Search: Still Struggling with Synonyms
June 3, 2021
I read “How AI Can Help Resolve Complex Fashion Taxonomies.” The write up states:
ecommerce retailers are struggling to find a system for managing the growing fashion taxonomy. For reference, fashion taxonomy is defined as the science of naming, describing, and classifying items into categories. And it affects every component of the customer experience, from search and discovery to product recommendations.
I agree. The problem has been a persistent one for decades. Statistical methods, manual methods, smart software methods — non works particularly well. Statistics drift as the language changes. What’s a slang word for sneakers; is it “kicks”? The idea is that an ecommerce site might not recognize this term unless a human entered it in a list of synonyms. Smart software might miss the nuances of pickle ball shoes that are wavy or nifty ice for a B.
If a person cannot locate a product, will that person enter synonyms or just click away to another site? That’s bad.
The article asserts:
it’s also becoming increasingly difficult for customers to find what they’re looking for, regardless of search intent.
The phrase “increasingly difficult” does not quite capture what’s happening in online information access. Locating online information which is timely, accurate, and relevant is extraordinarily difficult.
The write up, however, has a possible fix:
Tackling complex fashion taxonomy is a heavy task, but with artificial intelligence, retailers now have different approaches to try. Through text-based and visual search tools, retailers have the power to change the way customers experience their products, leading to higher engagement rates and more conversions. The future of artificial intelligence as a remedy to complex fashion taxonomies is bright – and you can expect to see more products in the market in the future.
But the purpose of the write up is to explain that YesPlz is the way to deliver a “user initiated search experience, combined with artificial intelligence and visual search.”
Possibly, but I think the solutions which have rolled down the cash flow pipelines have not delivered. Language is a moving target and shoppers want the system to “know” what he or she wants without having to speak, type, or do anything.
The big dog in ecommerce is Amazon. Bing and Google are working overtime to make their “shopping” search functions work better than the Bezos bulldozer’s. The problem is that Despite the tricks, the cohorts, the user fingerprint, and the rest of the methods to divine what a shopper wants and will buy is clumsy.
Marketing talk is a heck of a lot easier than solving what is becoming a problem too big to resolve. I don’t want a fashion item. I want a belt which does not look stupid. Woo woo.
Stephen E Arnold, June 4, 2021
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