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Will visual search unlock m-commerce?

September 18, 2015Written by Guest contributor

Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of an article from FierceRetail, an e-newsletter and website covering the latest retail technology news and analysis.

Mobile visual search capabilities have been cropping up in retailers' apps with regularity for good reason: the feature will likely play a big role this coming holiday as shoppers turn to smartphones in droves.

More than just a new variation on the bar code scanner, visual search lets a shopper take a photo of something they like and then finds it for them. If it isn't able to find the exact item, it finds the closest similar one. Neiman Marcus, Macy's, Target and Toys "R" Us are among those using the technology in some way.

The technology can also turn the pages of a catalog or magazine into shoppable content, as Target did for the September issue of Elle magazine with a series of visual search enabled ads.

Visual search technology can also digitize a paper coupon or deliver a discount for a photographed product or a similar item. Slyce recently purchased SnipSnap and launched a new product for retailers called Snap-to-Coupon that does just that.

Slyce has also created its own mobile-only boutique called Craves, featuring a variety of retailers including Yoox, Nasty Gal, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, ASOS, Mango, Singer22, Luisaviaroma, Forzieri, Silver Jeans and Coach.

"The theoretical potential is huge," said Jim Okamura, managing partner, Okamura Consulting. "It's still somewhat early on in terms of the utility of visual search."

The technology works great with shoes, Mr. Okamura points out. A shopper just captures the silhouette and the technology finds a similar one. How well it works in other categories remains to be seen. Neiman Marcus tested the feature with shoes and handbags first, but the wider rollout to other categories is too new to assess.

Yet in-store connectivity is still an issue in many locations and getting employees on board with new customer-facing initiatives can be difficult.

Shoppers are also unfamiliar with the technology and it can take a significant marketing campaign just to let them know about the feature.

Neiman Marcus' store managers were all trained on the internal app before the rollout to shoppers. Sales associates are encouraged to have shoppers take a photo of an out-of-stock item using visual search in the store, which helps familiarize customers with the feature.

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