In this Fast Five Short we discuss how Google has introduced exciting new shoppable visual search features in Google Lens just in time for the holiday shopping season. The update allows users to easily identify products in photos and access comprehensive information, including pricing, deals, and reviews, all from one platform. With the new "circle to search" feature, consumers can seamlessly transition from browsing social media or watching videos to shopping with just a few taps. The hosts discuss how these advancements could significantly alter the way consumers shop for gifts and everyday items, potentially shifting market dynamics away from traditional retailers like Amazon. They emphasize the importance of retailers investing in this technology to ensure that their products are easily discoverable through visual search, highlighting a transformative moment in digital commerce.

Google's latest enhancements to its Lens visual search technology are set to revolutionize the way consumers shop online, particularly during the bustling holiday season. The podcast dives deep into these new features, which allow users to take photos of products and instantly receive comprehensive information about pricing and availability. The ability to search visually is becoming increasingly important, as evidenced by the significant percentage of shopping-related searches being conducted through Google Lens.

Among the new functionalities, the 'circle to search' feature stands out as a game-changer. This tool enables users to easily transition from casual browsing to focused shopping without the hassle of switching apps. The hosts express their excitement about how this capability allows for a seamless shopping experience, where consumers can quickly find what they like in their everyday lives, whether it's a trendy jacket or a unique piece of furniture. They share their own experiences with visual search, illustrating not only the convenience but also the potential for discovering new products that align with personal tastes.

Furthermore, the podcast addresses the competitive landscape, highlighting the rivalry between Google and Amazon in the realm of digital commerce. The hosts speculate on the long-term implications of Google's advancements, suggesting that its ability to gather and present information from a wide array of retailers may compel consumers to favor Google over Amazon for their shopping needs. As visual search technology continues to evolve, retailers will need to adapt quickly to these changes, ensuring their products are accessible and easily searchable. The ongoing dialogue about the future of online shopping sets the stage for significant transformations in how consumers engage with retail, making this a timely and relevant topic.

Takeaways:

• Google Lens is integrating new shopping features to enhance visual search capabilities, especially for holiday shopping.
• With Lens, users can now search for products using images and text simultaneously for better results.
• The introduction of 'circle to search' allows seamless transitions from browsing to image-based shopping.
• Retailers are adapting rapidly to changes in consumer search behaviors driven by Google Lens innovations.
• The competition between Google and Amazon for e-commerce dominance is becoming increasingly intense.
• The success of Google Lens will depend heavily on how retailers optimize their product visibility online.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Google
• Amazon
• Walmart
• Best Buy
• YouTube
• TikTok

Google has enabled new shoppable visual search features in time for the holidays, according to chain storage.

Wow.

Starting Friday, October 4 for Android and iOS devices in select countries, Lens is prominently displaying key information when it identifies the product in a user's photo.

This means, Anne, a consumer can tap the lens icon in the search bar and snap or upload a photo to instantly see details like price across retailers, current deals, product reviews, and where to buy in one place.

In addition, a new feature called circle to search.

Yep, I like the sound of that.

Lets lens users move from browsing the web, watching videos or scrolling social media into image based shopping without switching apps.

Consumers can long press the home button or navigation bar on select Android devices, then circle, scribble or tap a product on the screen to find similar options, and then add finally, there's a lot.

Going on because I know you want more.

Yes, I know how big of a fan.

If it has to do with Google lens.

I know.

Yes.

Okay.

And finally, lens also now makes it possible to search with text and images at the same time.

For example, Anne, you could take a photo of a chair with lens and add words to narrow your search like brown or velvet.

Because who doesn't want to ask themselves in velvet?

And for all you Seinfeld fans out there, so my question to you is this.

You are the biggest visual search fangirl that I know.

Absolutely.

Will this change how you shop for your friends and family and even for yourself this coming holiday?

Last week you talked about your headline of the year.

This might be one of my contestants in the running for headline of the year because especially this, like last couple days at grocery shop, I am shocked at how many companies that I've talked to here.

How many retailers, from club retailers to grocery retailers are starting to change the way that we search for product?

I mean, I think you ask how many people have gone on to Amazon or who have searched a question on Google recently and you get Gemini's results.

It's already training us.

And for me personally, I think surprisingly how quickly I'm getting used to expecting that quick search results.

When I search for coffee makers like Paymin Najati from own it, he does a really good job of explaining like what if you went into a best Buy store and you said, I'd like to know about your coffee makers.

That's not going to happen.

Figure it out for yourself.

And so what I love about what Google lens is doing here is that it's like making search so much simpler and it's really capitalizing on how I think we're going to start to search differently as consumers and retailers are getting the punchline to the joke because everybody's starting to explore this in one way or another because it does simplify the online search process.

I mean, come on.

Can you imagine if I was like, took a picture of your jacket, like, I'm going to do it today at the airport.

Like I took a picture of some woman's purse last night at dinner and I was like, ooh, I wonder who makes that bag.

Visual search.

Pull it up.

I want to know if they have that in red.

And then it's searching the entire database, which is the second part of it.

It's not just Amazon search now where you're getting the products on Amazon.

It's everything in the Google universe that you're shopping.

And that's the other key part of this that I think is so remarkable.

Right, right, right.

Yes.

You are the biggest Google lens fan there is.

But talk to me about it after the podcast, people.

So headline of the year, huh?

That's how big you think this is?

I think it's major.

Okay.

I would say more, the more the change to how we as consumers search for products being the like subtext.

I don't know if I'm there with you on that because, you know, visual search, you and I've been talking about it for a long time.

But the last point is what was really interesting to me, what you said, because we talk all the time on the show about the battle between Amazon and Walmart, and Jason Del Rey wrote a whole book on that topic.

Right.

And you even alluded to it in one of the previous headlines.

But the real battle when it comes to digital commerce is still between Google and Amazon, you know, here in the US particularly.

And TikTok is closing in on that too, to some degree.

YouTube, yeah, but Google.

But I think it was funny that Amazon also, if you remember earlier in the week, announced what was basically a virtual carbon copy of these same features.

I don't think they called it circle with search or whatever the hell it.

Was called, but it was like maybe something like that, Rufus's microscope or something.

Rufus laps it up or something.

I don't know.

I feel like Amazon gets left holding the bag on this because Google has so much more information available about commerce, about pricing, about where you can get things than Amazon does, that you wonder if over time more of the volume doesn't migrate towards them or through them to other retailers than Amazon.

So I don't like, so net.

Net.

I mean, two headlines here.

I don't necessarily like the position of Amazon in grocery and in the realm of ongoing search too.

Right.

I mean, they've been leading for so long, it's, people are catching up now.

I think the last thing I would say though, too, Chris, is again, this is all dependent on how much the retailers are investing in this too, from their side of things.

I mean, I think the experience of Google lens is only as good as the products that are served up when you do that.

Yeah.

You can only find that bag if it's available online with the picture.

Exactly.

So I think that's the other part of this too, where we're really going to have to start to see manufacturers and retailers start to work together really closely to make sure that their products are being served up in the right way.