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Pinterest Lens Continues To Change Visual Search

Online shopping is one of the easiest ways to find exactly what you want, especially when you're looking for a very specific item. You simply type in the words into the search box or tap on the microphone icon and say the words, then hit search.

Pinterest on Tuesday made the process even easier. The Lens feature, which allows consumers to snap a photo and upload the screenshot into the Pinterest app, will now identify more similar online products to purchase, with more than 2.5 billion objects across home and fashion Pins, according to the company.

The updated features allow users to take a new photo or upload one from their camera roll.

Users can save photos from Lens, turn them into a Pin and save them to a Board, allowing the person to come back to it any time. The photos also will “power” future recommendations, thanks to computer vision technology.

The upgrades are a results of their recent research. The findings suggest that 80% of Pinners begin with visual search when shopping, versus 58% of non-Pinners. 

When shopping online for clothing or furniture, more than 85% of respondents place more importance on visual information than text information, and 55% of consumers say visual search is important for developing their style and taste.

Some 49% of Pinners say they develop a better relationship with brands they love through visual search, and 61% say that visual search elevates their experience while in-store browsing.

Google last year released a similar features for its Lens visual tool, and then added it in the search bar of iOS mobile devices next to the Google voice microphone icon that offers voice.

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