In just a few days, one of the most anticipated shopping
events around the world is happening. Made popular by huge price drops and
crazy long lines, a McKinsey
& Co.’s annual survey verified that steep discounts and unique one-off
promotions are the main motivations of consumers in joining Black Friday. This
year, it is slated on November 29th.
With seven days left, how are retailers preparing for Black
Friday? Before delving into specific examples from top-notch retailers
worldwide, it is essential to look at shoppers and their expectations from this
upcoming spending season. This allows for planning better Black Friday
campaigns that drive results—if you haven’t done so yet.
- Prefers convenience over anything. Consumers
are shying away from shopping at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday.
Instead, more people are choosing the convenience of online shopping. Last
year, 37% of Black Friday sales came from mobile devices, according to TechCrunch.
However, retailers must not dismiss the fact that shoppers also browse in-store
to supplement retailer websites, search engines, catalogs, and social media.
- Exhibits strong buying intent. Because of
its recurring nature, consumers have already set aside budgets for Black
Friday. Consumer
Technology Association, as cited by Barron’s, actually consider the whole
month of November a major shopping spree, with 57% of shoppers having the
highest purchase intent for days after Cyber Monday.
- Shows susceptibility to spontaneous purchases.
Quick access to Black Friday deals online allows shoppers to compare
prices, search for deals, and buy products much faster and with ease.
Well-informed ready-to-buy consumers are more likely open to purchasing the
best-priced products even from retailers they haven’t bought from before—as
long as the deal is right.
Sound like your customers? Recently mentioned on Forbes
as one of five technology features driving sales on Black Friday and Cyber
Monday, visual search is a powerful end-to-end solution that supports shoppers
throughout their Black Friday hunt for bargains.
Visual search is a versatile retail digital solution that
taps into consumers’ inherent reliance on visual over textual information. From
scrolling through social media images to reading brands’ photo-heavy content,
visual search makes it easier and simpler for your shoppers to find the
products they encounter anywhere, anytime—with just a photo.
As the global interest in Black Friday rises, averaging 117%
growth in the last five years per Hult
International Business, retailers are now leveraging the power of visual
search to smoothen the consumers’ buying journey. Whichever way consumers
choose to shop, here are five examples of retailers leading the way with visual
search.
1. Making content shoppable
Shoppers can be anywhere on your website or mobile app on
Black Friday. Now is the time to make sure your content is shoppable and
updated. Don’t let dead links put a bump on your customers’ shopping journeys.
Next, a British
multinational retailer, makes sure their product content is not wasted.
Shoppers can easily click on the photo and are instantly directed to the
appropriate product page. This is made possible by automatic, deep tagging
which tags any product image with pieces available on stock.
Moreover, the same technology powers image search,
auto-suggest, spelling correction, and natural language processing capabilities.
This ensures that your customers get to the exact product they’re looking
for—whichever way they choose to search for it.
2. Keeping consumers active and engaged
Some shoppers have their eyes set on particular items on
Black Friday. But consumers never really plan the exact products they’re going
to buy. So, intelligent recommendation engines give you the opportunity to
capture shoppers’ attention and introduce relevant products.
Kohl’s, one of
America’s largest department store retail chains, ensures their customers are
hooked. Using visual search-enabled shop similar feature, they’re able to show
not only related products but also products that other people viewed and
bought, increasing a sense of affinity. The retail chain also helps shoppers
keep track of previous products viewed.
3. Surfacing accurate visual search results without difficulty
Gone are the days when people have to think really hard (and fail) to search for the right product keyword. With visual search, Black Friday shoppers enjoy the convenience of instantly finding and discovering visually similar products to the ones they’re interested in.
For instance, rarely do people have sufficient vocabulary to
describe the shapes and styles of prescription glasses and sunglasses,
prompting GlassesUSA to add a visual
search feature on their website. On Black Friday, this makes a
difference—enabling your customers to find more, shop more, and buy more.
4. Leveraging social media and community to power visual search
As more shoppers rely on social media for ideas on the latest
in fashion, incorporating user-generated content adds another layer of
familiarity and relatability. On Black Friday, this expedites purchase
decision-making, even encouraging spontaneous purchases.
Like Musinsa, a South
Korean online retailer, you can seamlessly match catalog products with
real-world images. Visual search also automatically detects all shoppable
products in an image, delivering to your shoppers highly relevant products.
5. Enhancing the in-store experience
While it is true that online shopping is popular nowadays,
brick-and-mortar stores play an equally important role on Black Friday. In
fact, a lot of consumers prefer to shop in-store for electronics and appliances,
raising the need for a consistent online and offline experience.
Black Friday shopping on Argos,
a British catalog retailer, is made simple because their product pages are
packed with details. They even put a side-by-side comparison between similar
items, as well as related product recommendations.
With visual search, you can bring the same feature in-store.
With in-store tablets, retailers can improve online and offline product
discovery, recommend style tips, and even support store associates with near
real-time inventory status that is crucial during Black Friday.
Visual search is an end-to-end solution that improves the
buying journeys of consumers and helps retailers boost revenue. All of the retailers
above are powered by Syte’s groundbreaking visual AI solutions. Learn more here.
Without a doubt, if visual search is a fit for your
shoppers, then it might be worth giving a shot. Black Friday is extreme enough
as it is. With visual search, you’re providing your customers with a more
convenient, engaging, and efficient shopping experience.