Dive Brief:
- Neiman Marcus is extending the “Snap. Find. Shop.” search function of its smartphone app to more departments in its stores to help shoppers find products through visual recognition.
- Powered by Slyce, the mobile function allows shoppers to take a picture of a product, then locates that item or similar items in the Nordstrom inventory.
- Slyce technology incorporates up to 25 characteristics to identify products, and enables thousands of mobile searches per day for Neiman Marcus, Home Depot, J.C. Penney and other retail partners.
Dive Insight:
Neiman Marcus is extending its mobile functionalities to enhance what is already a huge sales driver for the company—e-commerce. Helping locate items shoppers can see but can’t necessarily describe, the company’s “Snap. Find. Shop.” function allows users to take a photo of a product and search the Neiman's site for it and similar items. After testing the visual search function successfully in women’s handbags and shoes since last October, Neiman Marcus will roll it out throughout its men’s and women’s departments.
Digital channels—and particularly those powered by visual identification, with the company being an early adopter of Pinterest’s “Buy” buttons—are an important part of Neiman’s strategy. According to paperwork filed last month in advance of its IPO, 75% of Neiman Marcus customers’ luxury spending is digitally influenced. E-commerce including mobile made up 25.8% of the chain’s sales during the first three quarters of 2015, up from 2014’s full-year results of 23.9%.
