Relevance
Test exact matches, natural language, typo tolerance, synonyms, filters and ranking control on your own queries.
Search Quality →Scorecard
Compare search providers on the same criteria.
Pre-record requirements, weights and test questions so that a selection is not determined by the best demo or the longest feature list.
Integration
Assess catalog source, storefront, events, conversion and required development capacity.
Integrations →Merchandising
Compare ranking rules, campaigns, banners, maturity levels and governance.
Merchandising →Analytics
Rate zero-result searches, CTR, conversion, segmentation, definitions and data quality.
Analytics →Operations
Take latency, availability, index freshness, release processes, monitoring and rollback with you.
Operations →Security & data
Map data flows, access, store isolation and responsibilities without assuming certifications.
Trust →Scalability
Test catalog size, peak load, multiple stores, markets and relevant language context.
Enterprise →Support & ownership
Determine who is implementing, optimizing, incidents and change management.
Implementation →TCO
Compare license, integration, hosting, engineering, management, support and future expansion over the same period.
TCO →Evidence
Use the same representative query set, catalog context and assessment method for each vendor.
Query test set →Score before the demo
Weights should come from your own situation.
A B2B-Catalogue can weigh exact codes more heavily; an international retailer can consider multi-store and local terminology more important. Make those priorities visible in advance.
CriterionEvidenceWeight
RelevanceOwn query setDetermining yourself
IntegrationOwn architectureDetermining yourself
OperationsProcess + testDetermining yourself
TCOEqual periodDetermining yourself