Most of us have been there at one point or another. You are out for drinks, waiting for the subway or at the gym and something catches your eye: A unique pair of wing-tipped shoes, a dress that is just the right hue of green for an upcoming wedding, a smartphone case that looks as if it could withstand the wrath of your toddler.
Now, consumers can snap a photo of such coveted items and automatically scan 30 retailers to see if they carry it. The app, which just launched for Google Inc.’s Android mobile operating system, is called Pounce and it’s from visual product search platform Slyce Inc. Pounce is also available on Apple Inc.’s iOS mobile operating system.
Pounce enables users to take a picture of any desired object or upload a screenshot from visual sharing sites such as Pinterest and Instagram, and then search exact or close matching items from more than 30 major retailers. The app can also search from pictures taken of products in magazines and on billboards.
Retailers participating in the Pounce app include Best Buy Co. Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Urban Outfitters Inc., Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., Express Inc. and Banana Republic, which is owned by Gap Inc. Pounce offers access to the online product catalogs of these retailers through an affiliate network. The retailers pay Slyce a commission each time a consumer purchases after using the app. The affiliate fees vary by retailer but usually fall between 5% and 10% of the purchase price, says Slyce CEO Mark Elfenbein. Retailers that sell higher-margin products, such as luxury items, also have higher affiliate fees.
“The momentum we’ve seen for use of our Slyce technology and our consumer app, Pounce, are strong indicators that consumers are turning to their mobile devices to enhance the shopping experience,” Elfenbein says. “Providing a frictionless journey is essential to further propelling this growth.”
Pounce, which is free for consumers, delivers product search results to shoppers across a range of categories, including fashion, home décor, hardware, consumer electronics and toys. Slyce also recently launched a fashion-only search app called Craves, which can search for close-matching products from over 100 select retailers from a snapped or uploaded image.
“People may struggle with finding similar products and clothing they see in shops and on the street, because it’s complex to turn a visual image into a search,” says Avital Yachin, chief product officer for Slyce.
Slyce also sells a visual search platform that’s integrated into the apps of major retailers such as Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Toys ’R’ Us. That platform works similar to Pounce and Slyce, but within a retailer’s app.
Other retailers such as Zappos.com offer related services. For example, Zappos last year launched Ask Zappos to provide one-on-one personalized recommendations. Consumers take a photo of a shoe or product they’ve seen and liked, and send it to Zappos by text or e-mail, or by tagging it on Instagram with #AskZappos. A Zappos stylist replies with information on the same or similar products culled from the Zappos catalog—and from other online retailers. Zappos started with a two-person team of stylists, but quickly had to hire more to keep up with demand, the retailer says.