with Klevu search
• 38% increase in per session value with search
• 34% increase in revenue from search
• 6% increase in average order value with search

Donald Russell’s experience highlights the importance of testing the market and staying updated on the latest technologies in the ecommerce industry. Although their trial with a different search solution did not yield the expected results, it provided valuable insights that ultimately led them back to Klevu.

This case study demonstrates the significance of a strong AI search system for ecommerce businesses and how the right solution can significantly impact performance and revenue. Donald Russell continues to use Nosto for product recommendations and user generated content.

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