RentPath Transforms Apartment Search Experience with Visual Search

ATLANTA, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RentPath, the leading digital marketing solutions provider for the residential rental real estate market, today released on Apartment Guide the first mobile search engine that takes consumers inside dozens of communities with a single tap on their phones -- a  captivating visual search experience that exponentially increases user engagement and drives more leads. The visual search functionality increases the likelihood that a user will favorite a property by 200 percent and the number of taps to call a community by 13 percent.

The mobile-first experience allows prospective renters to compare images of apartment features side-by-side with one click, view more properties on a single mobile page, more easily share with friends and family, and see favorites alongside search results. Potential renters view 34 percent more properties on each visit with the easy-to-navigate experience.

More than 84 percent of today's renters are searching for apartments on their mobile phone and the visual experience matters. The property card within visual search makes finding critical information (e.g., 3D floor plans, pet policy and map) easy and allows users to effortlessly return to their search in one click.

"Visual search is a major step forward in engaging mobile apartment searchers," said Krista Nordlund, Vice President of Consumer Product Management for RentPath. "Apartment Guide now offers the only mobile experience in the category that takes users inside as many as 40 communities with one tap on their phones. That could take dozens of taps on other mobile apartment search platforms."

With visual search, Apartment Guide now offers the most user-friendly and intuitive sharing functionality available in the multifamily industry. It's the only major listing service that allows sharing across five different platforms, enabling users to easily collaborate with friends and family during the search process.

"Our market research has been telling us that prospective renters want a more visual experience when searching for an apartment home online, and we've spent countless resources to move closer to that goal on our community websites and advertising sources," said Jennifer Staciokas, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Training for Pinnacle. "The recently launched visual search experience on Apartment Guide is the realization of that ultimate goal, making it easy for prospective renters to truly search for apartment homes visually rather than words on a page."

The entire visual search experience is built on RentPath's room-level search engine, which is the first in its category to leverage machine learning to automatically catalogue hundreds of thousands of property photos by room type. That ensures prospective renters enjoy a more customized, shareable experience. 

The unique features of visual search are the result of a week-long hackathon involving more than 60 RentPath employees. Fourteen concepts were narrowed to four major innovations: visual search, property cards, favorites and sharing that were combined into one revolutionary product. The product development also incorporated the results of a RentPath study that found that images of the kitchens, bathrooms and pool areas were most important to the prospect search. The new format also allows users to compare photos by the top interior and exterior amenities that matter most to them.

About RentPath
RentPath is a leading digital marketplace connecting millions of consumers with apartments, condos and houses for rent through its network of websites and mobile apps. RentPath's category-leading brands include Apartment Guide, Rent.com, Lovely, Rentals.com, and RentalHouses.com. With an unmatched search capability, amplified by constantly refined tools and industry insights, RentPath provides consumers with a clear and simple guide to apartment living through content-rich apartment listings in a user-friendly format with Internet, mobile and social media solutions. The brand's commitment to maximizing owner and manager value makes RentPath a leading multifamily housing industry partner. For more information, visit www.rentpath.com.

SOURCE RentPath

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