March 9, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team
Interactive-image generating startup Pixazza is reporting intense growth in the last year. Backed by Google, and distributed across an ever-increasing network of publishers, Pixazza now holds a spot in Quantcast’s top 25 US network rankings.
They recently recorded 70 million unique visitors per month. That’s an 80% increase in volume in less than six months. During the same period they increased their publisher count by a factor of 15. This is all evidence that shopping cart owners and content publishers both like Pixazza’s model.
What Pixazza does is work with shopping cart owners and brand marketers to incorporate images of their goods and details about their products into Pixazza’s database. The database is then routed to the publication network. This is the active part of the process: incorporating the image and product info and making relationships between various organizations.
The rest of the system is passive. When site visitors happen across an image linked back to Pixazza’s database, they can mouse-over it and see additional information about it. They can use this information to do product comparisons or even go directly to the business’ shopping cart to purchase the product or one like it.
This is a boon for retailers because it takes content out in the web and instantly turns it into advertising (some people call Pixazza “Adwords for Pictures” – no surprise with the Google backing). Images that are just floating around the net can draw users in, regardless of time or context.
This is also a great boon to consumers. It’s common to be browsing online and see a person wearing a piece of clothing and say “Man, I want a jacket like that!” Before Pixazza, you had to count on someone identifying the garment or item somewhere in the article, or hope that a skillful Google search would yield the result. With Pixazza, if the image is linked, then you can just roll over the image with your mouse and get instant product information and get directed to an online shopping cart (or perhaps several) to purchase it.
This is akin to interactive advertising on a variety of digital television services, such as Direct TV, where viewers may be prompted during various commercials to press a button to receive additional information, either as a text box, rich media experience, or be taken to a separate network. Advertising may just be becoming more pervasive but less intrusive by virtue of persistent, passive technologies like these, silently and casually drawing users towards online retailers and shopping carts.
Jack Cieslak grew up in New York State where he attended the New School, emerging with a degree in Creative Writing. Seattle drew him in with its focus on personal health and fitness, as well as the environment, and of course the great weather. Three-thousand miles later he is all dug in and ready to throw himself wholeheartedly into writing of all types - including reporting new developments in e-commerce, and places where social media and e-commerce cross paths. Jack revels in a challenge, whether it's writing, running, or lifting heavy objects - Jack says "bring it."
