Fashionable AI to recommend eyewear online
Selling eyewear online isn't easy. Next to optometrists examining eyes, opticians and stylists play a critical role in the buying process for customers to find eyewear that fits them perfectly. They listen, they look, they suggest. Bottom line: they help customers navigate through the abundance of products. Online, customers rely on Virtual-Try-On solutions to see how eyewear looks on themselves but have little to no support in discovering which one out of dozens of frames works and which don't. Wouldn't it be great if customers could receive eyewear styling advice online at the same level as they would get in-store?
Dutch startup PTTRNS.ai has recently launched an AI (artificial intelligence) that does just that. With the STYLE PTTRNS eyewear recommender, eyewear retailers and independent opticians can now also offer their customers high-quality style advice as part of their online customer journey. Just like how a stylist would do, the solution starts with taking a good look at the customer's facial characteristics but does so by using AI. The STYLE PTTRNS recommender considers the shape of the customer's eyebrows and jawline, measurements, the face's contrast, and the skin undertone. "In principle, we can train computers to 'see' anything a professional stylist can see in a customer's face. The only thing we cannot do with algorithms now is capturing someone's prescription," tells Jaap Evertse, solutions director at PTTRNS.ai.
Based on this first impression, the STYLE PTTRNS eyewear recommender suggests eyewear that is in harmony with these customers' facial features. The eyewear shape balances with the eyebrow and jawline of the customer, while the colour and thickness of the frame harmonise with the contrast and undertone in the customer's face. Cool coloured frames are recommended to customers with a cool undertone, and warmer frames to customers with a warm undertone.
Eyewear in harmony with the customer's facial characteristics is a good start but is not enough when giving truly personal and relevant advice. "We all know that customers have preferences, style, a personality. Our algorithms are equipped to learn from customer desires. After customers receive their first advice, they are invited to indicate whether they are looking for more outspoken, tough, or delicate frames. STYLE PTTRNS then suggests, for example, more colourful, angular or thinner frames that match the customer's facial characteristics, respectively." says Jelle Stienstra, strategy director at PTTRNS.ai. Interestingly, it is not just a regular computer program that automatically analyses the retailers' or opticians' eyewear and the customer's facial characteristics; actual stylists train STYLE PTTRNS' algorithms to ensure high quality and personal recommendations.
The STYLE PTTRNS eyewear recommender solution has proven to help customers discover collections and gain confidence in their choice of frames. So far, the personalised recommendations empowered by STYLE PTTRNS have tripled conversions and increased customer lifetime value online. The solution is also available for kiosks in-store to support optometrists in guiding customers to match frames perfectly.