Delivering search results that match what consumers are
looking for is a strong determinant of an eCommerce’s site success. If people
can’t find the products they are interested in, retailers don’t make a sale and
consumers get frustrating and unsatisfactory user experience.
Nielsen Norman
Group has been tracking the progress of eCommerce search for the past 17
years, analyzing more than 500 queries across three studies. In 2018, the latest
research revealed that “search success rates have improved steadily, when
counting both the overall successful searches […] and those searches that
returned correct results the first time when the participants used the search.”
However, even with the positive results, the longitudinal
study still found challenges for eCommerce search. In particular, it mentioned
“lack of support for typos, errors, or common keyword synonyms” and “poorly
executed filters (irrelevant attributes, bad functionality, empty result sets).”
Using visual search to augment standard search (and more)
With traditional, keyword search limitations preventing the
growth of revenue and smooth user experience, visual search proves to be a
suitable solution.
As defined by Gartner analysts Robert Hetu and Kelsie Marian, “Visual search is the
use of AI technologies such as computer vision to replicate the common human
task of looking for something in a cluttered visual environment. Consumers and
retail associates use images obtained from various sources, as well as those
created from their physical environment, to enable shopping for exact matches
and reasonable alternatives.” (Hype Cycle for Retail
Technologies, 31 July 2019)
Providing consumers with the ability to upload an image into
a search engine and receive visually similar results, AI-powered visual search
is poised to:
- Improve digital shopping
capabilities
- Enable more targeted and
accurate results
- Support future customer
shopping success
As the technology expands to include multiple use cases from
shopping for similar looks to extracting explicit and structured product tags,
retailers can expect visual search to:
- Better understand customer
preferences
- Enhance customer service
- Improve the ability to select
product assortment to replenish
The Gartner research advises, “As we
anticipate this technology to move quickly through the Hype Cycle, there is an
urgency to identify and partner with a visual search AI provider, to test and
build out robust visual search capabilities across all channels. Look for
vendors that provide the more targeted search capabilities that support
accurate search. Look for use cases that will also support internally facing
business processes with more accurate product attributes for merchandising and
marketing.”
Syte was mentioned as a Sample Vendor for visual search in
the report. To read more of the Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2019, Gartner
subscribers can click here.
Besides augmenting text-based search, Syte’s visual AI technology
offers an end-to-end solution for the entire product search and discovery
journey—backend and frontend, online and offline. With accurate textual and
visual search results, retailers empower consumers with a more intuitive and
seamless shopping experience, leading to increased sales and customer
satisfaction.
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select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation.
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