Fallback mechanism for Search and Categories

Guarantee that Product-Listing Pages (PLP) and Search-Result Pages (SERP) always return products—even if a Nosto request fails or returns no data.

1 How Nosto Search/Category Merchandising Works

Phase	Action
Intercept	Plugin overrides Shopware’s default routes (ProductListingRoute, ProductSearchRoute) and sends a request to Nosto.
Check response	If Nosto returns products, those items render in the storefront.
Empty / Timeout	If Nosto times out, errors, or returns an empty product set, the plugin automatically falls back to Shopware’s native route so customers still see default results if they are available.

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2 Timeout Strategy

Component	Default	Plugin Override
Nosto PHP SDK (SearchRequest)	10 s	Can be changed at runtime via setResponseTimeout()
Nosto Plugin (SearchRequestHandler)	—	Sets 3s timeout for every PLP/SERP call

If Nosto does not respond within 3 seconds, the result is treated as empty → fallback is triggered.

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3 Operational Summary

Situation	Storefront Outcome
Nosto responds with products	Nosto results displayed.
Nosto returns empty set	Shopware default results displayed.
Nosto request exceeds 3 s	Treated as empty → Shopware default results displayed.
Nosto server error	Treated as empty → Shopware default results displayed.

This logic applies uniformly to Category Listing and Search Result pages, ensuring uninterrupted shopping even when external services are slow or unavailable.

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