Holiday shopping is in full swing, with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday just days away. As consumers gear up for the biggest retail events of the year, they’re transforming how they discover and research products. Early holiday shopping trends from our Lens Library, an ethnographic video platform with diverse participants, reveal key shifts in consumer behavior.
Let’s start with a visual search this week. Diverse consumers increasingly use their camera phones and screenshots to find products they see while streaming or scrolling social media. A few examples below:
I saw these really, really cute shoes on this woman who happens to be an influencer, and I just screenshot it, and then I uploaded it into Google Lens, and I found them on Amazon.
Asian Female, High Networth
If I see a particular item on an actor in a show, I’ll take a screenshot of it and then use Google Lens to find it.
Latino Male , Minnelial, High Networth
Enhancements to Google Lens shopping features are helping to increase usage for online (search results, ads, price comparison) and in-store shopping tools (reviews, pricing comparisons). Google Lens monthly usage has grown to 20 billion visual searches; 20% of those searches being shopping-related. A brief review of Google Lens shopping features below:
Google added Circle and a Chrome extension to its visual search tools in 2024. Google also recently partnered with NetFlix to make Emily in Paris episodes shoppable for ad plan members. The collaboration showcases how to use Google Lens in the wild and drives sales.
Visual search options received a significant boost with the latest update to Apple’s Visual Intelligence tool on November 20, 2024. The tool allows you to use your camera button to access AI features. It’s similar to what Google Lens already offers, but it’s built into the phone, potentially a game changer. Bing, Pinterest, Amazon, and Snap also have visual search tools.
The case for creating a visual search marketing strategy is clear. Like text-based SEO, understanding what types of images and use cases are good opportunities for your brand to capture the consumer’s attention with content and ads. Semrush Blog offers tips for optimizing visual search, including high-quality images and descriptive image titles, and it tests whether AI can recognize your image.
Image SEO needs to be in your marketing vocabulary this holiday season and beyond.
Want to stay ahead of rapidly evolving consumer behaviors? Join leading brands leveraging Lens Library’s ethnographic insights. Our next post explores emerging UX trends reshaping the digital landscape. Subscribe now to receive exclusive consumer insights directly to your inbox. To discuss how your brand can benefit from the Lens Library, contact julieda@sociallensresearch.com.
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