Hard Rock International’s Online Rock Shop Connects Fans to the Coolest Merchandise Using Site Search from SLI Systems

Worldwide Entertainment Brand Creates Richer, More Relevant Search Experience for its E-commerce Store

CUPERTINO, CA – November 10, 2009 – The Hard Rock brand has always been known for its iconic T-shirts and rock-n-roll memorabilia – but more recently, the “Rock Shop,” the company’s online store, began featuring an even broader range of merchandise, such as jewelry, accessories, and lifestyle products. To help shoppers sort through all of the logoed items, Hard Rock International chose SLI Systems to provide a faster, more intuitive site search experience.

Before bringing in SLI Systems’ Learning Search solution, the Rock Shop did not have its own search solution – it was integrated with the Google Mini search solution for the entire Hard Rock website.  This was problematic because search results combined restaurant and hospitality-related information with merchandise.  Since the Rock Shop has become a notable source of revenue for Hard Rock International in the past 10 years, the need for a merchandise-only search solution became critical.

“Since we didn’t have specific search for the merchandise, visitors would get cafe and hotel results mixed in with the merchandise results when they initiated a search,” explained Ken Woods, director of online for Hard Rock International. “We needed a solution that would allow shoppers to get more focused results. We also wanted to take control of what showed up in search results, and gain the opportunity to customize results when needed.”

Woods and his colleagues understood the challenge of the unfocused search experience when they searched for specific products themselves. “We knew that if we were having issues finding related products, then our customers were having the same problems,” Woods said.

Ionic Media, a search engine optimization company and SLI partner working with the Hard Rock brand on the website’s SEO strategy, recommended that Woods consider SLI’s hosted Learning Search solution. While he had considered both hosted and on-premise site search solutions, Woods said that the company’s small IT staff made a hosted solution more attractive. “We know our limitations, and we knew we needed SLI to help us manage search, and make it easier for shoppers to see relevant results,” Woods said.
 
Learning Search now allows Rock Shop visitors to filter their searches by choices such as price and category ( for example women’s, men’s or children’s apparel, or gifts and accessories). Additionally, every search result features a large image of the item to make it easier for shoppers to make buying decisions. Also, links to similar items appear under each product in a search result – for instance, the Goth Punk Barbie Doll search result will contain a link to other Barbie items.

The switch to SLI search is paying off. “This year’s sales numbers are outpacing last year’s – the shop is performing better,” said Woods. “The majority of people who visit the Rock Shop are using the search feature.” With the previous search solution, Woods said that visitors who did not receive relevant search results might have left the site quickly. “Now they’ll make a few more clicks through the results, and perhaps find things they weren’t looking for, or didn’t know about,” Woods said.

The intelligence gleaned from Learning Search also helps the Hard Rock brand gain insights on products to add to the Rock Shop. “We know what people are searching for and not finding, which helps us with merchandising and inventory decisions,” Woods said. “For instance, we’re currently seeing people searching for glassware, of which we currently only offer a limited selection.”

About SLI Systems

SLI Systems is the developer of learning-based search and navigation technology for corporate Internet sites, e-commerce destinations and consumer Internet portals that Searches, Learns and Improves the user experience.  SLI Systems’ hosted site search and user-generated SEO solutions empower businesses to enhance customer satisfaction while increasing sales, reducing costs and yielding valuable customer information.  Unlike traditional search software, SLI Systems’ patented technology continuously “learns” from the behavior of visitors over time to deliver more relevant results. SLI Systems is a privately held company, with offices in Silicon Valley, London, and Christchurch, New Zealand.  For more information, visit www.sli-systems.com, or see the company’s blog at http://blog.sli-systems.com/.

About Hard Rock Cafe

With a total of 157 venues in 53 countries, including 127 cafes and 12 Hotels/Casinos, Hard Rock International is one of the world's most globally recognized brands. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. In addition to the two flagship Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., Hard Rock Hotels/Casinos are located in Las Vegas, Biloxi, Orlando, Chicago, San Diego, Tulsa, Pattaya, Bali, Macau and Penang.  Additional hotel and casino projects have been announced in; Singapore, scheduled to open in 2010; Atlanta and Panama, both scheduled to open in 2012; and Hungary, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open in 2013.  Hard Rock International is owned by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. For further details on Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, visit www.hardrockhotels.com.  For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.