H&M overhauls onsite search to curb customer exit rates

By analyzing real-time signals—including stock availability, revenue performance, and individual purchase behavior—the new system moves beyond simple text matching to predict what a shopper actually seeks. According to company data, this transition has reduced soft exits, where users abandon a search due to friction, by 80%. Furthermore, overall customer exits from the search function have dropped by 30%.

Lars Gezelius, Acting Global Head of Digital at H&M, noted that the retailer required a more sophisticated approach to discovery as the business scaled. Voyado CEO Erica Sandelin Ekelund emphasized that many retailers currently overlook the valuable intent signals provided by search queries. She argued that the most successful brands in the coming years will be defined by their ability to interpret these signals rather than simply maintaining the largest product catalogs.