There are several required steps to approve a physical product for material, fit, and color representation. There is no process available to extend color management to the digital image that represents the physical product in the online store – and that is a mistake.

The human eye cannot properly compare a projected image on a device to the reflected color of the physical sample. This requires a new means of providing quality assurance (QA) to align the color data between the physical product and the digital image.

Photographers are trained to achieve “pleasing” color images. Many of the tools they use were developed for an analog world to produce that result. Digital color QA, however, is based on accurate color. This requires objectivity. Machines, unlike humans, cannot “see” color. They are not affected by luminosity. They do not care if the monitor has been properly calibrated. And, more importantly, they are not dependent on the subjectivity of the human eye. zenColor programmatically measures the differences between the sampled image and standard to a preset tolerance and issues an objective QA Report.

Inconsistent color data visualization makes it difficult for an online consumer to determine the correct color. The same problem applies to a machine. If an AI powered personal shopper cannot determine the color data, it cannot analyze the data or make hyper-personalized recommendations based on color preference.

Image development currently operates without a digital color target. This makes it difficult to match the image to the physical product and align the color data. The “prepping” of the color data is critical to machine learning and AI-powered hyper-personalization.

As digital content continues to drive commerce, objective and defined color data has become a make-or-break factor for enterprise retail success. zenColor offers the language model and tools to assure that the image and product data are aligned and accurate. By embracing this technology, brands and studios can not only impact end consumers in a significant way but also optimize data-driven retail workflows across the entire product lifecycle. It’s time to embrace the revolution in digital color data and reap the benefits that will lead to improved customer satisfaction, reduced returns, enhanced operational efficiencies, and AI-powered retail services.