Syte shares new visual concept during Shoptalk 2018

Every year, Shoptalk launches a retail conference for fashion industry insiders to come together to discuss both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce business. This year's event had over 7,500 expected attendees, according to the organization's website. Syte attended this year's event in hopes of educating the retail market on the important of visual search. The company worked to explain how Syte can be used to help companies gain insight on what people in retail are looking for in the upcoming year. Fashionunited chatted with Eliana Atia, marketing manager for the brand, through email for more information on this new concept.

This year, Syte participated in speaking at Shoptalk 2018. How does this event 2018 help retailers in the fashion industry?

Shoptalk brings together the largest retailers in the world and connects them to companies that enhance their efficiency and their users' experience.

Your website states that Syte uses 'visual search to create new immediate revenue streams that attract millennial users for customers and partners.' Can you help elaborate on this?

Syte provide retailers with a visual search camera button. So, in addition to textual search users can upload an image to a retailer's app or mobile web and search within their inventory for the most visually similar results. This means you can upload images from Instagram of your favorite influencers or just a jacket your friend is wearing, and shop for the most visually similar item available within your favorite retailers. The camera button is our main focus but depending on the need of the user, we can offer an array of visual search offerings for retailers, publishers and app providers.

Another interesting offering we have been working on for retailers in something like a 'reverse Instagram search' that allows users to upload and image of an item they like and receive hundreds of photos of Instagram influencers wearing the same item. From there you can get inspired by how they chose to style it and shop every item of the outfit. So let's say you like this distressed denim skirt but you don't know what you want to wear with it; you just upload it to your favorite retialer's site and get hundreds of photos of inspiration. You decide you love the shirt Selena Gomez wore with her denim skirt, so all you do is tap the shirt and get all the similar shirts available within that retailer's inventory.

What are some of the partners that you work with currently with this visual search concept?

Our visual search camera button is live with Boohoo and soon to be live on NastyGal and BoohooMen, we also power Kim Kardashian's Screenshop app and will be live on Samsung's new RCS Messaging as a Platform on their upcoming phone.

How do you think the visual aid of a 'search camera button' can help create a shoppable environment?

Humans are visual beings. You know when you like something but it's difficult to explain with words the exact item you are envisioning. So now, all you have to do is upload an image and you will receive either the exact item or the most similar thing available. Even if the exact thing you want is vintage or from last season, you can get inspired by similar items.

Why do you think this is important for the fashion industry?

This is going to be revolutionary in both the influencer and retail market. You can see our tech live on Senstylable and Boohoo's mobile web and I think it is obvious how this will change the way consumers shop.

Any plans for the future with Syte?

Syte is hugely passionate about what we do. We are lucky because we have a product that the market not only wants, but needs. Retailers understand that AI is where the future is headed and Syte is happy to assist in taking the industry there.

Photo Source: Syte