Fancy Brings E-Commerce To Google Glass

Fancy has launched an app that brings product discovery and e-commerce to Google Glass.

The help page linked above offers a detailed video tutorial that shows a user taking a photo, getting product suggestions based on that photo and completing a transaction — all within the Glass interface. The Fancy app even confirms the purchase with a receipt sent to Glass.

It all happens — after authorizing the app — by setting up Fancy as a sharing contact in the user’s Google Glass account. Once a photo is taken, the user shares it with the “Fancy Color Search” contact. Fancy then returns a number of similar products back to the user’s Glass timeline. Those products can be shared or purchased. Here’s the demo video:

Google’s current API terms bar developers from making money via ads or by trying to charge for access to their apps. The language doesn’t appear to prevent developers from making money via e-commerce as Fancy is doing, but Google can always rewrite those terms whenever it wants — something that Fancy COO Michael Silverman is well aware of.

“Google Glass is a terrific innovation and Google is entitled to do whatever they want with their api and their rules,” Silverman said via email. “We are an e-commerce company. Ours is a shopping app. Developing for Google Glass was a breeze and a lot of fun.”

The Fancy help page says the app is still pending approval, but it’s actually ready now. Glass owners can visit glass.fancy.com to authorize the app and then activate it via the MyGlass home page.

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.