Visual cues play an essential role in creating desire and influencing the decision-making process of consumers. In our everyday life, we are exposed to visual elements and people that may inspire us and trigger the start of our shoppers’ journey from discovery, to desire, to possession. These potential triggers can include an image on social media, a colleague at work or a stranger on the street or in the gym.

Many retail publications have written about the opportunities provided by visual search for retailers and brand owners. Technology vendors praise their ability to process images and identify the product using algorithms and machine learning. Technology is promising to help to generate incremental sales by guiding customers to online stores, taking advantage of a consumers’ impulse to purchase a specific item.

The role of social media

Social media platforms see the potential to manifest their share of brand owners advertisement revenue. They promote their role as the essential link between the consumer and the product. Social media doesn’t just benefit from a unique understanding of the preferences of consumers. The ability to continuously learn from interactions with content and the platform, they can influence the content they serve to consumers and which products and stores they link from a specific image.

Social media becomes the shopping mall; the way you use influencers and technology to link products becomes your window display.

Social media with visual search technologies provides a vast opportunity but also a challenge for brand owners and retailers. Serving the right and relevant content through social media channels requires highly accurate information about the availability and location of products across your networks of stores and warehouses. The risk is not limited to the acquisition cost paid. Out-of-stock items can create disappointment and disrupt the journey. Not only that, but the product is also linked to a platform where consumers can publicly voice their frustration and share their feedback.

Inventory Intelligence is the foundation

Many companies adopted RAIN RFID to create visibility and improve stock accuracy, future-proofing their operations to enable advanced use cases. As exciting as visual search is, the more critical it is to understand how to get ready to leverage this and other technologies. Read more about RAIN RFID in our blog.