Often when people engage in on-line shopping the color of an intended purchase when viewed on the screen does not always match the ‘real’ color of the goods when received, leading to disappointment when the object arrives. Sometimes this is a consequence of merchants photographing the wrong item or, in less scrupulous scenarios, digitally altering the colors using photo manipulation software. At other items the differences are simply down to the limitation of technology where some variations to color cannot be properly rendered as images embedded onto web pages.
To overcome this frustration X-Rite Incorporated, who specialize in color science and technology, plus its subsidiary company Pantone LLC, have launched a digital package called Color-Eye. The aim is to bring precise color measurement to smartphones and e-commerce applications.
As well as being more accurate, the Color-Eye software also uses a smartphone and a color calibration card to aid shoppers in the hunt for new items, designed to match or complement the color of items consumers may have at home.
The expected take-up by companies is expected to be considerable and across a range of sectors, such as cosmetics, home and fashion and retail paint firms. Each of these companies will be able to integrate Color-Eye into their current mobile shopping applications.
With this feature of the technology, consumers can simply take a photograph, using a smartphone, of a color in their home they would like to copy and then use the software to match this to the types of items they are shopping for on-line. The software is able to deal with the problems and variations with taking standard images, such as lighting, glossiness, texture, angle of view, and sensitivity of the camera. This is through specially designed color calibration tools and color software. Color readings, captured by the application, are incorporated into a retailer’s mobile shopping application. The consumer is then delivered an array of matching or coordinating products.
According to Chris Winczewski, who is the Vice President, Strategy and Product Planning, X-Rite, and who told Digital Journal: “Color is a deciding factor in a customer’s purchasing decision and can be a leading cause for customer returns.” He goes on to explain that the Color-Eye software is the solution for this. Color-Eye can work with: iPhone SE, 6S, 6S+, 7, 7+; Android Nexus 5; and Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S7, S7 Edge, S7 Active.
