Today, e-Commerce brands are relying heavily on using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a personalized shopping experience to their customers. Here’s how.
What makes an e-Commerce business thrive? Indeed, there is no one clear answer. The success depends on multiple factors such as excellent products, impeccable customer service, efficient marketing, and so on.
As per a Statista report, over 1.92 billion consumers will participate in eCommerce activities globally by 2019. The number is expected to increase to more than two billion by 2021.
With the competition at an all-time high, e-Commerce businesses must walk the extra mile and be creative to attract the attention of their target audience and convert them into paying customers.
Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you know what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is. You must have noticed how it benefits businesses, from different domains, on the matters of operations and customer experience.
The e-Commerce industry is no exception, with AI gradually becoming an integral part of many online stores. A Gartner study reports that AI-powered virtual assistants will handle 25% of the customer service operations by 2020. The same study reveals that when e-Commerce businesses add AI to the mix, their conversion rates soar by up to 30%.
Therefore, by integrating Artificial Intelligence with marketing, online stores can expect to see excellent returns. Here are three practical ways how:
1. Target specific customers more easily
Attracting and engaging with potential buyers has always been a challenge for e-Commerce businesses. However, AI eliminates the guesswork and helps businesses in targeting specific customers depending upon their online behavior.
The technology can create algorithms to reach target audiences and collect more advanced information about them. One company that has done a great job implementing AI technology is the US-based online apparel company, StitchFix.
Combining the expertise of personal stylists with insights gathered using AI to analyze the latest style trends, customer feedback, individual body measurements and preferences, they send monthly product recommendations to the customers.
Such personalized styling recommendations fit the customer’s lifestyle and budget. From there, the customers can choose to keep the items or send input for a more tailored selection.
Besides, AI technology is bang-on when it comes to reading customer behavior and determining the intent. Retargeting, based on a search on Google, to social media and other websites that the customer visits, makes it easy for businesses to retarget ads wherever customers go. This way, brands can share relevant ads based on the actual product the prospect searched for.
Naturally, by using AI, online stores can create dynamic ads that take the customer buying patterns into account. And then, distribute relevant ads on platforms where potential buyers are likely to see them. That increases the chances of conversions.
2. Personalize with product recommendations
Do you know Amazon dedicates 70% of its homepage to making intelligent product recommendations? In fact, the tech giant is a pioneer of this technology, with other e-Commerce businesses such as eBay have followed suit.
Netflix is another incredible example of personalized product recommendations. If you are a Netflix user, you will agree that it leaves no stone unturned to recommend movies based on the customer’s viewing history and their interaction with multiple genres. Their recommendation engine is currently valued at 8 billion dollars.
Multiple studies by Gartner and Forrester show that when e-Commerce businesses recommend products, they can increase conversion rates by 150%, revenues by up to 300%, and average order values by 50%.
From showcasing bestsellers and leaning into trends to promoting discounts and showing products based on browsing history – e-Commerce businesses can leverage product recommendation systems in many ways.
Using sophisticated AI algorithms, they can scan through volumes of data quickly to predict customer behavior, and offer relevant product recommendations to individual potential customers. The good news is consumers today prefer a personalized shopping experience.
If an e-Commerce business can give them suggestions on the products they should shop for next, they are happy to revisit the site.
Click here to know more about how AI in e-Commerce can get you a higher ROI.
3. Automate chatbot conversations
According to Opus Research, by 2021, 4.5 billion dollars are predicted to be invested in chatbots. Because, Customers prefer messaging to a chatbot as compared to a human when communicating with a brand because they offer support 24/7. They can efficiently answer multiple web users simultaneously. Thanks to AI, chatbots can understand the meaning of a sentence, not just words.
They can learn from ontologies, synonyms, and misspelled words, converse with users in different languages with ease. No wonder, chatbots are an asset in the world of e-Commerce. Leading brands such as TravelTriangle and Sephora (Kik Bot) have launched their custom AI bots to help potential buyers in finding information about a product or service.
So, if you haven’t deployed one on your online store, now is the time. With the help of an AI-powered chatbot, you can collect valuable consumer data, track behavior, ensure seamless brand continuity – all at a bare minimum cost!
Chatbots also provide a valuable customer support solution for e-Commerce businesses. They are more approachable as compared to writing emails or filling contact forms. The trick here is to ensure that your support team takes over the conversation when the chatbots start missing the context. Give your customers an option to chat with the customer rep.
Bonus: Tackle fake reviews smoothly
According to a recent study by Dimensional Research, 90% of consumers claimed positive online reviews influence their buying decisions. The same survey reported that 86% of consumers base their buying decisions on negative online reviews.
But, what if these so-called negative reviews were fake? Thankfully, AI can be used to manage this problem, and here’s how. Often known as astroturfing, the practice of distributing fake reviews has tormented many e-Commerce businesses.
In this day and age, customer reviews are the cornerstone of trust in the world of online shopping. Where potential buyers can’t see a product, their buying decision is based on reviews of the same by other customers.
That’s where AI can save the day. Popular brands such as Amazon use AI to fight fake product reviews. The technology boosts the weight of verified customer purchase reviews. More preference is given to reviews that marked helpful by other users on the site.
Saves the brand image from getting tarnished!
AI is a game-changer
AI is transforming the eCommerce industry by leaps and bounds. The technology not only adds value to the marketplace but also enables e-retailers to advance their business practices and free up time to focus on what matters, i.e. building a loyal customer base. Thankfully, you can do it all with Datoin. Try the automated ML platform for eCommerce today!