Transforming the vision of retail with AI: Visenze
Publication Type
Case
Publication Date
11-2020
Abstract
Set in April 2020, with the backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic, the case talks about the opportunities for visual search in the online retail market segment and beyond. Visense is a visual search software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions provider with a pay-as-you-use, API based, market solution that focuses on the retail segment.
Visenze had experienced a spike of about 30% in the usage of its solutions between January to April 2020. Predominantly, usage growth had extended across all item categories, with footwear, apparel and jewellery products being the top gainers. The presumed understanding from this trend was that with more time in hand for home browsing during the pandemic, consumers were exposed to more visual inspirations and objects of desire. This inclination had led them to explore ecommerce websites increasingly, paving a direct path to progressive sales conversions. Moreover, consumers had started to demand shorter purchase journeys, in the quest for a frictionless ecommerce experience. While Generation Y and Generation Z were the major users of ecommerce and visual search, older generations (Generation X and Baby Boomers) had also started to increasingly use online channels of shopping.
Visual search was firmly in a sweet spot with the promise of collapsing the conversion process from image to purchase in a few seconds. Amidst such market conditions, Oliver Tan, co-founder of Visenze, wondered if his firm required a new market strategy to tap on the latest opportunities. Should Visenze continue to focus on the retail segment? Should it target older consumers in the retail segment? Will its technology need to be enhanced to target the new consumer segment?
The case can be taught in undergraduate, graduate and executive education classes and is accompanied with a Teaching Note adapted for hybrid classrooms.
Keyword(s)
Artificial Intelligence, Visual Search, Online Retail, Machine-based Learning, Recommendation model, Software as a Service
Discipline
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Databases and Information Systems | Software Engineering
Research Areas
Data Science and Engineering
Data Source
Field Research
Industry
Retail
Geographic Coverage
Singapore
Temporal Coverage
2020
Education Level
Executive Education; Postgraduate; Undergraduate
Publisher
Singapore Management University
Case ID
SMU-20-0032
Additional URL
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/4646
Comments
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case and teaching note with your SMU login ID and Password via the following links:
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The CMP Shop, please access the following links:
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links: