The evolution of online shopping

'Next generation of shopping' sites let customers on Web really see what they're getting

By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Searchme.Com

Enter a search for ski boots at searchme.com, and the result comes back as a flip-through view of entire Web pages. There's a magnification function for a closer look, and when you're ready to shop, a click on the page takes you to that site.

Photo by Taaz.Com

Taaz.com allows users to give themselves virtual makeovers. Upload your photo, change your hair and makeup, then the site displays the "before" and "after" views.

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On Taaz.com, women can upload photos of themselves and try on different makeup and hair styles.

On Viewzi.com, users can search for a term and view full Web pages.

Taaz and Viewzi are just two examples of how the Internet is evolving from text to visual-based.

The new Web sites also are trying to exploit consumer frustration in finding what they want through broader search engines or word-heavy Web sites.

Some of the new sites even employ object recognition technologies first used in the security industry.

"Our belief is that this is the next generation of shopping on the Web," said Munjal Shah, chief executive of Like.com, an object-recognition site that helps consumers refine their searches by matching shoes, handbags and jewelry to a person's preferred style, color, shape and pattern.

Shah's comments came at the recent Colorado Software & Internet Association DEMOGala, where many of these technologies were discussed.

XJ Wang, an analyst at the Yankee Group research unit, in a report this year characterized the evolution as one to a more personalized experience. As in, "we believe this is what you're looking for."

Such personalization and recommendations to consumers, he said, "will improve the user experience and drive higher online sales and potential advertising revenue."

Vipanj Patel is best-known in Denver as co-founder and managing partner of iSherpa, a venture capital firm that invests in wireless and other technology startups.

But Patel has spent much of the past year also serving as the chief executive of the virtual makeover startup Taaz. The site's parent company is Photometria Inc., which was founded by a professor and doctoral students at the University of California at San Diego. Taaz, its Web site says, is a Hindi word meaning fresh and is related to Taj, meaning crown and associated with beauty and love.

The idea of the Web site is for women to upload photos of themselves and start applying makeup, hair styles and other products to create a new look - all for free. And of course ultimately buy beauty products from advertisers.

"We're in the aspirations business, and we use analytics in the process," Patel said. "We want to help women create the perfect look that matches their personality. Many women want to experiment with different hairstyles and makeup products but don't because they are afraid of the unknown - how will this style or color look on me? That is the question we want to help women answer in a fun, easy and very realistic way."

He cited a survey by a beauty company that found that more than 80 percent of women don't apply makeup correctly.

Before launching the site last spring, the founding team at Taaz worked closely over a six-month period with women from the University of Colorado, universities in California and students at a Colorado high school. Patel estimates he personally talked to 250 to 300 women.

He recalled an airplane trip where he spent the entire two hours grilling a woman about what she would want to see from a virtual makeover site.

The result is a crisp, refined Web site that includes makeover and hairstyle tips under "Beauty Central," makeover galleries, contests and advertisements.

The Web site has gotten good traction so far, Patel said.

Many users have written positive reviews on Internet sites. The company has developed partnerships with media, cosmetic and retail companies, such as one with InStyle, the women's fashion magazine, to create a celebrity hairstyle application on instyle.com. Taaz recently partnered with Sephora to create a "Merry Mistletoe Makeover."

But it's too early to know whether Taaz will be a commercial success.

Patrick Koppula co-founded iLike, which helps consumers find music similar to styles they already like, and he is now chief executive of ffwd, which enables people to create their own video channels and share videos with friends.

Koppula described the Internet as changing from a static medium to an interactive experience.

"We can see things better when they're moving than standing still," he said.

Part of the trick though is knowing which categories can benefit from visual search technology and which are still adequate being word-based.

Shah said that while visual search is good for soft goods, it's not as useful for hard goods, such as digital cameras.

There, text still seems like the best way to go - consumers want to read reviews and examine technical specifications such as pixel resolution.

The new entrepreneurs aren't shying away from markets already saturated.

Search engine sites such as Viewzi and Searchme - which offers search results in the form of full Web pages, images, video and music - are going after a market dominated by Google.

"I love going after crowded markets," Shah said of Like.com's focus on shoes, handbags and jewelry. "They're crowded because there's money there."

The differentiator, he said, will be the technology. He employs object recognition technology first used by the security industry.

The photo-search platform was implemented by software engineers.

But Shah said he brought in product managers from companies like The Gap and Old Navy to "fine-tune the algorithms," or make the Web site easy and pleasing for consumers to use.

"I call it the Beauty and the Geek strategy," he said.

There's a long way for visual search to go before it delivers exactly what consumers want.

Shah said sites right now are "about as smart as a 2- or 3-year old. They're not as smart as an adult, and they won't be there for another 10 years."

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