Enhancing the shopping experience on Google Product Search
Posted:
Thursday, September 22, 2011
[cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog]
Shortly after joining Google from Like.com, my team and I developed and launched Boutiques -- a fashion website offering women new ways to browse and shop for apparel. Today, we’re taking the features that shoppers absolutely love from Boutiques and incorporating them into Google Product Search -- so millions of people can use them every day. This is the first in a series of improvements we’re making to Google Product Search leveraging the computer vision and machine learning technology developed by the team we affectionately call our fashion and computer nerds. We hope you’ll enjoy what’s new today, and what’s around the corner for the upcoming holiday season. A
Redesigned Homepage The first thing you’ll probably notice is our new homepage. This new look and feel is designed to inspire and facilitate easy, enjoyable browsing and shopping.
An update on Boutiques.com and related properties
As we continue to integrate technology and lessons learned from Boutiques.com into Google Product Search, we will be redirecting shoppers from Boutiques.com to Google Product Search. The former Like.com team, alongside the Google Product Search team, will drive new ideas for apparel shopping through one unified product. The team is excited to be a part of the shopping experience on Google and have our work displayed to millions of users every day.
If you’re a user of Boutiques.com and other Like.com websites, you’ll soon receive an email with instructions for saving your data before those websites are transitioned on October 14. If you have any questions please email us at boutiques-feedback@google.com.
Like other teams that have joined Google, we’re thrilled with the opportunity to showcase our experience and technology to all of Google’s shoppers.
Posted by Burak Gokturk, Like.com Co-Founder and member of the Google Commerce team
Shortly after joining Google from Like.com, my team and I developed and launched Boutiques -- a fashion website offering women new ways to browse and shop for apparel. Today, we’re taking the features that shoppers absolutely love from Boutiques and incorporating them into Google Product Search -- so millions of people can use them every day. This is the first in a series of improvements we’re making to Google Product Search leveraging the computer vision and machine learning technology developed by the team we affectionately call our fashion and computer nerds. We hope you’ll enjoy what’s new today, and what’s around the corner for the upcoming holiday season. A
Redesigned Homepage The first thing you’ll probably notice is our new homepage. This new look and feel is designed to inspire and facilitate easy, enjoyable browsing and shopping.
Better Ways to Shop, Starting with Dresses
By increasing the size of each image, simplifying much of the text around the images, and lightening the text color, we’ve emphasized the more visual aspects of apparel shopping. We’ve also integrated the most popular search refinements from Boutiques. Using the same innovative machine learning and computer vision technologies we developed for Boutiques, you can now browse dress collections that match the color, silhouette and genre you desire.
Explore visually similar styles
And because we think browsing and discovering new items is what makes shopping fun, we’ve added a feature to Product Search that makes it easy to do just that. Let’s say a particular dress catches your eye. Now, you can explore similar styles and discover new designers by clicking on that dress and viewing dozens of visually similar ones. We think you’ll find this fun --and addictive!-- and we hope it brings that element of surprise and discovery we all love with brick-and-mortar shopping to the online shopping experience.
And because we think browsing and discovering new items is what makes shopping fun, we’ve added a feature to Product Search that makes it easy to do just that. Let’s say a particular dress catches your eye. Now, you can explore similar styles and discover new designers by clicking on that dress and viewing dozens of visually similar ones. We think you’ll find this fun --and addictive!-- and we hope it brings that element of surprise and discovery we all love with brick-and-mortar shopping to the online shopping experience.
As we continue to integrate technology and lessons learned from Boutiques.com into Google Product Search, we will be redirecting shoppers from Boutiques.com to Google Product Search. The former Like.com team, alongside the Google Product Search team, will drive new ideas for apparel shopping through one unified product. The team is excited to be a part of the shopping experience on Google and have our work displayed to millions of users every day.
If you’re a user of Boutiques.com and other Like.com websites, you’ll soon receive an email with instructions for saving your data before those websites are transitioned on October 14. If you have any questions please email us at boutiques-feedback@google.com.
Like other teams that have joined Google, we’re thrilled with the opportunity to showcase our experience and technology to all of Google’s shoppers.
Posted by Burak Gokturk, Like.com Co-Founder and member of the Google Commerce team
Great website! Congrats from a fashion blogger.
ReplyDeleteAs a frequent user of Google Shopping for many years, I absolutely hate the re-design. The beauty of Google has always been in its simplicity and ease of use. Now, I am greeted with obtrusive screen size ads every time I simply want to do a product search.
ReplyDeleteA person who uses Google Shopping generally already has a purpose when they arrive there - and doesn't need to be blasted with such giant ads!!! The sidebar ads were helpful and tolerable. THIS is pure corporate advertising greed!
I hate the redesign so much that I have switched to Google Advanced Product Search just to avoid it. I plan to never view your product search home page again!
Beautiful is one thing - but USEFUL, it is not!!!
One additional comment - there's a HUGE assumption being made here that people using PRODUCT SEARCH are there to shop for clothes.
ReplyDeleteI am not interested in 9-5 fashions (or pointy shoes!!!) 99% of the time that I make use of Google Product Search, it is NOT to look at fashions.
This site would have been much more useful as a separate Google link, as it was before with Boutique.com Then, at least you would have targeted the right audience!
I was an early adapter to online shopping.
ReplyDeleteIn the year 2000, when most people were afraid to shop online, I bought a 36" Sony TV and had it delivered to my home.
All of my significant purchases were researched online, most consistently using Google Product Search/Google Shopping.
With a household income in excess of $400,000 per year, I have made many significant purchases online, including a 55" Sony HDTV, dozens of computers, monitors, laptops, a laser printer, All-Clad cookware, Kitchen Aid Trash Compactor, Mephisto Shoes, solar lighting, designer chandeliers, fashion bedding, air purifiers and many other high-ticket items, as well as everyday household items. I even order dog food, office supplies, detergents, food products and K-Cup coffees online. And I prefer to do all of my holiday shopping online.
I don't ever recall wishing Google Product Search would lead me to fashions!
A fashion showcase is the wrong use of Google Product Search!!!