Snap is adding visual product search to Snapchat to let its users identify products just by capturing them with their phone camera, the company announced Monday morning. Snapchat’s visual search is being powered by Amazon, and consumers will be able to easily order recognized products through the e-commerce giant.
“We’ll be rolling it out slowly, but we wanted to announce it to everyone at the same time,” the company said in a blog post that also called the new feature a test. “Snapchat has always been the fastest way to communicate, and now it’s the fastest way to shop!”
In addition to recognizing products directly, the app will also allow users to scan bar codes as a way to access product information. Once a product is recognized, Snapchat’s app is going to display a product card with some basic information. Users can then tap on the card to open the Amazon app on their phone, and order it there.
Visual product search isn’t entirely new. Amazon has been offering similar features for its users since 2009, when it first introduced book and CD search within its app. The company subsequently rolled out visual search capabilities for additional items, and now offers this feature for all kinds of products.
Snap investors seemed to be intrigued about the feature Monday morning, briefly sending the stock up 3%. However, the upswing wasn’t enough to make up for an extended slide, with shares trading below Friday’s closing price at the time of writing.
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