Online retail was an over $100 billion industry last year. Jupiter Media expects that to grow to over $140 billion by 2010. Comscore has attributed the growth to lower prices and just how damn simple it is to buy things online. This week, two new Amazon powered shopping visualization services rolled across our desks. Here’s a look at each.
BrowseGoods: The product of a company called Dotted Pair, BrowseGoods’ shopping interface shows you a map of categories and subcategories of goods (think google maps for goods). Their first example is for shoes and kind of looks like a blocky map of the world if Dolce and Gabbana had their way. Each box is titled with a category title, and breaks into yet smaller boxes with the subcategory titles, until you zoom in so close you can see a cloud of shoe thumbnails. While zoomed all the way in, you can bring up product details from Amazon that also rotates through all of the product images.
The BrowseGoods method seems useful if I don’t have any idea what kind of shoe I want to get, but the lack of filtering is cumbersome when I know more about the type of shoe I want. Dealing with the blob-like geography of the categories while zoomed in and perusing the shoe selection was tough.
BlackDogAir: The project of Andy Lammers, BlackDogAir looks at Amazon’s music, books, and movies like a family tree. The tree starts with the display of Amazon’s browse pages fanned out vertically. Each item can be clicked on for details or bring up another level of the tree displaying the its related items.
Current shopping visualizations don’t seem to be slowing down the pace of online commerce, but as the volume and variety of goods online grows, new tools will be needed to sort and experience them. I still see Like.com as the best of the new visual shopping engines.
wow sounds like a great interface.It will be much faster than normal shopping.And ppl dont have to reload the page again and again.Great Stuff
I like the idea a lot, and it is fun to use… simulates real life more.
I would have concerns about scalability with high hits. Looks like something that would have tons of re-use for many stores, especially the smaller niche types.
I also found the interface a little difficult to use. The visual concept is pretty cool though, although I don’t see what exactly it’s solving.
I think this is just beginning of new ways to present items to the user.At these two sites, Idea is to “de-normalize” stuff, so that you can see more items on the screen at the same time. But nothing “wow” here. But there is lot of potential here if somebody can come up with “wow” idea.
They need to make sure that filtering is easy so that those users with a fair idea of what they want don’t have to spent so much time on the site. Otherwise I quite like the idea.
I think that one of the reasons why online shopping has been popular is because its fast and saves time and if they introduce filtering then that would be good.
seems like something that is really not needed and will be more confusing than helpful…we will see
I like both of them. If the shopping can get more smatter, just like Google personalized search, if they can know better about what you want even you don’t tell them, that will be great!
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http://www.MillionReturn.Com — Return $1m from 1 page! How?
Great idea done badly.
These folks should have held back, invested more time, done a better job focusing on clarity of presentation – and then launched. Now, someone is going to take the idea, bring it the missing component and perhaps beat these guys.
Of course, all that will only happen if these folks choose to ignore the feedback; it will take lots of time for a newbie to copy this idea and do it well than for these guys to make it better. Question is, will they?
-Zaid
This does take a lot of time to load.
…and I have a broadband connection. So what was supposed to be a very smooth experience simply died down.
BrowseGoods looks like ass and slow as hell but i think there is potential. Someone should make a virtual flash mall so you can walk around and go shopping and buy the stuff online. That would be sweet
It’s going to be difficult to convince people that this is the most efficient way of browsing for goods. The pictures are useful for certain products, but not all.
I wonder what % of people have an idea of what they’re looking for already when they shop online vs those that are just looking to see what is good (kind of in discovery mode)
Nice idea… but I’m not sure if this one is more of technology leading the requirement instead of the requirement leading technology.
oh dear God.
This type of visualization is called a TreeMap. There is a great tool called SequoiaView that generates a treemap representing the relative size of files and folders on your hard disk. Definately worth a look.
Another great example is SmartMoney.com’s map of the market.
I’m not excited by this shopping application. What value does the relative size of the various sections (”Sandals” vs. “Slingbacks”) bring me as a shopper? I don’t get it.
hey look, another unnecessary visualization tool. I’m sure amazon will pick up each of these companies for $5 million, which would be a bargain. the average online shopper would definitely switch over to this browsing interface, and spend a lot more money shopping online. please visit my blog!!!
3B.net, which was presented at the Web 2.0 Summit a few months ago, addresses the shopper’s need to scan products visually and makes you feel like you’re really 3-D shopping (see comment 10 above0). Lots of shops are already up there to browse on 3B. Searching for products through Like.com (or through Google or Amazon, for that matter) is only useful if you already have in mind what you’re looking for. If you just want to browse what’s available in different styles (women especially like to do that), models, features etc, search is useless.
#3 Robert – the problem it is solving is that in apparel specifically, most sites have a “browse” problem. That is to say, people like to see like items next to like items. Most web shopping experiences fail here miserably.
Cheers,
Randy Stewart
randy@boxbe.com
Andy,
You totally rule!
Patty
Peter,
I would agree and disagree with your comment.
While online shoppers need a new way to browse this is nothing innovative honestly. I mean if I want to find new products which would mean, new styles (?) I would start browsing? I guess that would be the same thing as browsing an online store which has categories/subcategories? But perhaps the difference is actually that you can browse visually, which is amazing, I admit.
I feel there is still a missing piece for this puzzle.
Whoever this Andy Lammers guy is must be the smartest guy in the whole wide world. He possesses the power to move the masses. He could lead his own church.
It’s been proven that people shop based on context – what they see, how it’s presented, etc. I think the people at GlooTV will expand the market by allowing people to buy all products they see on the television, movies, and basically all ‘media’. I’m signed up as a beta tester so hopefully it’ll be good.
Most of these sites are oriented to soft goods, where the product’s features are not much relevant for the consumer. But for products where features are importantm those sites described above are almost useless.
They forgot to mention http://www.CrispyShop.com, which is probably the coolest of all visual shopping sites. At CrispyShop you visualize 50 products at once by their price, features and popularity.
Group digital cameras by megapixels and: “Hey I can get this 10 megapixels Sony digital camera for lower price than this 5 megapixels from Sony…”
For soft goods, browsegoods.com is probably the best; for products where features are important, CrispyShop.com is by far the best one.
gui –
you are a self-promoting ass. and crispyshop is awful.
kind regards
Doppler