Farfetch taps Syte for visual search feature

Dive Brief:

Online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch is using Syte's artificial intelligence-based visual search technology to support the new image search feature for its iOS shopping app, according to a Syte press release.
The "See it, Snap it, Shop it" feature is an update to Farfetch's existing app, and was unveiled several weeks after Digiday reported that Farfetch had an in-house team working on a visual search capability, but also that the company was working with Syte as well.
"Visual search is the ultimate connection between on and offline inspiration," Sara Wood, Farfetch VP of product said in a statement. "By allowing our customers to show us what they are interested in we gain a deeper understanding of their needs, are able to inspire them with fashion based on what they are looking for, and enable a more personalized shopping experience."

Dive Insight:

Visual search technology is increasingly becoming commonplace in retail mobile apps. It may prove especially appealing with fashion shopping apps where consumers see an outfit either in social media or somewhere where they can take their own photo of it, and want to immediately "shop the look."

Pinterest has its own "Shop the Look" that is powered by its Pinterest Lens visual search technology, a technology that it also has supplied to Target for that retailer's visual search capability. Snapchat also has its own visual search technology that it has enabled to return search results for products on Amazon.

Elsewhere, Forever21 has had great success with its own visual search feature launched earlier this year, and H&M also has launched a visual search feature. Many other retailers have unveiled their own takes on visual search, but the efforts from fashion sellers like Forever21, H&M and Macy's may be pushing the technological effort with other apparel retailers.

Those coming late (or fashionably late) to the visual search party may not think there is much urgency to support the technology just yet. Despite frequent retailer launches over the last year or so, visual search traffic reportedly is still a very small percentage of all search traffic. Yet, this customer-engagement feature makes it easier for a loyal shopper of a particular retailer to find what they are looking for.