Adding a lot of attributes might seem like a good way to give shoppers more personalization and enhance search precision. However, when there are excessive or overly specific attributes, it can actually create noise, making it harder for customers to find the products they want. Here’s how over-attribution affects the customer experience:

1. Overwhelming Filters and Options: Too many filter options—like dozens of fabric types or color variations—clutter the interface and make it difficult for shoppers to find what they need.
2. Inconsistent Attribute Importance: When less relevant attributes are overemphasized, they can distract from core product characteristics and reduce clarity.
3. Increased Decision Fatigue: Excessive detail can lead to indecision and frustration, increasing the likelihood of cart abandonment or bounce.

Effects on Keyword-Based Search vs. Vector-Based Search

Over-attribution affects search algorithms in different ways depending on the type of search system your ecommerce platform uses.

Keyword-Based Search

• Search Result Dilution: Adding too many keywords through attributes can broaden results irrelevantly, reducing precision.
• Inaccurate Filtering: Excessive attributes can lead to overcomplicated filtering that doesn’t align with customer intent.

Keyword-based search thrives on simplicity. Too much noise undermines its precision.

Vector-Based Search

• Dilution of Contextual Meaning: Over-tagging can obscure a product’s primary purpose in machine learning models.
• Reduced Recommendation Relevance: Over-attribution can confuse algorithms, producing recommendations that are too niche or off-target.

Even in AI-powered search, more data isn’t always better—it has to be the right data.

Balancing Attribution to Enhance Search and CX

• Prioritize Core and Relevant Attributes: Only include what’s essential to search relevance and decision-making.
• Limit Overly Specific Attributes: Avoid hyper-specific terms unless they're truly necessary.
• Test for Customer Relevance: Use data to validate the impact of new attributes on search performance and conversions.

By keeping your catalog well-balanced and focused, you enhance both keyword and vector-based search effectiveness—resulting in better outcomes for your customers and your business.

Unsure if your catalog is overloaded with attributes? Let’s talk. Reach out to Kevin Jackson at kevin.jackson@magnetlabs.ai to schedule a CatalogIQ demo and see how we help ecommerce teams score, streamline, and enrich their catalogs for optimal performance.