In the realm of online shopping, customers have long struggled to find affordable prescription glasses that not only fit comfortably but also flatter their look. While the transformative power of AI and machine learning has swept through the world of e-commerce from fashion to home decor, prescription glasses is one of the few markets that AI has not yet shaken up.
Until now. Zenni, one of the original disruptors of the eyewear industry, has harnessed the power of AI to revolutionize the way people shop for prescription glasses online.
Zenni’s new technology enables customers to effortlessly find the best fitting glasses online within a matter of seconds—and automatically scan their prescriptions without the hassle of manually inputting information for their order. The company’s AI-powered image recognition tool empowers customers by providing access to an extensive catalog of over 3,000 frames, making it easier than ever for shoppers to find the perfect pair of glasses that match their personal style.
The eyewear market and the AI revolution
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the world of retail lens market, with many brick-and-mortar stores struggling to stay afloat. At the same time, online sales of eyeglasses have spiked, with an estimated 12.4 million Americans purchasing glasses online in 2021. This has led to a surge in online eyewear retailers, creating a fiercely competitive landscape. Today, the global eyewear industry is a rapidly growing market, with the value of the sector estimated to reach USD $197.05 billion by 2027.
Zenni is a longtime leader and innovator within that landscape, both by selling glasses online and manufacturing their own custom eyewear. For two decades, Zenni has leveraged the internet’s potential as a highly effective and efficient distribution channel to keep costs low while offering a wide variety of high-quality eyewear. By embracing the direct-to-consumer approach, Zenni has reduced prices by as much as 10 times over, depending on the product category.
From its position of market strength, Zenni has dedicated substantial resources to manufacturing excellence, resulting in its current status as the global leader in high-quality eyewear at affordable prices. Today, it boasts ownership of over 20 percent of the U.S. online market for eyewear. Its secret ingredient? A commitment to passing cost savings onto customers that enables Zenni to serve its mission to help the world see better.
And now, the company is leading the prescription eyewear market into the AI revolution.
“Brands are now transforming into technology companies,” says David Ting, Chief Technology Officer at Zenni. “From manufacturing to distribution, technology is the driving force behind our next stage of growth.”
Zenni’s team of machine learning experts have analyzed factors like selection diversity, material quality, and cost using data-driven insights to optimize their processes and expand their product selection. With these insights, Zenni can more accurately anticipate, demand and curate an assortment of eyewear that caters to the ever-evolving needs of their diverse customer base.
Snap, search, and find your perfect glasses
The typical brick-and-mortar eyewear purchase scenario goes something like this: After you enter the store, an optician directs you to a stand with 30 to 40 glasses, most exceeding the $100 mark. Your desired style may not be available, and once you do pick out a pair, the fitting process is often a tedious process of trial and error.
The rise of AI and machine learning inspired Zenni to develop a more convenient, effortless experience, enabling shoppers to find and purchase eyewear online and in seconds. And the inspiration came from envy for Tom Cruise’s famous Top Gun aviators.
“I watched Top Gun: Maverick when it first came out and I thought, wow, Tom Cruise looks good! What if I could take a picture of him, then use it to find and buy an identical pair of aviators?” says Ting. “That’s what sparked this idea. We wanted to create a natural way for customers to search for the models they like when they see them.”
Traditional text-based searches weren’t a good enough option, Ting explains, because shoppers often struggle to describe their desired eyewear in words. Image search provides a much more intuitive approach, thanks to recent breakthroughs in AI and machine learning eliminating the need for users to solely rely on language to accurately describe what they want.
For their AI image search, Zenni initially used Google Cloud’s image capability, then opted to build its own tailor-made solution. The primary reason for this decision was response time: by rewriting their code to leverage GPU processing, Zenni reduced the image detection process from six seconds to approximately one second.
Now, Zenni’s search tool makes it easy for shoppers to search for eyewear they encounter in stores, on celebrities, or on social media—and then find the closest match that’s available within Zenni’s expansive catalog. The process involves two phases: First, detecting the type of glasses in the image (which users can take on their phones or upload via the Zenni app or website), and then performing an image search on the 3,000-plus eyewear models that Zenni sells.
Using augmented reality, Zenni shoppers can also do a “virtual try-on” that evaluates their facial shape, approximate sizes, and other biometric data. This personalized approach enhances the search process, enabling Zenni to recommend the best fitting options for individual customers. Through clickstream analysis, which analyzes each shopper’s styles and preferences, unsuitable options are automatically filtered out, ensuring they’re seeing the most relevant products.
“Our goal is to harness technology to provide the convenience that modern consumers expect and bring it into this industry,” says Ting. “This is the essence of our image search innovation, with further advancements on the horizon.”
The future of streamlined online shopping
Hand in hand with image search abilities, Zenni has also developed an AI-powered prescription scan tool. Using optical character recognition (OCR) technology, the company built a model to achieve high accuracy, accommodating different formats and languages found in prescription forms. Through multiple refinements, Zenni has significantly improved the performance of prescription scan, reaching a level of accuracy that exceeds a typical person manually typing in their prescription.
By automating the process and helping customers dodge the headache of manual input, Zenni has once again simplified the online shopping experience for the better. Since launching the feature in May, Ting says it’s had a big effect: Customers who use the AI tool generate fewer support tickets due to prescription-related issues, while also reporting higher satisfaction levels and a higher likelihood of returning to make additional purchases.
Of course, this is just a glimpse of how emerging technologies like AI are helping to broaden and improve the online shopping experience. As more and more customers look online for prescription glasses, streamlining that experience will be essential, which is why Zenni will continue to innovate for higher convenience, accuracy, and an extensive range of options.
“We envision a future where digital platforms enable customers to have their eye tests conducted online using their smartphones, and even have their glasses delivered to their doorstep within a day,” Ting predicts.
Discover how Zenni uses AI to create a seamless online shopping experience.
