Over the past year, according to the company, Google brought together the best computer and fashion "nerds" within the organization "to create a new way to browse, discover and shop for soft goods online."
The result of that collaboration is Boutiques.com, a website currently launched in beta, that lets users explore women's fashion through a variety of pages linked to boutiques organized by celebrity, designer, retailer, trends, bloggers and other influencers. Visitors to the site also have the option of creating their own personalized boutique.
A piece on the official Google blog said, "We partnered with taste-makers of all types. We asked them not just to curate 10-50 great items they loved, but also to teach our site their style and taste. They did this by telling us what colors, patterns, brands and silhouettes they loved and they hated. They took a visual quiz that taught the site to understand their style genre: Classic, Boho, Edgy, etc. Our machine learning algorithms use this information to enable you to shop all of the inventory in the style of that taste-maker, on top of the 50 items they've hand-curated."
The site offers a number of features, including advanced search, inspiration photos, complete the look function, visual search and an iPad app.
A New York Times piece calls Boutiques.com's ability to analyze consumer preferences and deliver what shoppers are actually looking for a "game-changer."
According to the article, "Search engines tend to give you stuff you don't really want. ... But, as two experienced online shoppers found when they tested the site earlier this week at Google's New York office, if you ask for cobalt blue shoes, you get them. And if you refine your preferences with a click or two, you get even more specific styles."
The search technology used on Boutiques.com was originally developed by Like.com, a company acquired by Google last year.
Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president and retail analyst at Forrester Research, told the Times, "I've always been impressed with Like.com. I was just floored by the technology back then, and it's evolved since. They've just honed the algorithm."
Boutiques.com is currently only available for women in the U.S., but Google said it plans to expand it in the future.
Discussion Questions: Has Google created a new level of science to shopping for fashion online? Will it be a "game-changer"? What do you see as the most/least exciting elements of Boutiques.com?
- Introducing Boutiques: a new way to shop for fashion online - The Official Google Blog
- Google Fashion Shopping Site Makes Debut - The New York Times
- Google Launches Personalized Fashion Shop Boutiques.com - Mashable
- Boutiques.com is Up and Running, Featuring Stores Created by Susie Bubble, Olivia Palermo... No SJP Yet - Fashionista