Retail Store Map Overlay for Product Search Results
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers face difficulties in locating specific products within large retail stores due to the lack of integrated maps in search results, leading to reduced sales as customers cannot find the products they want to buy.
Innovation Solution
A system that embeds maps within retail store search results on mobile devices, allowing customers to view the store layout with product locations overlaid on the map, enabling them to find specific products or categories directly within the search results without needing to click through to individual product pages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If store maps are provided on product pages for single products, then customers can locate specific products, but customers cannot efficiently find multiple products or categories in search results
Solution Approach 1:
The store map is transformed from a single-product feature to a multi-functional tool that displays multiple products and categories simultaneously. The map now serves both individual product location and overall store navigation purposes, allowing customers to view multiple product locations and category distributions on a single map interface within search results.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds a spatial dimension to the search results by embedding the store map directly within the search results page. Instead of requiring customers to navigate to product pages to see locations, the map provides a visual spatial representation of multiple product locations and categories directly in the search context, enabling simultaneous viewing of multiple product positions.
2Productivity
If customers traverse aisles manually to find products, then they can physically locate items, but they spend excessive time and effort navigating the store
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary navigation planning by providing the store map with multiple product locations marked before the customer enters the store. Customers can plan their shopping route in advance by viewing all product locations on the map, rather than searching for each product sequentially during their visit, thereby reducing total navigation time and improving shopping efficiency.
3Loss of information
If detailed product information is provided on separate product pages, then customers can view complete product details, but customers must click through multiple pages to access this information
Solution Approach 1:
The solution merges previously separate information (product details and location information) into a single integrated view. The store map displays multiple products with their locations simultaneously within the search results, eliminating the need to click through individual product pages to see location information, thereby reducing navigation steps while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method includes receiving a search query for a product to be located in a retail store, performing a search on a plurality of products records corresponding to a plurality of products located in the retail store, identifying one or more of the product records relevant to the product in the search query, obtaining a store map, the store map being indicative of a layout of the retail store, transmitting a representation of the store map and the one or more product records identified as one or more search results, and providing the one or more search results as a list to a mobile device, each of the one or more search results being associated with a physical location of the product in the retail store, and present the store map overlaid with an icon on a graphical display of the mobile device, wherein the store map represents the retail store and the icon is positioned overlaid on the map to designate a physical location of a corresponding one or more of the list of search results for the retail store.