The ‘Shazam’ of shopping

Want it? Snap it. Find it. Buy it. 

The world of ecommerce and fashion has got very exciting for all you tech-savvy shopaholics out there! Imagine when you are walking down the street and you love that woman’s dress or that man’s shoes. Then imagine, taking a quick snap of that dress or shoe, uploading it to an app on your phone, to then be presented with that exact same item or similar products which you can buy there and then? Enter the innovative image search technology apps which can enable you to do just this!

Using pictures to shop makes it a whole lot easier, saving the hassle of typing in searches on your keyboard until you eventually come across what you want!

Image source: www.drapersonline.com

With apps available free on most smartphones, the concept combines visual recognition technology with a social community, which can be seen on the most popular app Asap54. Launched in February, the app has been downloaded over 30,000 times and has over 200 major retailers signed up to it including Topshop, Harrods and Net-a-Porter! This app goes the extra mile with a personal shopper service, so if you fail to find a suitable match, a team of personal shoppers will then scour the web for alternatives! Amazing!

So how does it work? Firstly, users snap and and upload a picture of the item they are after – and this can be a picture in a magazine, on the street or even a swatch of fabric! Next, you select the type of item you are looking for (so dress, shoes, skirt etc.)  Then the app searches its database to find an exact match to your criteria or suggests an alternative product. You are then able to buy there and then! Sounds quick and simple right? That’s because they are designed to be faster and easier than search engines!

Asap54 is just one of many apps, with FindSimilar, Zalando, Snap Fashion all offering a similar service

“Fashion is very visual, so describing something you are trying to search for is very difficult and this is a way around that. People also often don’t just want an exact match, but something similar, so they could end up buying something they didn’t know they wanted” says Iain McCready, Chief Executive of Cortexica’s FindSimilar for Fashion app. 

So what do you think of a ‘world made shoppable’ by these apps? Here at CVUK, we love the idea as it allows you to take inspiration from anywhere! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @CVUKGroup