Foresight 28: A new tool for brands from Obsess + how Google plans to make product discoverability easier
A newsletter diving into the concepts, people and brands shaping the future of retail, entertainment and connectivity.
Welcome back to Foresight!
In today’s newsletter, we’re talking tools. Obsess has developed a new tool to assist brands in creating and maintaining their own virtual storefront and Google has introduced Search Generative Experience (SGE) to act almost as a personal assistant when searching shopping categories. Lots of potential and lots to dig into!
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IDEAS, INSIGHTS & FORWARD-THINKING PERSPECTIVES
Giving brands the tools to build their own virtual storefront
Virtual store platform and creator Obsess, known for helping brands create and launch virtual retail spaces, is now looking to help brands build their own with a new tool. Ava by Obsess allows brands to build virtual stores in-house - “it’s like the Shopify for virtual stores,” notes CEO Neha Singh. The tool will offer 3D editing and rendering tech to brands without the need for code, meaning brands who subscribe to the software can integrate products and media content, customize merchandise and styling, add gamification elements, and even introduce avatars—all independently. According to Obsess, about 90 percent of virtual store functionality can now be set up using Ava. To guide brands with best practice tips while building their virtual spaces, Obsess has created standardized ways of setting up stores to simplify user journey based on data. Helpful tips include small ways to drive engagement such as adding arrows to stairs, adding gamification to increase average time spent in the space and drive conversion, as well as adding brand storytelling elements to optimize engagement.
Starting as a replacement for in-person shopping during the pandemic, virtual stores have become a permanent destination for consumers who grew up with platforms such as Roblox. “The next step is for brands to bring virtual stores in-house,” Singh says. “Brands need to keep their virtual experiences fresh, just like their websites.” Frequently accessible via a brand’s website, virtual stores and experiences offer a controlled and standalone brand destination, versus a virtual presence with an existing external platform. In the future, Obsess intends to offer templates for smaller brands with limited resources to make the tech more accessible to those interested in testing virtual retail. “Similar to how Shopify unlocked e-commerce to a new class of brands, Ava stands to make virtual stores more accessible.” It’s possible brands may still use Obsess to build the first iteration of their virtual space and turn to Ava for changes and updates. Ultimately, “Singh expects that brands will have dedicated in-house teams and resources to manage virtual experiences, from virtual stores (using Ava) to Roblox and Decentraland experiences. In the future, we could have agencies using our software to set up virtual stores for brands.”
Product discoverability made easier with Google’s new search tool
Google’s latest tool, Search Generative Experience (SGE), will use AI to make responses to search queries smarter and more responsive, with the hope of shortening the search process for consumers when looking for a specific item. This is the company’s first search tool to use generative AI and has the potential to completely “change the game for search prompts by interacting with enquiries more like a human assistant might.” An SGE search begins like any Google search where product details are displayed for the searcher to review and compare. SGE will share top product considerations that offer more in-depth details and give the user the option to continue the conversation with follow-up questions, which can be suggestions from Google or their own. Products are clearly marked with bold text to help users differentiate between AI-recommended products and ads paid for by brands and retailers. “By taking more of the work out of shopping research online, you’ll be able to understand important considerations faster—plus, discover new brands and products and make a decision more easily,” says Lilian Rincon, Google’s senior director of product for consumer shopping.
We’ve been increasingly seeing companies begin using virtual assistants powered by ChatGPT to enhance product discovery, offer more personalized recommendations and have in-depth conversations with customers across their e-commerce channels. With Google’s tool, product discoverability will be much more efficient now that consumers can search and compare results from across the web. With apparel being one of Google’s most-searched shopping categories, the opportunity for fashion is sizable, supporting the larger “commerce ecosystem” by ensuring SGE has advantages for retailers and publishers.
WHAT I’M READING
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