Every time we see a guy with a cool pair of sneakers or a fancy watch we always wonder “what brand is he wearing?”, “where did he buy it from?” and we would constantly rack our brains trying to figure it out.
Snapchat and Amazon have announced a partnership in order to help us figure out just that by rolling out a “Visual Search” feature which will make it easier to identify a certain product and allow us to purchase it then and there via Amazon.
You’re probably wondering the inner workings of such technology; so basically the idea is for Snapchat to turn their camera into a particular type of cursor that has the ability to identify products and helps the consumer buy it on the spot. The Snapchat app is enabled to recognize an item or a barcode and when it does an Amazon card will appear within Snapchat that will allow our consumer to be lead to Amazon’s app or website which will allow them to purchase that specific product with ease. Quite efficient if you ask me!
Search via visual is not new to the digital scene since big names in the industry such as Under Armour and CoverGirl also incorporated it, but they were limited to specific products under their brand. But the fact that Amazon is a part of this move with Snapchat almost gives it a seal of mass adaptation. It is definitely going to be interesting to see how the “visual search” feature takes off. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if a bunch of apps come up with a link to search across all major stores. Either way digitally, it’s an interesting step into a more efficient direction for consumers.