Some Product Set search fields offer drop down options to refine your search, such as Contains and Matches.
What "Contains" Does
"Contains" will return any product where the field you chose includes your search term anywhere in it. It doesn’t have to be an exact match.
For example, if you set the Product Name field to "contains" and type coffee, you might see:
- Coffee Filters
- Coffee Bean Grinders
As long as the word “coffee” is in the product name, it will show up, regardless of what else is in the name.
This is great when you want to be flexible or cast a wide net for the returned product results.
What "Matches" Does
"Matches" is much stricter. This will only return products where the field exactly matches what you entered.
For example, if you set the field to Brand and type Nike, it will only return products where the brand field is exactly “Nike.” Not “Nike Golf,” not “Nike Running,” not “Nike Inc.” Just “Nike.”
This is great for cases where you want precision and don’t want to risk pulling in variations, abbreviations, or other brand lines.
When to Use Each
Contains can be useful when:
- You want to capture any product that includes your term in the field
- You’re searching descriptions or names that might vary across merchants
- You’re okay with broader results that you can refine with exclusions later
Matches can be useful when:
- You need an exact match with no variations
- You’re targeting a specific brand, category, or item
- You want full control over what is returned
Combining Search Operators
You also don’t have to rely on just one operator. You can combine multiple search operators in the same Product Set, some using Contains and others using Matches, to get a mix of broad and precise results.
For example:
- Brand matches “Nike”
- Product Name contains “running shoes”
To learn more, check out written documentation here.
