ASOS rolls out ‘visual search’ for UK iOS app users

Written by Anthony Strzalek

10/08/2017

ASOS has announced that visual search on the ASOS iOS mobile app is now available to all its UK customers and will be coming soon to the ASOS Android app.

From this week, users of the online fashion retailer’s app can instantly search through 85,000 products using just a photo. Customers will be able to ﬁnd just what they’re looking for – whether starting with a screenshot from Instagram, a picture of their friend or a photo taken of a magazine page.

The visual search tool is currently shown as a camera icon that appears in the ASOS app search bar. With just one tap, customers are able to quickly snap an item of clothing they see someone wearing, and have the search tool ﬁnd similar products. Users can also upload a photo from their camera roll – for example, a screenshot from social media – and use that to search through visually similar products.

Today, nearly 80 per cent of ASOS’ UK trafﬁc and approximately 70 per cent of its UK sales comes from a mobile device. People spend 80 minutes per month, on average, in the ASOS app.

Andy Berks, ASOS’ digital product director, said: “We know this is where our customers are and it’s how they interact with us every day, so we’re always looking for mobile-native ways to make their experience even better.

“Ever since ASOS was founded, we’ve been driven to delight our customers and improve their lives in little ways by using innovation. But our technology has always been in their service, and never just for its own sake.

“Our latest tech, visual search, is a case in point. Inspiration can strike you anywhere and at any time – whether it’s a photo in a magazine, scrolling through an Instagram feed or even on a local street corner. Now, with just a couple of taps of their mobile device, ASOS customers can capture that ﬂeeting moment and instantly search our 85,000 product lines to ﬁnd the item that’s inspired them – or similar – at just the right time.”