Forever 21 is taking steps to move beyond text-based online search, offering shoppers AI-powered visual search and navigation developed by Donde Search. The features are designed to enable shoppers to search for dresses, pants, shorts, jeans and tops, and will appear as a standalone “Discover Your Style” module on the Forever 21 web and mobile web home pages.
The “Discover Your Style” function already launched on the Forever 21 iOS app on May 18, 2018, and was initially available for the dresses and tops categories. In the first month after launching the feature, Forever 21 saw an increase in sales conversions and a 20% increase in average purchase value for the two test categories.
This initial success led Forever 21 executives to fast-track the large-scale web integration of Donde Search’s technology, which uses AI, computer vision and natural language processing designed to provide shoppers with more relevant search results.
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Forever 21 shoppers will now be able to search for items by simply clicking icons that represent the features they want in an outfit, ranging from the length and fit of a skirt to the neckline and color of a shirt.
“Visual search technology bridges the gap between the convenience of online shopping and the rich discovery experience of traditional retail by enabling our customers to search for clothing in the same way they think about it — using visuals, not words,” said Alex Ok, President of Forever 21 in a statement.