Amazon brings a new feature to its iOS mobile app to help customers scan different products ranging from groceries to video games, using "Flow" image-recognition.
Amazon Inc., the biggest online retailer, is bringing the ease of scanning and finding items using Flow image-recognition feature, now added within the Amazon iOS mobile app. The feature is currently available only for iOS 7 users and helps shoppers look up things like packaged groceries, books, DVDs, and video games by scanning it through your iPhone's camera, Amazon said.
The new feature works with great speed, without having customers to wait for a product to scan and display on the screen before moving to another one. Using the Amazon mobile app, shoppers can scan multiple items simultaneously without stopping and once the app finds the product, it saves it to the search history. Shoppers can then access and add it to their shopping cart or save it for later.
The image-recognition software added to the Amazon app isn't new, as the retailer originally released Flow as a standalone app for Android and iOS in 2011. The Flow app on both platforms is run by Amazon's search and advertising wing, A9. Amazon did not comment on whether the feature will be integrated in its Android counterpart.
Flow works by scanning different products not only by the package, but also by logos, artwork and other unique visual features, which can help in identifying a wide range of packaged items. Scanning the packaged items can be much simpler than scanning a product by its barcode. End of all, the new feature is a great introduction to save a lot of time and improve shopping experience with Amazon.
"If the goal is to sell more, then they are better off coming up with an app that makes shopping easier, which is what they have done with Flow," CNBC News quoted Carolina Milanesi, strategic insight director for Kantar Worldpanel, as saying.
The updated Amazon iOS app with Flow integration is available for download on iTunes for free.
