Image recognition software in businesses

By 2021, the image recognition software market is set to be worth $38.9 billion. The technology is in high demand, but why is it making such waves within the business world?

Various industries use tech products in different ways to one another, and image recognition software is no exception — the technology has proven to be applicable to a way array of tasks. Whether it is being used to streamline procedures or polish up the customer experience, image recognition software can be used in a host of ways. Digital printing specialists, Precision Printing, investigates…

Image recognition technology

Firstly, we need to understand what this technology is. Essentially, this technology is designed to retrieve, process, examine, and interpret pictures, photos and high-dimensional data. It takes this from the ‘real world’ and produces useful information in multiple formats. This could be anything from uploading a photo of a group of friends to Facebook that automatically tags each person to their accounts, to taking a digital fingerprint scan in order to determine a person’s identity.

With 80 per cent of content online being visual, image recognition technology is certainly on the rise. It is also becoming more and more adept at mimicking human vision and understanding.

Customer experience and processes

There are so many companies benefiting from this technology. Many companies now have a digital presence, whether on social media or via an online store. A major advantage of this technology is that it can offer real-time insights into consumer behaviour — but not only your consumers. Visual analytics will allow you to monitor the consumer behaviour of your competitors, which will allow you to address their concerns within your own campaigns and potentially attract them to your brand instead.

It’s a difficult, but crucial task to keep an eye on your online competitors. With image recognition software, you can now find similar content to what your brand is putting out on social media and track down social mentions of your company — no more manual, time-consuming searches. Not only will this help you monitor the competition in your industry, but it will also allow you to be more responsive to marketing opportunities that would otherwise have been missed and pick up on trends that may be flying under the radar.

Apps are becoming very popular among brands too. This isn’t much of a surprise considering that it’s predicted that global gross app revenue will hit $102 billion by 2020. Clearly, there is money to be made and customers to be won with apps, but how does image recognition assist? This technology can help brands boost engagement levels with their consumers, letting them extend beyond the standard boundaries of online and offline and making the app more immersive. As a result, promotional material and discount offers should be able to pack a greater punch and potentially offer a greater ROI.

Individual industries

But which industries in particular are reaping the benefits of this technology?

Fashion industry

The fashion world is all about visuals, so image recognition is hugely valuable here. Firstly, a consumer, when leafing through a magazine, can use image recognition software on their mobile devices to scan a product they’re interested in and land straight onto its product page or relevant online marketing content, which could increase the chances of a conversion. Similarly, consumers can upload images of clothes they like and shop online for similar or complementary products — streamlining the shopping experience.

It is also useful from a brand perspective too. Image recognition makes picking up on trends much easier and quicker — due to the rapid evolution of trends in this sector, this could prove invaluable.

Automotive industry

The vehicle sector is also enjoying the benefits of this technology. Smart cars have now well established their place in the industry and self-driving vehicles are an emerging market and they’re being developed with the assistance of image recognition. To ensure that self-driving cars are safe, they need to be able to detect hazards immediately and make informed decisions regarding their next action to avoid causalities. That’s where image recognition comes in. With this technology, self-drive car sensors will be able to spot dangers on the road in the same way as a human motorist does, reacting in a way that should avoid crashes and accidents.

We’re still a little way away from having fully self-driving cars, but image recognition is already helping the industry map out future trends.

Healthcare industry

Image recognition software can also help to support healthcare professionals. The technology is currently being used to help process the huge numbers of medical images that need verifying and checking in the sector. As a result, doctors can diagnose conditions and diseases at faster rates and with great accuracy, meaning less stress for the patient and easing the pressure on the doctor when it comes to arranging the best course of action.

All sorts of companies are making the most of image recognition software to keep them ahead of their competitors. Are you clued up on how it can help your business in 2019?