How Walmart Is Saving Holiday Shopper’s Money
This article is more than 2 years old
One of the most frustrating tasks during the holiday season is to figure out what and where to get a particular item that your loved one is hoping to get under the tree this year. However, Walmart came up with a solution to help make that task easier. The retailer rolled out a new feature on its mobile app and website called TrendGetter, which utilizes Google Vision Technology.
This brand-new enhancement is quite simple to operate and will relieve a common pain point for holiday shoppers. The way the feature works is you find or take a picture of an item that you are wanting to purchase for your loved one and pull up either the Walmart website or the Walmart App to access the TrendGetter feature. You will then load the picture into the feature and it will search its entire database and find all similar products that are ready to buy at the lowest prices.
According to Consumer Affairs, “The goal of TrendGetter is to make it easier for shoppers to find gifts they’re looking for – at low prices. Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram and see a sweater for your niece, or a YouTube video has the latest game for your son, TrendGetter was designed to help bridge the gap between a social media post and a gift under the tree.”
Walmart is passing on a couple of tips to its customers to keep in mind when using this technology in order to achieve the best results. The first of which is to make sure the image you use contains the item you are looking for as the focal point in the picture. For example, you don’t want to take a picture of your friend’s living room mantle that has ten unique items displayed on it, instead focus on a single specific thing.
Another tip Walmart is passing along is to make sure to avoid distracting backgrounds in your image or as they say, keep the image as simply composed as possible. Also, avoid dark lighting and steer clear of shadows that might be cast on the item you are wanting to search for. That will ensure the software is able to produce optimal results when presenting your product matches.
The feature will utilize Google Vision Technology to find all the items in Walmart’s product database that are identical or similar to your submission. Those results are conveyed with the option for customers to order the item either for a secure pickup, or delivery, as well as if the item is currently available for in-store purchase at your local Walmart location. This new feature eliminates one of the biggest headaches that holiday shoppers face when trying to get what their loved ones really want while getting the lowest price to help the household stay within its budget.
One of the early concerns from consumers about this type of technology which has been brought up centers around customer privacy and what happens with the images that are submitted. As reported by Consumer Affairs, “Images are used strictly to search through product catalogs, and after the item is either purchased or the user closes out of TrendGetter, Walmart says the image will be deleted.” TrendGetter is just another way retailers like Walmart are using cutting-edge technology to improve the customer experience.
