Farfetch adds visual search feature to enhance experience

Farfetch has launched a visual search feature called See It, Snap It, Shop It. With the in-app tool, shoppers can upload an image of a product they want, then the app analyzes it and offers either the specific product or a similar style through the Farfetch online retail site.

With this new tool, Farfetch is aiming to enhance its discovery system and allow shoppers to shop any product they want through the site.

“Where people look for inspiration is now so varied, we believe it will really help bridge the gap from the point of inspiration… to the point of purchase on Farfetch,” Sara Wood, vice president of product at Farfetch told Glossy. “Visual search is the ultimate connection between on and offline inspiration,’ said Wood. “By allowing our customers to show us what they are interested in, we gain a deeper understanding of their needs, and are able to inspire them with fashion based on what they are looking for and enable a more personalized shopping experience.”

Farfetch joins e-commerce retailers such as Amazon, Target and ASOS in its introduction of a visual search tool.

Amazon teamed with Snapchat to launch its visual search feature earlier this year, allowing shoppers to point their Snapchat cameras at a product or barcode to search the item on Amazon, and Target’s partnership with Pinterest for a similar feature launched a year earlier. Asos has a Style Match visual search tool that allows shoppers to search via uploaded images. This was made available to all shoppers at the beginning of this year, after about seven months of trying the feature out in select markets.

Retailers have been opting toward this type of search as it adds a level of ease to the consumer’s online shopping experience. The tool is time saving, increasing the likelihood of purchases being finalized. Shoppers are looking for a convenient, speedy process when opting for online retail, and finding what they want with ease allows this.