Earlier this year Snapchat Inc acquired mobile search app Vurb for more than $110M. With the technology and assistance from them, Snapchat announced a new feature called Context Cards.
Simply put, the new context card feature displays information about a particular snap that a user is viewing. The new feature is powered by content from partners like TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Michelin, and Goop.
The business model of Snapchat relies heavily on images. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where users have been sharing various types of content, Snapchat users have the habit of talking through images. The late Millennials and early Gen-Z population have interacted with images more than anything else and have been a smartphone generation.
They have grown up with phones constantly on their hands and Snapchat has managed to resonate with this generation. On Snapchat, an image is the entry point for the platform. The text comes afterward or sometimes isn’t used at all.
How do Snapchat context cards work?
Snapchat aims at becoming in the U.S. what Wechat is in China. In China, one app rules all and is integrated into almost every part of their day to day lives. But, Snapchat is not aiming for it. There is still a major diference.
Have a quick look:
Let’s say someone has posted a snap about a particular restaurant in town. Other users who are viewing that snap do not have to do a Google search for it. They can simply swipe up and context cards will display all the information about that place.
To put simply, context cards can act as a middleman and provide all the additional information like address, phone number, operating hours etc.
While not on the journey to integrate everything, Snapchat has roped in OpenTable for restaurant reservations, Lyft & Uber as ride-hailing partners etc.
What can e-commerce expect from Snapchat’s context cards?
Not much has been said about how e-commerce can benefit from the new update, sooner or later we expect this new update to enter the e-commerce niche with a drum-roll.
If a user posts a snap wearing a particular dress, a viewer can swipe up and get additional information viz the website address, or the app from which it was purchased, price etc.
Similarly, snaps of a particular product can enclose additional information about it depending upon the partnership with Snapchat.
Well, this definitely sounds, what do the Millenials say? Yes..It definitely sounds cool!
