Consider the following information: • A merchant has this three-tier category structure setup in the Storefront catalog: New Arrivals > Women >…

In Salesforce B2C Commerce, the context determines which search refinements are displayed. When a user navigates directly to a category page (New Arrivals > Women > Clothing), the platform is in the "category context" and displays the refinements configured specifically for that category. However, when a user performs a general storefront keyword search, the platform operates in the "search context." In this context, the search results page displays the refinements that are configured for the catalog's root category by default. Therefore, the "Newness" refinement is not visible because it is only configured for the Clothing subcategory, not for the root category that governs global search results.

1. Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud Documentation, "Configure Search Refinements": "When a customer uses storefront search, the search results page shows the refinement definitions of the root category. When a customer navigates to a category, the category landing page shows the refinement definitions for that specific category." This statement directly explains the behavior described in the question. (Reference found in B2C Commerce Cloud Infocenter under Merchandising -> Search and Navigation -> Configure Search Refinements).

2. Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud Documentation, "Search Refinements": "You can configure refinements for each category. The root category's refinement definitions are the default for storefront search." This reinforces that storefront search and category navigation use different refinement configurations. (Reference found in B2C Commerce Cloud Infocenter under Merchandising -> Search and Navigation -> Search Refinements).