Going live today, Riya launches like.com a visual search engine which aims to completely change the way we shop online.
Rather than spending a lifetime searching for items on the net with text, like.com allows for a search on favourite items to be placed based on appearance, finding items with similar colours, shapes and textures.
For example, you like Mischa Barton’s earrings.
Click on the section featuring her earrings and like.com will find matching styles. If you prefer to search for more items based only on colour or texture or shape, then dial up or dial down your preference and place your search.
With 200 retailers currently participating, like.com will be adding over 30,000 items to its catalogue each day and in the coming months consumers will be able to search using their own pictures. CEO and co-founder, Munjal Shah, confirms at the moment like.com only specialises in accessories however in the coming months will expand into clothing and home and garden.
So what does this mean for fashion online? Well it definitely makes searching the net that much easier, especially when it comes to looking for items with a specific detail such as a buckle or strap or even when looking for perhaps bags with a certain pattern. And for online shopping, hopefully it will allow for healthier competition with more online retailers in one arena, consumers will be given greater choice.
