EBay on Tuesday rolled out a new AI-powered feature to appeal to fashionistas: a “shop the look” section of its iOS mobile app that will suggest a carousel of images and ideas, based on a customer’s purchase history. The company says its recommendations will be personalized to the end user and evolve as the customer shops more. The idea is to showcase how other fashion items can complement their current wardrobe.
To do this, “shop the look” will feature interactive hotspots that, when tapped, will reveal similar items and outfit inspirations, with the resulting look featuring both pre-owned and luxury items to match the user’s personal style . The feature is powered by eBay.ai and developed in collaboration with the company’s AI Manager team and RAI principlesnotes eBay.
Image Credits: eBay
“Shop the Look” will appear to any eBay buyer who has viewed at least 10 fashion items in the past 180 days, the company notes. It will appear on both the eBay home page and the fashion landing page.
For eBay, the new addition offers a way to display the vast expanse of its inventory available for sale in a different way than before — and one that could potentially encourage more sales if successful. EBay says it plans to explore expansion into other categories over time and will continue to add more personalization elements to the feature in the new year.
eBay isn’t alone in exploring how artificial intelligence can improve the fashion shopping experience. Google last summer introduced a way for consumers try on actual clothes using a new AI shopping feature, for example. Amazon has also turned to artificial intelligence to help customers find clothes that fit when shopping online. While the AI features were intended to help customers find the right fit or size in those cases, eBay’s new feature is more focused on fashion inspiration — that is, finding the right style. This can be harder to do since personal style is subjective.
Shop the look will initially be available on iOS in the US and UK, with Android support coming later this year.
