December 6, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team
How many of us have aimlessly surfed the net and clicked through hundreds of random images wondering if it was possible to procure certain items in those images? A web service called Pixazza has thought about this as well and turned those monotonous clicks into an interactive shopping experience.
Based out of Mountain View, Calif., Pixazza uses a combination of algorithmic technology and crowdsourcing to tag images on partner websites with links to online stores. For example: say someone is clicking through images of a their favorite sports cars and they see a set of rims that would be perfect for their Dodge Dart. All they do is run their mouse over the image and a Pixazza card pops up, providing information about all the products in the image, along with a click and buy option
Just in time for the holidays, the company will be adding an “Ask Santa” option. Instead of buying the product for themselves, a person can select a potential gift-giver. An email is sent to the prospective Santa showing what’s on the wish list along with a link to where they can buy the product.
“Pixazza’s innovative use of images creates a new shopping experience this holiday season, as a record number of consumers are predicted to do their shopping online,” said James Everingham, CTO of Pixazza. “Our ‘Ask Santa’ feature not only makes it remarkably easy for shoppers to find and purchase the gifts on wish lists, but it also enables publishers and advertisers to provide a value-added service that results in increased traffic during a highly competitive sales season.”
To date, the company has raised $17.8M from an array of investors, including August Capital, CMEA Capital, Google Ventures, and Shasta Ventures. Pixazza currently serves more than 40 million unique visitors per month at a rate of 10 billion image views per year.
A native of Montana, Charlie is a proud graduate of Washington State University. When he wasn't enjoying his independence from parental guidance, Charlie studied advertising, with a fancy toward social media. If he's not writing, Charlie's gaming online or studying the fine art of karaoke at popular dojos like Ozzies and the Butler.
