Amazon is doing a lot these days, but first and foremost, it has always been an online retailer. The platform is the go-to spot for buying basically anything you want and having it delivered to your doorstep, though there is an awful lot of junk and scams. Now, Amazon is trying to make it easier to find what you're looking for, with improvements to product searching.
Amazon has unveiled a series of updates to improve the shopping experience on its platform. For starters, the company is integrating image and text search to allow people to effortlessly find items, even when they're unsure about the exact details. When you need something like a replacement part for a household appliance but can't recall its name, you can snap a photo of it and then add extra context such as the appliance's brand in order to narrow down your search. Amazon's visual search algorithms, in addition to the text you gave it, will then provide the best matches from their extensive inventory.
It's not the only improvement, though. Another enhancement is an extension of the "View in Your Room" feature, which now covers tabletop items. This feature leverages augmented reality to virtually place furniture, lamps, home décor, and small appliances like coffee makers on tabletop surfaces within your home. You also have sales trend information — letting you view data indicating a product's recent popularity directly in search results and on product detail pages. This complements traditional indicators like reviews and Best Seller status.
Additionally, Amazon's mobile experience has become even more user-friendly with the "Find-on-Amazon" feature. If you spot a product you like while browsing online, simply hit the "Share" button and choose the Amazon app — just share it like you would share a funny picture to your messages' app. And if you want to reorder a previous purchase, Amazon now presents these items prominently in search results, complete with the date of your last purchase. For frequently reordered items, a thumbnail image appears in the search bar, streamlining the reordering process.
You might be seeing these features within the next few weeks. Don't be surprised if you don't see all of them, or if only some of them show up — that's how rollouts work, after all.
Source: Amazon via TechCrunch