Custom Shopify search that finds products by SKU and synonym
Storefront search missed SKUs, color nicknames, and partial matches — so staff kept pointing shoppers to the right product by hand.
The problem
The default Shopify search (and a third-party search app) couldn’t reliably find products by internal SKU, fabric nickname, or common misspellings. Support tickets piled up, and conversion suffered on mobile where shoppers type short, imperfect queries.
Our approach
We replaced the App Store search dependency with a purpose-built custom Shopify app: synonym and SKU matching, merchandising rules the team could edit, and a theme app extension so results felt native. We also tuned product templates so attributes used in search were consistent in the catalog.
Results
- Shoppers could find products by SKU, synonym, and partial match without staff help
- One paid search app removed — lower monthly cost and fewer storefront scripts
- Merchandising rules owned by the store team, not locked inside a vendor UI
Related services
Want results like these?
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