Ecommerce ops · Production

Auto Mercado improves e-commerce search with Algolia, boosting user conversion rates by over 50%

The problem

Auto Mercado's e-commerce search was the major pain point in the customer journey: shoppers could not find products reliably, search results were irrelevant, and the underlying platform was built on outdated technology that was difficult to modify and scale.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Customer submits product search
trigger
“Getting shoppers to the products they're looking for”
2
AI Synonyms and Dynamic Re-ranking
ai_action
“Algolia's AI Synonyms and Dynamic Re-ranking helped Auto-Mercado's e-commerce team get a better understanding of how people were searching for items on the site. The technology allowed the team to match people's specific search terms to …”
3
Promotional placement configuration
output
“Visual Editor and Rules made it much easier to improve the store's promotional efforts online and benefit its suppliers. Assigning a keyword search that generated a top search result for a specific product and modifying product descripti…”
4
CPG supplier ad placement
integration
“Auto Mercado began charging consumer product goods (CPGs) suppliers for top placement in keyword searches, banner ad placements and where products were "stocked" on its virtual shelves”
5
Personalized checkout products
output
“it also makes it easier for us to promote our higher-margin private label brands and include personalized impulse products on checkout”
Reported outcome

After implementing Algolia, user conversion rates rose by over 50%, customer basket size increased at checkout, Algolia's cost was offset by new CPG supplier ad revenue, and Auto Mercado became Costa Rica's leading online grocery platform with double the market share of its closest competitor.

Reported metrics
online order demand increase (COVID-driven)1500 percent
User conversion rate increaseover 50%
Algolia cost offset by supplier revenuecost of Algolia ends up being compensated by the revenue provided from our suppliers
Customer basket sizeincreased the overall customer basket size at checkout
Show all 6 reported metrics
online order demand increase (COVID-driven)1500 percent
user conversion rate increaseover 50%
Algolia cost offset by supplier revenuecost of Algolia ends up being compensated by the revenue provided from our suppliers
customer basket sizeincreased the overall customer basket size at checkout
implementation timeless than two months
online market share vs closest competitordouble the online market share of their closest competitor
Reported stack
Algolia SearchAI SynonymsDynamic Re-rankingVisual EditorRules
Source
https://www.algolia.com/customers/auto-mercado
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

After implementing Algolia, user conversion rates rose by over 50%, customer basket size increased at checkout, Algolia's cost was offset by new CPG supplier ad revenue, and Auto Mercado became Costa Rica's leading on…

What tools did this team use?

Algolia Search, AI Synonyms, Dynamic Re-ranking, Visual Editor, Rules.

What results were reported?

online order demand increase (COVID-driven): 1500 percent; User conversion rate increase: over 50%; Algolia cost offset by supplier revenue: cost of Algolia ends up being compensated by the revenue provided from our suppliers; Customer basket size: increased the overall customer basket size at checkout (source-reported, not independently verified).

How is this ecommerce ops AI workflow structured?

Customer submits product search → AI Synonyms and Dynamic Re-ranking → Promotional placement configuration → CPG supplier ad placement → Personalized checkout products.

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