![How Visual Search Affects Retail mCommerce, September 2014 [TABLE]](https://trends.e-strategyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/180804.gif "Table - How Visual Search Affects Retail mCommerce")
Although effective general visual search remains elusive, Google, Facebook and others continue to invest heavily in image recognition, as explored in a new eMarketer report, “Visual Search & Recognition: On the Cusp of a New Era in Retail.” Amazon will continue to develop Firefly, while a host of smaller firms rapidly improve their visual search technologies. The future of visual search is more a question of when, not if. eMarketer expects visual search to become a mainstream tool for retailers within one or two years.
According to data from BloomReach based on performance on its platform, visual source gives a boost to various retail metrics. But are consumers clamoring for a way to find items based on pictures, instead of words? Retailer interest in visual search reflects their understanding of the changes brought on by mobile shopping. Read the rest at eMarketer.
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