Every one of us must have heard about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how big it has become in the past couple of years. It has started to enter all aspects of our lives including how we shop online. AI is changing how e-commerce stores go about their day-to-day operations. Big IT companies like IBM, Microsoft, META, etc. have shown their desire to develop, improve and implement AI as a new form of business. That can help them generate revenue.
In the last decade or so, online businesses have grown at a break-neck speed and if top e-commerce companies don’t keep up with the trends then they might lose a big market opportunity.
How is AI Capturing the Ecommerce Segment?
AI, which affects various businesses like advertising, marketing, finance, medical care, and others, is currently being utilized in the field of e-commerce. A couple of years from now, we will be observing a huge development of AI in the e-commerce business. And, this innovation will support making significant business choices, making pre-emptive arrangements, and creating important business insights.
These are some of the powerful ways through which AI is dominating the e-commerce segment.
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Voice search capabilities
Voice assistants like Alexa & Siri have found their way into people’s living rooms today. Then, they seem to be voice assistants when searching for something online and shopping. According to some latest studies, 75% of people in the US will own a smart speaker, generating $35.5 billion in revenue in 2025. And, this is one AI feature that can have a huge impact on how we shop online.
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Implementation of chatbots in customer care
Many brands like Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Burger King, Sephora, etc. have adopted chatbots to interact & respond to customer queries. So, this can impact customer decision-making in a huge way since based on the swiftness of the replies received from chatbots a customer can decide to buy or not buy a particular product.
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Automated recommendations
Shopping websites and apps are becoming smarter with the use of AI. These websites and apps are able to recommend products to the shoppers based on their past purchases or the purchases they are making now.
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Image recognition feature
If you are a regular online shopper then you must have seen or utilized this feature. This feature lets you select an item from any image using the image recognition technique. Thus, enhancing the online shopping experience.
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Personalized searches
Personalized searches combine machine learning with generalized searching for a product. This enables a fast and better internal website search.
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Better experience in mobile shopping
According to Statista, 73% of eCommerce purchases by 2021 will happen through mobile devices. This has been with advancements in technology and a smoother user experience so they can shop easily using their mobile phones.
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Virtual Personal Shoppers coming of age
AI is constantly enabling various e-commerce brands to build smart shoppers. These smart shoppers are like customer avatars that assist shoppers with their buying decisions. Now, instead of ticking boxes to filter choices, customers are able to talk to these virtual personal assistants to get the product they want.
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Smarter and faster delivery methods
Today’s customer wants swift delivery of products that they order online. Many platforms like Amazon are working hard to make same-day delivery a reality for almost all buyers. AI-enabled robots are playing the role to make swift delivery possible for the doorstep. That all is being made possible by AI and data-enabled innovation.
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Social Media e-commerce
Instagram feed is becoming commonplace to put clothing, fashion accessories, etc. in front of an audience. As per research on Statista, Instagram has 1 billion monthly accounts that are selling actively through their social media handles. In addition to this, the percentage of retailers in North America that used social media as a source of eCommerce nearly doubled from 17% in 2017 to 33% in 2018 and will clearly grow as the years pass and social media becomes more powerful.
What Future Holds?
Ecommerce is seen as a mature sector that is ready for investment into AI for further growth. Then, AI ensures that the e-commerce shopping experience is as seamless as possible and convenient for shoppers. The covid pandemic accelerated the adoption of AI and machine learning by many retailers along with e-commerce giants. In fact, eCommerce is coming to terms. That they are not using technology just for the sake of it but for improving customer experience.
Automation and AI are set to redesign the entire e-commerce industry model and the broader value chain. This transition will result in the emergence of organizations with fewer layers and a better-skilled and trusted workforce. That is backed by real-time data and analytics. It is exciting to try out new technologies for business improvement.
Business Automation with the help of AI is ever-changing the means through which e-commerce businesses operate. Systems, reach, methods, workflow, and production are all assessed & modified to be more robust. It is important for business growth – it provides businesses a chance to “untie even a lot of potential” by reaching new customers with the smallest operational overhead, rising from finance, marketing & give better product options along with better client service. AI adoption in e-commerce has opened the door for increased transparency and opportunities for collaboration across teams in e-commerce. When everyone has access to useful information, it becomes easier to work toward goals and people tend to feel like their actions matter. Increased productivity and efficiency, along with the ease and transparency provided by AI tools that a business can make available to its clients, will improve the overall team and customer experience while shopping online.
