DALLAS—Essilor, in an effort designed to enable consumers to shop for and purchase frames based on only a photo, has introduced to the U.S. market FlashFrames.com, a new website and e-commerce channel.

The process, initially limited to sunglasses and Essilor Group’s e-commerce sites, involves three simple steps for consumers:

  • Snap and upload: Shoppers can upload a photo they've taken to the website or save and upload a photo from anywhere on the internet.
  • Find: FlashFrames searches its database of styles and finds the same or similar frames at varying price points, with options to vary by price ranges of up to $70, $70-150 range, and over $150.
  • Shop: Shoppers select the authentic frames at the price point they want from a certified retailer and purchase for home delivery.

Essilor said its plan is to “eventually expand the service internationally as well as expand the offer to include all eyewear.” The site initially will connect consumers with its retail partners Coastal, Costa Del Mar, EyeBuyDirect, Foster Grant and FramesDirect.com, all companies owned by Essilor. Two Essilor employees developed the new FlashFlames website tool as part of an internal design contest.

“While inspiration around eyewear can come from anywhere—friends, Instagram, magazines, SnapChat, on the street, online—we saw there was no quick and easy way to find and buy the frames we wanted,” Francois Dumas-Lattaque and Vivien Pouget, the Essilor employees who developed the concept, said in a joint statement. “FlashFrames was designed to help shoppers find the eyewear they want at various price points, allowing them to feel stylish and confident.”

The photo that has inspired the shopper “can come from anywhere—from a photo of a stranger with stylish shades on the street, to a paparazzi shot of a popular fashionista in her new shades,” Essilor’s statement explained. “All it takes to find that fantasy pair of sunglasses is a photo.”

The new concept and website came out of “Digistorm,” an internal digital technologies brainstorming contest, according to Essilor. It was selected from among thousands of project ideas aimed at improving overall awareness around vision, access to eyecare and the customer purchasing experience.

The new site has been “live” since July 25, according to a post on the FlashFrames’ blog, but the official announcement of the site’s U.S. launch was made in a Sept. 7 announcement.