Often people perceive Artificial Intelligence as science fiction. But that’s not true! This advanced technology is now implemented across diverse industries. Artificial Intelligence is not restricted to personal assistance technology and smart device but has limitless possibilities. Across the globe in different tech meets, consortium and seminars volumes have been discussed about artificial intelligence a modern approach adopted by different domains and how it will impact the life of human beings. Brands now use AI to build smart eCommerce platforms and create a memorable shopping experience for their customers.
It is expected that AI will revolutionize eCommerce- influence how stores sell their products, interact with customers and provide a good memorable experience. Gartner states that by 2020, almost 85 percent customer interactions will be managed without any human intervention. By the end of 2018, there will be digital assistants who would identify customers across different channels by vocal and facial recognition. Investments in AI also have increased considerably in the last few years. Bloomberg states that in 2014, more than $300 million venture capital was invested in startups dealing with ai technology.
Artificial Intelligence a modern approach in eCommerce
The aim of any eCommerce company or brand is to explore new ways for customers to discover the desired products seamlessly. Personalization or a personalized customer experience lies core to the success of eCommerce. Evolution of cognitive technology and the introduction of smart data is a giant leap towards providing a personalized and automated journey for customers.
Learning customer behavior and making predictive analysis, based on data of users accumulated from different devices like tablets, smartphones, and desktops, aid in providing a better customer experience. So, by integrating artificial intelligence a modern approach, eCommerce brands can gain leverage with the following intuitive features:
Better Search – In eCommerce, choosing the right keyword that describes and identifies the desired product. When chosen a correct keyword, the algorithm of search engine will display the relevant result and if otherwise, customers have to make changes till they find the desired result.
Search engines retrieve results based on keywords mentioned in the description or product title. Search algorithms lack the intelligence of understanding the nuances of vernacular and language as a human brain would do. It abides by the specificity. By utilizing artificial intelligence, it will integrate the human element to search and boost the digital experience of customers.
Thus, it can transform the failed searches to leads. Natural language processing will help buyers to express their need, desire, requirement and other details while searching and get the desired result. It is expected that Visual Search capability will probably take the driving seat. It is simple, customers can upload images of products to find the desired one. So, searching the right product will be easy now.
Virtual Buying Assistance – Success of eCommerce lies in understanding the need of customers. Deploying a physical assistance for individual shoppers is not feasible for any eCommerce company, but ai can make the difference. Different ai developments have resulted in integrating advanced features that aid in personal assistance. Customers can now have their virtual personal shopping assistant.
So, now the dream of shoppers to have a personal assistant will transform into reality. Recommendation by the virtual assistant is based on cognitive data. The virtual assistant will make the shopping experience more interactive. These virtual assistants are fast and intelligent in comparison to their human counterparts.
AI empowers them to analyze huge volumes of data in less time and perform human-like actions. Moreover, these assistants have a personality that reflects the brand image. It is expected that the virtual assistants will make shopping more engaging and entertaining for the shoppers.
Product Recommendation – In eCommerce, the recommendation is widely practiced as it helps shoppers to find products that they are looking for. Product recommendation is an intelligent way of predicting the like of customers with advanced algorithms. The recommendation algorithm performs in multiple ways and the mechanism has evolved with various permutations and combination.
Understanding the real-time need of every customer helps in relevant product recommendation. Customer behavior lies core to this process. It has been noticed that personal recommendation improves the click-through-rate and customer engagement, in short, it enhances the shopping experience.
An important example in this regard is The North Face. The brand has experimented innovative ways to match customers with the right products. The technology they relied on for the same is powered by IBM Watson. The natural language learning process has helped in product recommendation and refines the search as per the customer response.
Image Recognition – It is perhaps one of the most effective ways of discovering products with just a click of the button. All a user needs to do is capture a picture and post it on the search bar. The ai algorithms will search through different possible matches, prioritize and rank them before displaying it to the user. So, it is an effective way of increasing conversion rate and sales.
Assortment Intelligence – Now retailers are forced to have a flexible price structure to retain a greater number of customers. So retailers are increasingly adopting and implementing Assortment Intelligence, an important tool that facilitates round-the-clock visibility and gives them an insight to the product assortment of competitors. This feature will help the retailers to know about the product mix, segment of brands and products of their competitor, which in a way help them in adjusting the pricing strategy of their product mix and brand.
The above-mentioned features will transform the way eCommerce stores buy and sell their products. Artificial Intelligence will help in predicting customer behavior, preference, and trend of future purchases. It will deliver tangible advantages for both customers and retailers. However, the important metrics that measure the impact of AI on eCommerce are- increase in the transaction, customer satisfaction, conversion, and retention.
AI the Future of eCommerce
A study published by J. Walter Thompson reveals that almost 70 percent of US millennial would appreciate the use of ai technology for eCommerce. Almost 72 percent millennial believes that the use of AI will help the eCommerce companies and brands to predict customer behavior.
Thus, brands have now opted for integrating artificial intelligence a modern approach in eCommerce as it will improve their efficiency and deliver a superior shopping experience with real-time customer knowledge and automation. With AI, the opportunity of eCommerce to personalize the customer experience and leveraging its potential will be more than ever!
