Learn about AI in eCommerce including how it is transforming the shopping experience and other critical use cases.
Artificial intelligence has long gone beyond sci-fi literature and movies. Today, it’s a handy tool for improving many aspects of a business, no matter the niche.
AI works based on data gathering and analysis technology, machine learning, and natural language processing. This broad set of “skills” allows AI to serve different purposes in various ways: sometimes, you can’t even tell it’s there, and in some cases, it is like a tangible AI personal assistant.
No wonder experts consider AI a technology trend that steps up business performance in many aspects and fields. However, the most revenue from applying AI goes to the marketing and sales sector, at least that’s what studies have shown. That’s why you can see eCommerce giants like Amazon investing in this technology.
Generally, profit increase comes as the most notable effect of applying AI-driven marketing, which can relate to you, too. But if you’re still hesitating whether to adopt it, we will help you discover more about AI in eCommerce.
How is AI transforming the shopping experience?
Increased customer retention
Along with attracting new customers, making existing ones stay is a critical need of any eCommerce business.
With the help of ML, data analysis, and modeling means, AI processes huge amounts of customer-related data. Search history, purchase preferences, feedback, reviews, and social media info can build a clear behavior pattern and predict consumer trends. In this way, machine learning eCommerce offers a unique experience for each customer, turning them into frequent fryers.
Another way to make customers stay longer with you is to introduce a smart chatbot to them. Virtual assistant technology wins over the consumers’ hearts and minds compared to traditional means of communication like phone calls and emails. They are fast, to-the-point, and can also make personalized offers. With that said, chatbots and AI make clients most likely to come back for an excellent shopping experience.
Seamless automation
An AI shop doesn’t look anything like a traditional one. E-commerce artificial intelligence can sometimes replace a whole department by taking over regular tasks. Here are some of them:
- inquiries processing,
- personalized product promotion,
- email marketing,
- basic customer service, and
- product management.
Modern online stores have a chance to delegate a great bulk of the job to AI technology and thus focus on other aspects of business development. For instance, human staff can improve marketing strategies, branding, and cooperation with other businesses.
Create customer-centric search
Have you ever wished to find products without even searching for them? Finding an item from an image just by clicking on it? That’s exactly what AI-powered eCommerce can do.
AI recognizes specific features of the products, tags, and organizes content, allowing users to find what they want even without describing it. This novel software can also help you find complementary products, and it makes searching options highly personalized.
Some eCommerce behemoths already use visual search and thus outplay their competitors. The users of Pinterest can try this feature after its new update. Pinterest can search for a product selected in an image online.
Create a new level of personalization across multiple devices
Personalization may be a game-changing aspect for many online stores. It’s a winning method of attracting newcomers and keeping the existing audience engaged.
If your business is growing, you will spread your presence to several platforms. Then, this personalized approach may seem more complex and hard to retain. At this point, the use of artificial intelligence will facilitate the job.
AI can create a customer view by tracking users’ activity across all platforms and devices simultaneously. These insights are advantageous, as the extensive information about your audience allows you to adjust your service and policy to their needs and wishes faster and more effectively.
Identify exceptional target prospects
Just like traditional trades, the eCommerce industry relies highly on promotion and the art of reaching out to the right person at the proper moment. And even here, a business using artificial intelligence usually outperforms its competitors.
Learning human behavior may sound like a purely human task, but it isn’t. AI gathers insights about your potential customers, analyzes their behavior patterns, and uses this data to design highly-efficient marketing campaigns. As a result, you won’t create a worn-out message but rather catchy and to-the-heart message for your perfect customer, while selecting the most effective channel to present it.
AI use cases in eCommerce
Personalized product recommendations
Among applications of eCommerce AI, personalized promotion is a common and effective one. An enhanced shopping assistant monitors customers’ activity, gathers information about their behavior, and offers them what they need or want based on this data. Personalized promotion can occur in the form of ads, dialogs with a chatbot, etc.
Customer retargeting
Businesses often use retargeting tactics to enlarge their audience even more. Retargeting aims at users who expressed interest in your brand but haven’t decided to become your customer yet. AI can identify and stimulate these potential clients to purchase your product or service, for instance, with highly individualized ads.
Pricing optimization
Sales and price manipulations boost the performance of an eCommerce business. The data analysis and machine learning skills of an AI also prove useful for online store owners in this respect. An AI-driven shop can analyze competitors’ pricing policies, determine the right time to change the price for your assortment, and calculate the most balanced discount.
Enhanced customer service
In 2020, one research found that in the consumer goods and retail industry, AI technologies improve the customer care facet. This was voiced by almost half of the respondents. Chatbots and AI contribute largely to user satisfaction, not only through text chatbots but also with an AI voice assistant. Voice search is a proven tool to help customers discover your store conveniently.
Smart logistics
Logistics management is a non-obvious business application of eCommerce artificial intelligence. However, even in this aspect of an online store, AI can make a competitive advantage for your project. For instance, this technology can assist freight management or even calculate more accurate delivery time, which is a huge part of the consumer experience.
Sales and demand forecasting
AI uses its data analysis potential to give an individual touch to each customer and improve your business strategy globally. You can analyze customer activity data to predict their needs and niche trends. In this way, an AI shopping system project helps you plan and think ahead, adjusting your inventory to future tendencies. Undoubtedly, this will put your business in a strong position compared to your rivals.
AI in eCommerce – Summing up
Surprisingly, AI has tons of application options. If you have an eCommerce business, applying this technology may be one of the best investments you can make for your brand’s prosperity.
A well-designed digital virtual assistant can complement your human team and contribute to the overall productivity of your shop. Modern technologies prove that a machine can automate a great chunk of work, improve marketing strategies, and bolster a business’s customer experience.
