An important Marketplace Metric: Search to Fill

On a recent trip, I experienced something on the Uber app that I don’t recall seeing in recent times. After a minute or so of waiting, I saw this on the app:

My assumption is that in a high density area like Boston, it is quite rare that Uber is unable to match a rider with a driver. And with incentives like Surge Pricing, it is a matter of time and the right surge incentive to get a driver to accept the ride (I eventually was able to get a ride for ~$90!)

“Search to Fill” (or “Fill Ratio”) is a critical metric to track in a marketplace. This metric is simply measured as the percentage of searches or requests that result in completed transactions.

For example,

• On Trusted or AirBnB or Pared, this is the percentage of search sessions that result in bookings.
• On Threadflip, this was the percentage of search sessions that resulted in a purchase.
• On Care.com or Thumbtack, this is the percentage of job postings that result in a candidate getting hired.
• On Uber or Lyft, this is the percentage of ride requests that result in rides.

Generally the higher the fill ratio (at critical mass), the better. But the ratio helps marketplace operators really understand which side of the marketplace to…