Shopping and sharing made easier with image-based app

San Francisco-based mobile e-commerce company developed an app that uses an image-based keyboard to more quickly share favorite products with contacts.

Built on the premise that more and more people are using messaging applications to share images, San Francisco-based ShopChat adds an image-based keyboard to many popular methods of mobile communicating, including WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber, Facebook Messenger and Apple iMessage. Many people share images multiple times a day, and ShopChat removes the need to copy and paste links and the time-consuming process of taking photos and then attaching them to a message.

Once a user sets up an account, the app can be personalized by setting certain brands and types of products as favorites. North American companies already partnering with ShopChat include Foot Locker, Macy’s, Sephora, Guess and PetSmart. Currently available for iOS, ShopChat is continuing to develop its algorithms and hopes to make the app a place for positive self-expression.

With so many people reliant on smartphones for any number of administrative tasks, entertainment options and media outlets, entrepreneurs are finding new ways to make mobile phone keyboards more efficient. A smart keyboard app detects users’ emotions, helping provide appropriate support at home and in customer service, and a keyboard plugin enables users to create event cards that suggests activities and lets them book tables and transport without leaving social messaging apps. What other innovations would help make messaging via smartphone more effective?