Flipkart to use Singapore image search tech

Flipkart, India’s largest online marketplace, has started rolling out image searching on its mobile shopping app which it clams will revolutionise the shopping experience.

Flipkart is using ViSenze technology developed in Singapore for visual search and image recognition.

The image search system allows users to upload photos of fashion items and find similar products in terms of color, pattern or style inside the Flipkart merchandise database. This eliminates keywords guessing when searching for a product, thereby simplifying the search process.

Additionally, users browsing Flipkart’s catalogue can find visually similar products with a single tap. This brings offline-like shopping experience to mobile, acting as a virtual “shop assistant” who would show products of same color or design when users see something they like.

This simplified search experience comes handy on the online marketplace that lists over 30 million products and is accessed by 45 million registered users, 75 per cent of them via smartphones. These new features are currently in beta and are due to be released to all users in the upcoming days.

“We are proud we have managed to offer a solution that is also capable to handle unique needs for the Indian market such as ethnic wear,” said Oliver Tan, CEO and co-founder of ViSenze.

The tech company originates from an R&D spin-off from the National University of Singapore, and develops highly advanced visual search algorithms, combining state-of-the-art deep learning with the latest computer vision technology to solve search and recognition problems faced by businesses in the visual web space.

The company provides its visual technology APIs through a Software-as-a-Service offering to online retailers, content owners, brands and advertisers, app developers and digital publishers, enabling their platforms to recognise products for retrieval purposes or instant purchases.

“The partnership with Flipkart not only attests to the strength of our products, but also reinforces our mission to enable retailers to capitalise on smart innovations in visual technology to uplift conversions, while empowering shoppers with real-time ability to search without the hassle of keyword guessing. And we will continue to innovate in this area,” said Tan.

Key clients using the company’s image search service include internet retailers and marketplaces like Caratlane, Zalora (a Rocket Internet company), Reebonz, and Rakuten Taiwan, as well as patent search engines like PatSnap.