Snapdeal goes a step ahead of Flipkart and Amazon with this one! Launches image-based product searching website

With Blippar finally landing on Indian stores, and Flipkart spending big on tech recruits, the budding multimedia searches category is expected to heat up. Snapdeal today launched a new fashion portal Findmystyle in a step towards replicating the offline store experience.

“In our goal to build the best consumer experience and seller ecosystem, we believe in different strokes for different folks”, Anand Chandrasekaran, Chief Product Officer, Snapdeal says.

The idea is a brainchild of a tech startup called Fashiate that Snapdeal acquired back in March 2015. The new portal offers no separate buy option or payment integration. Buyers would be redirected to the Snapdeal website if they confirm a purchase.

The new portal would be available as a website and not as a separate app. Chandrasekaran insists this saved them the time to develop an app and get it approved. When asked why they didn’t integrate this into Snapdeal, Anand says, “The stakes are very high for something to be on Snapdeal. We’re launching this as a technological playground to meet our customers where they are.” There are also no options to filter according to brands, material or a feature to morph one’s face to clothing.

When asked if the technology can end up clubbing seemingly disparate products, Nikhil Rasiawasia, Snapdeal’s Principal Scientist said, “No technology is fool proof. This is not to measure how good the technology is. We’d rather help a few customers than not do anything at all.”
Snapdeal is looking to invest around $100 million in its Bangalore-based Multimedia Research Lab over the next 2-3 years.

Image credit: Snapdeal