Most businesses already know how important searches are in driving traffic to websites, but visual searches are poised to change the way consumers look for information. Many big players in the digital world, including Pinterest, Google, and Amazon, have already developed capabilities to support the growing trend toward visual searches. These developments indicate that they believe they are not just going to be a fleeting trend, but rather a widespread change in how consumers will search for information online. 62 percent of millennials are craving visual search capabilities over any other new technology, and with this knowledge, companies can move closer to fulfilling this need by streamlining the way we search.
Pinterest Lens and the creation of visual search platforms
Pinterest was ahead of the curve, leveraging its incredible wealth of images and information to create a type of search engine all its own. This product, called Pinterest Lens, allows Pinterest users to snap a picture of items in everyday life. After doing so, the system will match it to pins in its database, allowing the searcher to find a plethora of information regarding a product, recipe, retail item, etc. This technology caters directly to consumers by allowing users to search quickly and remotely; it is also aligned with today’s culture that is driven by visual interpretations of the world around us.
With this new era of visual search, we are getting closer to achieving a level of speed and ease of search that consumers crave – one of instant gratification. 90 percent of information transmitted to the human brain is visual, and so it makes sense that visual searches appeal to our senses more than visual text. This – coupled with the added bonus of visual search tools being interactive versus traditional searches, which are not – makes it is easy to see why this trend is growing exponentially in our digital world.
Google Lens and its place in the visual search market
Google also has a version of a visual search tool, known as Google Lens, which allows users to use their smartphone camera as a “visual browser for the world around you.” This is an important indicator of a shift in the way people are using their phones in today’s world. A phone camera today is not only used to take pictures of friends and the outdoors, but also of business cards, text articles, and signs. It is estimated that the image recognition market will grow to a $25.65 billion industry by next year, a growth rate of 216 percent since 2014.
With all of the information we have available to us right now, it is clear that visual searches are not going anywhere any time soon and even look to be the search method of the future.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact the Compulse team at www.compulse.com today!