Not satisfied with dominating a million other markets, Amazon is going after the clothing industry with a new Shazam-style feature that’ll help shoppers find outfits based upon photos.
So, if you see a celebrity rocking a certain look, the new AI-powered StyleSnap tool will offer an assist by providing Amazon links to items that “match the look in the photo.” If this sounds a lot like what ASOS successfully offers with its Style Match feature then you’d be perfectly correct.
However, in unveiling the new app at the re:MARS conference, the company seems to think it has something else up its sleeve. Perhaps the company’s AI nouse will give it the edge over competitors? The company’s consumer CEO Jeff Wilke said in a blog post on Thursday: “The simplicity of the customer experience belies the complexity of the technology behind it.”
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Here’s how it works. Users will be able to click the camera icon in the top right corner of the Amazon app, where they’ll see the StyleSnap option. Then it’s simply a case of taking a photo or uploading an existing snap. A little machine learning action later and you might see a presentation of similar items you can snap-up.
Amazon says that when providing the recommendation, the StyleSnap feature will also consider brands, prices and customer reviews. So if the pic you upload shows a Nike garment you may see more of those recommended.
In terms of how it works, Amazon says StyleSnap uses “computer vision and deep learning to identify apparel items in a photo, regardless of setting. Deep learning technology also helps classify the apparel items in the image into categories like “fit-and-flair dresses” or “flannel shirts.””
The launch of the app comes following a less successful effort to penetrate the clothing market via the Echo Look, which enabled users to take photos of their look to receive recommendations.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
