Startup interview: Cayley Ostrin, Founder, Shnap

RTIH: Tell us about Shnap

CO: Shnap is like the Shazam for fashion, a visual search tool that finds and compares any piece of clothing you're looking for in seconds.

Just one click on the Shnap button hovering over any product on a store's website, and it will instantly find you which store is selling it at the best price, plus similar options available for purchase. It uses AI-powered image recognition technology to identify styles, patterns, colours and other product characteristics to then match this to products sold by retailers.

It makes it easier for shoppers to quickly find what they're looking for and discover new brands, while driving traffic increased sales, reach and exposure to our retail partners. Shnap is available for download on the Chrome extension store now with mobile apps coming soon.

RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting it up?

CO: My frustration has always been with the time I spend hunting down the products I am looking for, and making sure I find the absolute best possible deal.

I'll often spend hours scouring the web, bouncing from site to site, entering different keywords to try to describe the product I'm looking for, and sift through hundreds of 'almost-there' search results. It's a time-consuming and frustrating process. 

With Shnap, I no longer need to try and guess the brand, style or retailer. It’s actually quite helpful for when you want to search for something that you can't quite describe. Using a photo of the item I want, Shnap will instantly find the exact same item or similar ones available to purchase from retailers around the world.

There are tools that exist today like Google Lens and Pinterest Lens, however these just match images to images, not images to shoppable products. 

RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?

'Instead of using Google Images, this locates the item in multiple places in an instant'.

'"Shnapped" a pair of nike sneakers and it straight away came up with all the websites I can by them from'.

'What I really like about it is that it finds you similar looking items to the one that you're searching for, which comes in handy given that a lot of Fashion brands produce very similar wares these days'.

'It's actually a life-saver if you want to save some coin'.

Initial feedback has been very promising, highlighting the number of ways shoppers can make use of Shnap Visual Search to either find the best deal on a specific item, or go broad and find visually similar options.

We are in talks with retailers to further integrate the Shnap visual search technology directly on to their websites. By helping shoppers progress from inspiration to purchase in the shortest timeframe and with the least amount of friction, retailers can boost their customer experience and increase their revenue.

Customers who have an easier time finding the products they are looking for are already one step closer to making a purchase. According to research firm Gartner, brands that embrace and incorporate visual search will see an increase of 30% in their e-commerce revenue over the next 12-18 months.

“With stores closed around the world, replicating the in-store experience online is a difficult but highly valuable task. In-store shoppers are able to touch and feel and chat directly to staff, whereas online is just not the same”

RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?

CO: In order to provide the customer the best experience, Shnap needs to have all the worlds best stores on its platform. Currently it works via affiliate networks to obtain product feeds, and then scrapes retailers websites where available to extend the catalogue.

This is a time consuming process and we are constantly working on ways to onboard faster and reduce the friction involved with adding new retailers.

RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?

CO: With stores closed around the world, replicating the in-store experience online is a difficult but highly valuable task.

In-store shoppers are able to touch and feel and chat directly to staff, whereas online is just not the same. Companies like Hero which offer a video chat solution connecting sales assistant to shoppers online help to bridge the gap.

Visual search fits directly into this category and helps to facilitate a broader search using an image as the input. Kind of like saying to a sales assistant, 'I'm looking for a black ruffle 3/4 long cocktail dress'. With visual search a shopper can find the image of a dress they like and use this to find exactly what they are looking for.

RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a customer?

CO: Customers are in shock each and every time they Shnap an item. How is this even possible, this is a game changer.

RTIH: What can we expect to see from Shnap over the next 12 months?

CO: We want Shnap to be tightly integrated into the shopping experience. With iPhone and Android apps on the way and a faster way to use Shnap from your browser on mobile.

A shopper should be able to find a product they like on a retailer’s website and in one click see all the stores selling at the same time (best price and most convenient store highlighted), along with personalised promo codes or incentives to help nudge the consumer towards purchase.