Once you dip your toes into the eCommerce world, there’s no turning back. It’s a constant whirlwind. One that pushes you to keep up with innovations and stay ahead of the curve. This doesn’t come as a surprise. Artificial intelligence is one of the main forces driving these innovations, after all. In fact, crafting a personalized shopping experience with AI has become the new norm, with nine of ten businesses worldwide adopting this approach in 2023.
So, what about you? How up-to-date are you? Read on and find out for yourself!
It’s actually pretty simple. Customers make the eCommerce landscape, and what do customers enjoy the most? They enjoy being pampered. The fact that 66% of customers expect brands to understand their wants and needs shows just how important it is to keep them satisfied.
AI helps you do this. With innovations popping up by the day, it makes it possible for you to offer customers a unique experience, bringing them closer to becoming repeat customers.
And while AI innovations might seem unconventional to some, they can make all the difference - drive your eCommerce business toward success. So, let’s go over this in detail.
When do you like a present the most? When someone takes your needs and interests into consideration, right? The same goes for customers. They’re most likely to purchase from a business that personalizes their shopping experience to align with their preferences.
Let’s see how AI technologies help you do this:
Thanks to AI technologies, you can analyze your customers’ data, everything from their browsing history and past purchases to their demographic information. It’s how you gain insight into what they like and what they’re after, allowing you to recommend relevant products later. Therefore increasing conversion rates.
You can also use this analysis to send tailored messages to your customers, such as special offers or personalized promotions. It can even be as simple as wishing them a happy birthday. Trust me, you’ll be killing two birds with one stone - making someone’s day while reminding them to get back to shopping.
AI innovations are nothing if not fun. If you want to spice up the experience, you can let each customer create a custom avatar that resembles their physical attributes. This avatar is like a virtual representation of themselves that they can use to, for example, try on virtual outfits.
If you’re looking to attract customers, you obviously have more than enough options to make it work. And make no mistake - this list will only be getting longer. At the pace that artificial intelligence grows, we can’t help but wonder - how much more personalized can it get?
There’s more to the website experience than just recommending products based on your customers’ tastes. Have you ever wondered if your website can do more? From the moment a customer lands on your website to the moment they leave, AI gives you control over their steps.
It all starts with the algorithm collecting your website visitors’ data with the goal of hooking them with relevant products, content, and messaging in real-time. It even takes notice of their favorite colors to optimize the visual and design elements of the website. If they’re about to abandon the cart, the algorithm steps in with incentives to encourage them to complete the purchase.
But AI can also optimize the search experience on eCommerce websites. Navigating through a website that hasn’t optimized its search functionality must be one of the worst experiences ever.
Well, besides the basics, such as correcting spelling errors and providing relevant suggestions based on search intent, AI now allows users to search for products by using images. This leads to a simpler search process and more accurate search results.
Next, we have chatbots and virtual assistants working to enhance customer support in the eCommerce landscape. Yes, this is all part of the optimized website experience. However, with more and more eCommerce businesses incorporating it, it deserves a deeper exploration.
Research shows that by 2027, AI chatbots will become the main customer service channel for approximately 25% of organizations. The days when customers would wait for an answer to their email, which, by the way, could easily get lost in a cluttered inbox, are over. Here’s why:
Thanks to AI chatbots and virtual assistants, customers can now receive prompt and accurate responses. Not to worry, chatbots are well-versed in handling various tasks, including recommending products and tracking orders. You can count on them to keep customers satisfied.
AI has completely revolutionized the way eCommerce businesses communicate with their customers. Even when you’re not, chatbots and virtual assistants are there to answer anyone having questions regarding your business.
But the best thing about chatbots is that they’re always learning. They’ll use previous interactions with customers to gain insight into their needs and wants, using this information to further grab their attention.
Sure, AI chatbots and virtual assistants don’t bring the warmth and emotion a human would, and they probably never will. However, they do provide fast responses, which helps reduce the wait time for customers, as well as accurate ones, which gives customers peace of mind.
Unfortunately, as the eCommerce market grows, fraudsters are looking for new and improved ways to exploit its vulnerabilities. And with eCommerce businesses losing huge amounts of money yearly to fraud, somewhere in the billions, one can say they’re pretty much succeeding.
Successful eCommerce businesses scream money. Naturally, the more transactions a business processes, the more likely it is to attract fraudsters. This is exactly why fraud prevention is a must. You’re probably already familiar with some defense tactics, such as KYC, transaction monitoring, and employee training programs. Yes, these are still relevant, but they’re far more beneficial when combined with AI technological advancements.
Here’s what AI and machine learning bring to the table:
As a subset of artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms make it possible for you to analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, potentially detecting suspicious activities. Transaction monitoring solutions can find this extremely beneficial as such algorithms continuously learn and adapt to fraud trends.
AI makes it easier to detect potential illicit activities. It does this by creating a unique profile for each of your customers with the goal of identifying anomalies in the usual patterns. For example, if a customer who never overspends suddenly starts purchasing high-value items, AI systems will perceive it as a red flag.
One of the biggest challenges of transaction monitoring has always been the risk of false positives. AI still hasn’t eliminated this risk, but thanks to its accurate nature, it helps reduce false positives to a minimum.
You see, all of the above artificial intelligence innovations can help you succeed, and while extremely beneficial, they’re not mandatory to incorporate. However, fraud prevention is an aspect you should seriously consider, as it can make all the difference in critical situations.
When it comes to inventory management, AI can take a huge burden off your shoulders. These systems analyze your history of sales and current market trends to predict future product demand. You’ll always have the right amount of stock - never too little, never too much.
But AI does even more than this. It also keeps tabs on the pricing of your competitors so you can adjust your own prices to stay competitive. Thanks to this efficient inventory management, you can offer fair yet competitive prices, as well as make sure that products are in stock exactly when customers are looking to make a purchase.
Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Nothing is 100% ideal, but it’s obvious that AI has made it its mission to improve the eCommerce landscape. So far, it’s succeeding. More and more eCommerce businesses are adopting artificial intelligence, and this is your sign to do so, too.
If dormant, it’s time to unlock your business’s growth. Time to show your customers and yourself what you can do. Time for that yearlong hard work and patience to pay off.
Even though not official, eCommerce and artificial intelligence seem to go hand in hand, so it’s worth considering integrating AI into your business strategy.
Author bioMakedonka Micajkova is a freelance content writer and translator, always bringing creativity and originality to the table. Being multilingual with professional proficiency in English, German, and Spanish, it’s needless to say that languages are her biggest passion in life. She is also a skilled communicator, as a result of having three years of experience as a sales representative. You can find her on Linkedin.
