ntly using it and which sectors it’s best suited to. What is visual search? Visual search serves as the link between spotting desirable items offline in ‘real life’ – whether in public places or magazines etc – and instantly shopping for them online. Visual search instantly presents consumers with the desired products, in addition to similar products of interest at different price points. It can save shoppers time, as it spares them from having to scroll through pages of products that moderately fall within the parameters set by keyword typing, or from having to figure out how to verbalise an item that is difficult to describe. Early pioneers In a classic case of technology waiting for a use, visual search capabilities have been around since the early 2000s. Smartphones and mobile e-commerce have increased the technology’s relevance, and v-commerce applications started appearing in 2014. In November of 2013, a Latin American telecommunications company, América Móvil, invested $60 million in Mobli, a mobile, image and video sharing tool. In mid-2014, UK-based Imperial Innovations invested £1.5 million in Cortexica, at that time one of the largest visual search companies, whose main product, FindSimilar, delivers clothing inventory search results when a user snaps a photo of clothing or accessories. US luxury fashion retailer Neiman Marcus introduced its “Snap.Find.Shop” app in October 2014 using the Slyce platform. 2017: The year visual search gets serious February 2017: Pinterest Lens launches. The goal was to offer a camera search that helps consumers discover online what they come across in the offline world. A related app ‘Style the Look’ provides ideas for what else to wear or match the scanned/desired item with (clothing, furniture etc), and thus upsell opportunities. In a ‘retro’ twist, as part of the one-year anniversary of Lens, in February Pinterest commenced rolling out a new ‘add text’ feature for the tool in the iOS version of the app.   August 2017: UK retailer Asos launches its Style Match tool in select markets (predominantly UK). In March 2018 Style Match launched in all Asos markets. September 2017: Target USA incorporates a Pinterest-Lens style visual search into their registry system. Fulfilment via both online and bricks-and-mortar stores. October 2017: Ebay launches an image search function for iOS, which surfaces listings that are a close match or visually similar to an uploaded image, as well as ‘Find It on Ebay’ functionality when browsing another website including Pinterest and blogs, by sharing the URL with Ebay. Nov 2017: Asian-based online fashion powerhouse Zalora launched a visual search app, the result of a partnership with AI company ViSenze Google released an update to its image search on mobile devices, which features badges on image results to let viewers know upon first glance whether the item featured is available for sale, among other options. Other users in 2017 American Eagle integrated Pinterest Lens into a chatbot messenger campaign. Tommy Hilfiger launched visual search at a fashion show and are expanding capabilities by launching standalone apps focused on visual search for items seen in print, online and in real life. Urban Outfitters launched a scan-to-shop app Kim Kardashian’s Screenshop app allows customers to take a screenshot on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat or any other app with photos, and identify shoppable apparel and accessory items in the photo. But it’s not just about apparel A Business Intelligence report using visual search technology provider Slyce data from late 2017 indicated that 39 per cent of visual search was for fashion, 31 per cent for furniture/home decor, 24 per cent for appliances and technology, and 6 per cent for FMCG and other consumer goods. Non-apparel users include: West Elm launched a Pinterest Style Finder, powered by Clarifai, that can understand users’ styles by connecting to their Pinterest boards. In 10 seconds, the system returns with a shortlist of furniture, rugs, curtains, mirrors and other items that reflect and appeal to the consumer’s individual aesthetic. US based online home furnishings and decor retailer Hayneedle launched an app, including visual search capability enabled by Slyce .The app also allows users to search based on their style preferences, save items to a favourites list and complete their purchases via Apple Pay. Users are also offered access to Hayneedle’s best prices and limited time offers in the ‘Deals’ section of the app. Another US based home furnishings online retailer, Wayfair, in May announced the launch of “Search with Photo,” a new feature that allows shoppers to quickly and easily find matches and similar styles from Wayfair’s selection of more than 8 million products. Home Depot uses a visual search app for the brand’s 35,000 in-store and 1 million online SKUS. Platform providers are key Aside from Google, Ebay and the aforementioned Cortexica and ViSenze, major platform providers retailers can tap into include: Slyce: as at end 2017, was working with around 40 retailers SyteAI: clients include Marks & Spencer, and Kohl’s. After raising $8m from investors including top Asian tech firms NHN, Line Corp. and Naver, SyteAI has a new API that makes adding visual search accessible to more e-commerce sites. ‘Visual Search for All’ is a white-label feature which can be integrated into retail websites or apps within 24 hours and lets shoppers upload photos saved on their phones. Alibaba Cloud: is working with a number of its customers to roll out the company’s visual search service. Australia’s The Iconic was the first customer using this service, dubbed ‘Snap to Search’. What are the pros and cons? Pros: Visual search saves shoppers time and closes sales. It provides incremental sales via inspiration from real life. It can help upsell via functionality such as ‘style the entire look’. V-search provides a helpful means to collect consumer data and understand how they are using the functionality, eg brands can track if shoppers actually click on the provided links and make purchases, and examine which styles they considered. Cons: Likely best for retailers with a large range across specific categories. Currently designed as an app for mobile devices, not laptops. May appeal more to millennials and Gen Zs than older age groups. Certain brands and categories lend themselves better to visual search than others. Caution required not to confuse shoppers by overwhelming them with too many discovery methods. Shoppers may require a previous relationship with a retailer and have downloaded that retailer’s search app. Where to from here? There’s enough scale in rollout – among US and UK retailers at least – to suggest that this is neither niche nor a passing fad, and is set to grow further. I suspect that as younger generations (millennials, generation Z) continue to move away from acquiring things and into experiences, visual search facilitates inspired easy shopping, they can get what they want, instantaneously, without really having to even look for it. Norrelle Goldring has 20 years’ experience in retail, category, channel and customer strategy, marketing and research, working in and with global retailers, manufacturers and research houses.