In modern e-commerce, search plays a central role across the entire shopping journey. It powers category pages, drives product discovery, and responds directly to customer intent. More than a navigation tool, search has become a critical merchandising surface. This is where searchandising comes in — the practice of using the site’s search engine not only to return relevant results, but to actively influence which products are promoted when shoppers search for specific terms or phrases. Done well, searchandising aligns customer intent with business goals, turning search from a passive feature into a strategic lever.
One of the most common searchandising techniques is boosting and burying.
Boosting allows merchants to increase the ranking of selected products so they appear higher in search results. Burying does the opposite — intentionally pushing products lower in the list.
Merchandisers use these techniques continuously to balance customer needs with business priorities.
Boosting is often used to promote products that are performing well or that the business wants to accelerate. For example, if a product gains attention through social media or a campaign, boosting it in search can amplify momentum and improve conversion.
Searchandising is also a powerful inventory management tool. Products with high stock levels but low demand can be boosted to improve sell-through. At the same time, popular products with limited availability can be buried temporarily to avoid customer frustration and overselling.
In both cases, search becomes a control layer — adapting in real time to operational realities.
Another key searchandising technique is slotting.
Slotting allows merchants to reserve specific positions in search or category results for defined purposes. This might include promoting products from strategic suppliers, highlighting private-label items, or supporting seasonal campaigns.
Instead of leaving ranking entirely to the algorithm, merchandisers explicitly decide which products deserve guaranteed visibility.
Modern e-commerce platforms allow these rules to be parameterized — meaning they can be applied dynamically based on conditions such as category, availability, or time.
Advanced searchandising tools make it possible to schedule when products appear in search results. This is especially useful for product launches, coordinated campaigns, or limited-time promotions.
Rather than manually updating rules at the last minute, teams can plan visibility in advance — ensuring search aligns with marketing and merchandising calendars.
As catalogs grow and complexity increases, this level of control becomes essential.
Pure relevance answers the question: “Does this match the query?”
Searchandising adds a second, equally important question: “Is this what we want to sell right now?”
The goal isn’t to replace relevance, but to refine it — combining customer intent with commercial strategy to surface products that both satisfy shoppers and support the business.
Searchandising turns search from a neutral retrieval system into an active merchandising channel. When done thoughtfully, it helps e-commerce teams balance relevance, inventory, and business goals — without compromising the customer experience. At scale, effective searchandising depends on clean, structured product data and systems that allow merchandisers to guide outcomes with clarity and control. When search understands both intent and strategy, it becomes one of the most powerful levers in e-commerce.