Shownotes
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Amazon's latest AI-powered visual search features and what they reveal about the future of shopping.
Chris Walton and Chap Achen discuss whether shoppers want to search using aesthetics instead of keywords, how discovery is evolving, and why visual commerce could reshape customer expectations.
The conversation also examines the risks that come with AI-generated recommendations and whether these new experiences will actually improve conversion.
⏩ Tune in for the full episode here: https://youtu.be/BYxUBG-sSTQ
#Amazon #VisualSearch #AI #RetailTechnology #Ecommerce #ProductDiscovery #ArtificialIntelligence #RetailInnovation #RetailNews #OmniTalk
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcripts
Amazon has expanded its AI driven visual search capabilities in its shopping app, rolling out three new features that make product discovery a more intuitive image first experience.
Speaker A:According to Chainstore Age, Amazon offers new three new visual search functions inside its app.
Speaker A:First, real time AI generated images.
Speaker A:As customers search using descriptive language, AI generated images take shape in real time in the suggestions below the search bar, shifting and refining with each word typed.
Speaker A:Consumers can then tap a generated image and shop for visually similar products.
Speaker A:Second, shop by style curated outfit search.
Speaker A:Consumers searching for apparel and accessories will now see AI generated shoppable collages in search results labeled Shop by Style, organized by themes like urban luxe, soft elegance.
Speaker A:Tapping a collage leads to a curated page where consumers can shop items, explore similar products, or swipe between styles.
Speaker A:Third, visual selections suggestions.
Speaker A:When customers type a broad visual description like flannel shirt, Amazon surfaces descriptive visual filters while they're typing, allowing customers to select an image that refines their search and browse a narrated selection.
Speaker A:Chris, it has been a while since I remember you talking about visual search on this podcast.
Speaker A:So are you buying or selling Amazon's new visual search capabilities?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:Yeah, this is the problem I have when I bring a frequent listener on as guest host.
Speaker B:He knows the content and how we've been talking about it in the past.
Speaker B:You know, Chad, I'm still buying this.
Speaker B:I'm still buying this.
Speaker B:And I say that, you know, bringing people way back in history.
Speaker B:The very first video that I ever shot for omnitalk was of Amazon's visual search capabilities.
Speaker B:I walked into a Starbucks store, took a photo of the Starbucks coffee bag, and showed how Amazon could deliver the product for less than it would cost me to buy it directly from the Starbucks in which I was having my coffee.
Speaker A:Ouch.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:And I did that at Macy's too.
Speaker B:Macy's hated me for that.
Speaker B:So now when I think about the more robust capabilities that are at play here, you know, in the long run, particularly with AI going back to the universal car thing we talked at the beginning, and particularly with Buy for Me from Amazon coming into play, I think you have to take this really seriously.
Speaker B:Especially with Amazon, you know, essentially ostensibly making its own play to be kind of the first product search super app, you know, because, you know, you're buying it from Amazon back to what you said at the outset.
Speaker B:Chap.
Speaker B:I think that gives Amazon a very, you know, strong position here.
Speaker B:And the other thing I'll say too, producer Ellen and I were talking before the show, and so I'm curious to get her Take at the end of the show, too.
Speaker B:We were talking at the end, before the show about, like, what I heard at Shop Talk Europe and I heard Nadine Graff from Estee Lauder, their head of Europe for Estee Lauder, and she's like talking about how, you know, it's kind of the kind of the theme or the takeaway I got from her was kind of like, you know, we're probably gonna have a day where every retailer's on Amazon.
Speaker B:That's where this is headed.
Speaker B:Because there's kind of no reason not to be anymore if you think, if you start really going down that rabbit hole.
Speaker B:And so for that reason, I like this move because, you know, if I can just get, if I can just know that Amazon is going to have the products I want, they're going to fulfill it the way I want, then whether it's apparel, beauty, this type of capability will help, provided that they could do it in a way that people want to interact with it.
Speaker B:That's my take.
Speaker B:But what do you think?
Speaker A:Yeah, so the last thing you said there was probably the kicker that I'll get to in a minute.
Speaker A:And so your Starbucks example, like, you love what I love about Amazon's image recognition.
Speaker A:You take a picture of something, you find it on Amazon.
Speaker A:Wicked cool.
Speaker A:This announcement is not that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:This is AI image generation that helps you shop visually on the discovery side.
Speaker A:So you have a picture in your head, but you don't know the right words to describe it.
Speaker A:And then so this helps you get there.
Speaker A:It's another shopping tool.
Speaker A:We expect this from Amazon.
Speaker A:It's smart.
Speaker A:I agree.
Speaker A:I'm not sure it's a game changer that drives improved conversion and retention, but it is another reason to stay in Amazon's ecosystem because they make discovery and shopping easy.
Speaker A:Like it's another tool.
Speaker A:So kudos to them on that front.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think one interesting angle here to be careful about if I'm Amazon, so at Gartner, I cover retail return strengths.
Speaker A:And as you know, Chris, returns are not retailers, friends.
Speaker A:These days, return rates are near 20% of overall E commerce returns.
Speaker A:Like, it's a huge number.
Speaker A:And the research says that retailers are still in control of many of the reasons that things get returned.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And here we are adding another potential reason why someone's going to return something.
Speaker A:Because if the matching product inferred from the generated AI image isn't exactly right, I just created a return, right?
Speaker A:So, you know, Lord knows my wife would never let me use a feature like this to shop I just.
Speaker A:Right, so it.
Speaker A:Cool factor 100%.
Speaker A:But let's watch the execution because we are adding an AI generated image that is based off of some consumer's natural language to, like, then, then get me to the product.
Speaker A:Like, they're, we're adding a piece of technology in the middle on that discovery process.
Speaker A:That is brand new.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so how does that, how does that, does that create another point of friction or a possible return?
Speaker A:That's something I'm interested in seeing.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're adding an uncontrollable.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:Yeah, that, that's, that, that is something that's at play.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:You said you're gonna come back to it at the end.
Speaker B:What, what, what, what the, the kicker.
Speaker B:What was the kick.
Speaker B:What was your take on the kicker there, chap?
Speaker A:Well, the, the kicker being, yes, we're making discovery and shopping easy to stay in the ecosystem, but if we're adding confusion to that process, then, then, then I, then I get concerned.
Speaker A:And we, we already know there is friction.
Speaker A:Like today we get on Amazon and we have to sort through sponsored products.
Speaker A:Right, right.
Speaker A:I mean, you know, in order to get to the thing that we want to buy.
Speaker A:Let's be, let's be fair.
Speaker A:Amazon has created some friction in that process because we have lots of sponsored products that we have to get through.
Speaker B:Now.
Speaker A:This AI image generation feature is, should be an additive benefit to the consumer.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But it's, it's an unknown.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:How is it actually going to get executed?
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And that's, that's why I'm dying to get producer Ella in here at the end of the show, because I'm curious, like, how much do you look for apparel on Amazon now and would you think this type of feature is going to work?