The search bar and the shopping basket: Decoding customer behaviour

Digital continues its upward trajectory while customers become more digitally savvy than ever before. As consumers, we have everything at our fingertips, placing digital discovery at the centre of our shopping experiences. But while the search bar is our starting point online, it isn’t always where the journey ends. The customer shopping experience is still omnichannel, wholly controlled by customer needs.

By Samantha Osborne, General Manager, Cartology New Zealand. 

The journey starts digitally while the role of search continues to evolve 

Digital is a critical part of the kiwi shopping experience and that’s only going to continue to grow. Customers are still looking for value and inspiration for their shop, heightening the role that digital plays in comparing products, seeking cheaper alternatives, looking for dinner ideas and exploring new products. Did you know that there are over 250M searches on woolworths.co.nz? (1)  

In terms of what customers are shopping for, we typically see strong product searches rather than brand searches with milk, bread, eggs, cheese, chicken, chips, yoghurt and chocolate all falling into the most popular search terms (sounds a lot like my grocery cart!). And those searches are an efficient way for customers to get items into the basket, resulting in a staggering 72% add to cart rate (1).

While online grows, it isn’t at the expense of in-store which continues to thrive 

Theatre, connection, exploration, direct and instant gratification, there are a number of reasons why the physical shopping experience remains much loved by customers. While online behaviour continues to surge, it’s a mistake to view the digital shelf as a replacement for the physical. Online growth is occurring alongside in-store, not in place of it with more than 74% of transactions still occurring in-store (2). 

We know that Woolworths customers here in NZ are arriving in-store with more information and digital influence than ever before. Over 57% of customers who view a product online will go in-store and make a purchase within three days (3). For brands, there’s a growing importance on connecting the physical and digital shopping experiences for customers and when it comes to sales and customer growth, we know omnichannel and full journey campaigns work best. 

The proof? Omnichannel media drives greater sales and customer uplift with +4% weekly sales uplift against single channel campaigns and +9% weekly new-to-brand customer uplift against single channel campaigns. Meanwhile, campaigns spanning the full customer journey drive greater sales and customer impact with +58% new-to-brand customers and +41% repeat customers (4).

Existing customers need more attention 

I’ve been in the media industry for a long time and I hear it a lot, that the objective of a campaign is to reach new customers. But brands still need to strategise to connect with and retain existing customers. Existing customers have a stronger long term value opportunity and repeat purchase value compared to new customers. For leader brands, repeat rate for existing customers vs new customers is 2.6X while for challenger brands, that increases to 3.6x for existing customers (4). 

So with that in mind, my advice? Retail Media starts digitally and search is a critical starting point for your strategy. Use Retail Media to understand and connect with those customer segments, in a targeted manner, whether it’s for an acquisition or retention strategy. This sets you up to ensure that the search for new customers doesn’t come at the expense of the valuable customers you already have. 

Customer interaction across digital touchpoints isn’t going to abate but the online experience will become more cluttered. For brands, understanding your customers, the role that media plays and being across measurable, omnichannel touchpoints will ensure that you cut through the noise to connect with the right customer, in the moments that matter most. And we’re here to help create those connections. 

Sources:
1. Woolworths Site Search Dashboard. 1 Jan - 30 Nov 2025.
2. Woolworths Group First Quarter Sales. New Zealand Food. 29 October 2025. 
3. Woolworths Looker Dashboards, Q Checkout, All products, eCOm vs In-store, June 24-May 25, Woolworths transaction data, 30/06/2024 - 29/06/2025 vs prior period.
4. 2025 Media Effectiveness Playbook, New Zealand.

This article first appeared in Marketing Magazine, 30 March, 2026.