Constructor vs Valen: product discovery compared

What Constructor is and which category it belongs to

Constructor is an AI search and product discovery platform built for ecommerce. Its official website describes search and autosuggest, personalized category browsing, recommendations, collections, product quizzes, retail media and merchandising controls for the merchant. Its stated goal is to help shoppers find the right products in catalogs that are often very large, while giving the team tools to steer results. It belongs to the enterprise product discovery category, designed for retailers with extensive catalogs and dedicated teams.

What Valen is

Valen is the agentic storefront that adapts your ecommerce in real time to what each customer is looking for. Alongside conversational search, Valen brings virtual try-on into the store, as demonstrated on a demo store. The Valen capabilities listed below have been demonstrated on a demo store.

Two approaches: a dedicated tool or a layer on the storefront

A product discovery platform optimizes the classic discovery paths: the search bar, suggestions while typing, category pages, quizzes. Merchants use it to shape which products surface and in what order, with tools built for large catalogs. A storefront layer adds a different way to discover: the shopper asks, tries on and compares in conversation, and the page reacts to what they do. They are not mutually exclusive. They serve two shopper habits: those who search and those who prefer to be guided.

What Valen adapts along the buying journey

From a product discovery angle, these are the capabilities that matter.

• Valen lets shoppers search the catalog and ask product questions within the conversation.
• Valen recognizes, from free-form text, the intent to try a product on.
• Shoppers can upload their own image to create an avatar or virtually try on an item during the conversation.
• Shoppers can virtually try on one or several selected products together.
• The try-on selects the real variant of the product being tried.
• Shoppers can open a quick view of a product while browsing.
• Valen offers recommendations while keeping the catalog browsable.
• Valen offers a results page the store can enable.

When Constructor may make sense

Constructor makes sense for retailers with large catalogs, where the quality of search, autosuggest and category browsing directly shapes the experience. It suits merchandising teams that want tools to steer results and build collections and quizzes. It can also appeal to businesses that want to pair product discovery with retail media initiatives.

When Valen may make sense

Valen may make sense if you sell products that shoppers want to see on themselves before buying, thanks to virtual try-on with the real variant. It fits when shoppers express themselves in free-form requests: Valen recognizes from text the intent to try a product on. Valen is also useful for Shopify stores that want to add conversational search to their existing theme.

Can they be used together?

Yes, because they serve different habits. Keyword search, autosuggest and category pages can stay on the product discovery platform. Valen can offer conversation and virtual try-on to shoppers who want to see how an item looks before adding it to the cart. What matters is that both systems read the same up-to-date catalog and that it is clear who owns the results page.

How to choose

• Catalog size: how much does classic search drive the way your shoppers find products?
• Product category: do you sell apparel or accessories, where virtual try-on helps the decision?
• Team: do you have people curating merchandising, collections and quizzes?
• Platform: is your store on Shopify, where Valen integrates into the theme?
• Type of interaction: a search box to fill in, or a conversation to follow?

Frequently asked questions

Are Constructor and Valen alternatives?

They cover partly different needs. Constructor presents itself as an AI search and product discovery platform for ecommerce. Valen is the agentic storefront that adapts your ecommerce in real time to what each customer is looking for.

Can shoppers try products on with Valen?

Yes: shoppers can upload their own image and virtually try on one or several items, as demonstrated on a demo store.

Does Valen understand free-form requests?

Valen recognizes, from free-form text, the intent to try a product on, as demonstrated on a demo store.

Does Constructor offer product quizzes?

Yes, Constructor's official website lists quizzes among its product discovery tools.

Sources

• Constructor, official website