ViSenze, a visual AI company powering retail solutions, announced the latest findings from their annual research; Visual Shopping Trends Report 2020 (US, UK, China), which reflected the impact of Covid-19 on consumers’ online and offline shopping behavior. The company’s 4th annual survey included responses from over 1500 consumers in the US and the UK, and over 600 consumers in China. The latest survey was the first that addressed consumer behavior in China, and we saw areas of similarity as well as a few points of difference compared to the US and the UK.
The survey showed that consumers across the 3 regions are spending more time and money shopping online for non-essential items (such as fashion) due to Covid-19. 86% of consumers in China and 65% of consumers in the US and the UK are spending more time shopping online. 79% of consumers in China and 43% of consumers in the US and the UK are spending more money shopping online.
Convenience drives the shift towards online shopping
68% of consumers in China and 54% of consumers in the US and the UK prefer shopping online compared to in-store. While ‘recommendations & reviews’ is the top reason Chinese consumers shop online, ‘finding items quickly’ is the top reason for those in the US and the UK.
‘Visual search’ is the feature consumers in the US and the UK most want to have available when shopping online. Meanwhile in China, ‘Visual recommendations’ is the most desired feature for consumers shopping online.
Visual AI improves product discovery as text search alone is not effective enough
Consumers in the US, the UK, and China all highlighted common challenges with using text search to find products. Consumers have to be very specific with text search, they get too many search results, and it often leads to image results anyway. Consumers said they rely on visual AI to help them discover products quickly in these 3 ways – using visual product search on retailer websites, using image search on their smartphones, and buying directly from social media platforms.
Recommendations remain the most influential way for consumers to discover and buy products
93% of consumers in China purchase frequently using product recommendations compared to 70% of consumers in the US and the UK. Visual recommendations is the top choice for consumers in all 3 regions. While ‘Complementary recommendations’ takes the 2nd spot for consumers in the US and the UK, ‘Style recommendations’ is the 2nd choice for consumers in China.
“Consumers evolved their behavior in 2020 and increased both time and money spent shopping online.” said Brendan O’Shaughnessy, Chief Commercial Officer, ViSenze. “As this shift continues, visual AI technology will become more and more critical for retailers to adopt, to deliver differentiated consumer experiences, particularly in enhancing Product Search and Discovery.”
About ViSenze:
ViSenze is the leading Visual AI solutions provider for retailers, brands, and marketplaces. The company started 8 years ago with a mission to make the visual world more searchable and understandable. Today, ViSenze works with over 900 global brands such as Rakuten, TOD’S, Uniqlo, Zalora and Urban Outfitters to drive millions in incremental revenue and grow their retail business. Our AI powered visual search, recommendations and product tagging solutions shorten the conversion path for consumers both online and in-store. ViSenze has a global presence with offices across the US, Ireland, China, Japan, Brazil, Russia, and Singapore. For more information, contact us.
Quick facts about ViSenze:
- Process over 500 million visual product searches every month
- Only Visual AI service provider to be natively integrated into 5 major Smartphone Brands (SAMSUNG, LG, OPPO, HUAWEI, VIVO), reaching over 300 million consumers
- The ViSenze Shopping Network presents over 400 million product SKUs from more than 1000 merchants
- AWS Technology Partner of the Year 2020
- CB Insights Retail Tech 100 (most innovative B2B retail tech startups 2020)
