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Case Study

Wholey Helps Shoppers
Find Their Favorites in Seconds

Industry: Food & Beverage
Section: Premium Meat and Gift Packs
Platform: BigCommerce
Chef with Oven
Pizza Oven Cooking
Commercial Kitchen Equipment
Food Service
Outcome Metrics

Transformative Results

22%

Lower abandoned searches

33%

Higher add-to-carts

7%

Growth in repeat orders

The Challenge

The Discovery Challenges Every Food &
Specialty Grocery Seller Faces

For online food retailers, product discovery is uniquely difficult. Perishable catalogs shift constantly with seasonality, pack sizes, weights, freshness requirements, and recipe-driven consumer behavior. Traditional ecommerce search is not built for this kind of complexity — especially when customers shop with immediate intent.

Across the industry, food lovers repeatedly run into the same barriers:

1

Pack sizes & variants overwhelm decision-making

2

Seasonal & perishable inventory changes daily

3

Recipe-driven buyers need contextual discovery

4

Freshness & quality signals often stay buried

Industry Context

How Wholey Solved These Challenges — and What It Means for Food Retailers

Wholey, a 100-year-old meat and seafood merchant with a growing national ecommerce presence, needed a search experience built for real-world food buying behavior. Their catalog spans hundreds of SKUs across premium seafood, meat, poultry, and curated gift packs — each with varying sizes, availability windows, and freshness requirements.

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Chef with fresh bread
The Failures

Default search and filters could not keep up

Wholey’s high-SKU food catalog includes multiple pack sizes, weights, and seasonal items. The default search and filters presented several challenges for shoppers.

01

Variant Overload Confuses Shoppers

Products come in multiple counts and weights (e.g., 1 lb, 2 lb, 16–20 ct, 31–40 ct), making it hard for foodies to pick the right option quickly.

02

Seasonal & Perishable Inventory Visibility

Availability changes frequently, and customers need real-time filtering to see what could ship immediately.

03

Recipe-Driven Discovery Gap

Shoppers often shop with a recipe or meal in mind, but standard search didn’t surface complementary products or pairings.

04

Freshness & Trust Assurance

Buyers want cold-chain guarantees, USDA/quality certifications, and freshness info visible directly in search results.

05

Repeat Orders & Subscription Friction

Returning customers lacked easy ways to reorder favorites or subscribe to regular deliveries.

06

Content Hard to Discover

Recipe guides, tips, and blogs were often hidden, so shoppers frequently missed out on inspiration and product pairings.

The Solution

AI Search & Discovery for Food Lovers

ConversionBox implemented an AI-powered search and smart filters experience tailored for Wholey’s high-SKU, perishable catalog.

1

Variant & Pack Normalization

ConversionBox AI search intelligently groups product variants (weights, counts, pack sizes) so shoppers see the right options instantly, reducing confusion and decision fatigue.

2

Dynamic Inventory Awareness

Live stock and seasonal availability are updated in real time, so customers only see products that are ready to ship, preventing disappointment and abandoned carts.

3

Recipe-Aware Discovery

Shoppers searching for a recipe or meal idea are shown suggested ingredients, pairings, and complementary items directly in search results, driving cross-sells.

4

Freshness & Trust Badges

Cold-chain guarantees, USDA certifications, and freshness indicators are displayed inline in product results, helping shoppers buy confidently.

5

Content-Integrated Discovery

Recipes, cooking tips, and blog content appear alongside products, inspiring purchases and helping foodies make informed decisions.

6

Subscription & Repeat-Order Optimization

Shoppers can save favorites, create recurring orders, or subscribe to seasonal bundles, simplifying repeat purchases and increasing customer lifetime value.

The Outcome

After implementing ConversionBox, the industrial seller achieved:

Shoppers can now find products quickly and confidently, resulting in a reduction in search abandonment. Recipe-driven discovery drives stronger engagement and more add-to-cart actions, while personalized recommendations and easier reordering lead to higher repeat purchases and increased subscription growth.

22%

Drop in abandoned searches

33%

Increase in recipe-driven clicks & add-to-cart

7%

Growth in repeat orders & subscriptions

Get Started

Maximize Conversions
on Your Store Using
ConversionBox

ConversionBox transforms your store into a real culinary product-discovery engine, one that understands how modern food shoppers search, plan meals, browse recipes, and choose the right pack size or cut with confidence.