AI enhances the customer experience with personalized recommendations

Product upselling and cross-selling on the Amazon e-commerce platform is one of this retailer’s key success stories, accounting for an impressive 35 percent of its overall revenues. What technology is driving this conversion mode? Artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary enabler of Amazon’s product suggestion technology.

Apart from product recommendations, online merchants use AI-powered applications in the e-commerce business to provide chatbot services, analyze client feedback, and provide personalized services to online customers. In fact, according to a 2019 Ubisend survey, one out of every five consumers is willing to buy goods or services from a chatbot, and 40% of online buyers are seeking amazing deals and offers from chatbots.

While worldwide e-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.8 billion by 2021, Gartner predicts that by 2020, AI technologies will manage roughly 80% of all customer contacts.

So, how is artificial intelligence in e-commerce affecting the purchasing experience in 2019? Let’s look at some of the most important uses of artificial intelligence in e-commerce, as well as some real-world industry examples, in this post.

Artificial Intelligence: How Does It Affect The Buying Process?

Artificial intelligence revolutionizes the online retail sector by anticipating buying trends based on what customers buy and when they buy them. Suppose online buyers buy a specific rice brand every week, for example. In that case, the online merchant could give them a customized offer for that product or even use machine learning to recommend a supplementary product that goes well with rice recipes.

E-commerce AI tools or AI-enabled digital assistants, like Google Duplex, are learning to prepare grocery lists and even place online shopping orders for customers.

In the field of E-commerce, there are four major  AI-powered applications. Chatbots and other virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular.

E-commerce merchants increasingly use chatbots or digital assistants to provide 24×7 help to their online customers. Chatbots are getting more sophisticated and better customer experience, thanks to AI technologies.

We are using deeper insights to meet the demands of customers. Natural language processing (or NLP) can decipher voice-based customer interactions. Customers should receive personalized or targeted offers. They can learn independently, which allows them to progress over time.

Chatbots, in addition to offering excellent customer service, are improving the influence of AI in e-commerce by adding features such as:

Recommendations for intelligent products

Personalized product recommendations for online customers are among the most common AI-powered applications in e-commerce, with conversion rates increasing by 915 percent and average order values increasing by 3%. AI in e-commerce is influencing client selections.  Thanks to its knowledge of prior purchases, searched products, online browsing behaviors, and the utilization of big data.

E-commerce shops gain from product recommendations in a variety of ways, including:

  • Increasing the number of repeat consumers.
  • Customer retention and revenues have improved.
  • Online shoppers get a personalized purchasing experience.
  • Allow for the design of a custom email campaign for your firm.

E-commerce AI personalization

E-commerce marketing is based on personalization. In many cases, it is considered the most effective strategy. The use of AI and machine learning in e-commerce is gaining key consumer insights by analyzing the data generated by each online customer.

Boomtrain, for example, is an AI-enabled platform that can analyze client data from many contact points to understand how they interact online. E-commerce retailers can use these data to create appropriate product recommendations and give a consistent user experience across all devices.

Management of inventory

Maintaining the proper inventory level to meet market demand without adding to idle stock is the key to effective inventory management.

While traditional inventory management was limited to current stock levels, AI-assisted inventory management allows for the maintenance of supplies based on data related to:

  • Trends in past years’ sales
  • Expected or projected changes in product demand
  • Issues with supply that could have an impact on inventory levels

Dispatch, ordered items immediately following online orders. Aside from inventory management, AI is enabling warehouse management with the rise of automated robotics, which is predicted to be the future of artificial intelligence in e-commerce. Unlike human personnel, AI robots can store and collect merchandise 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

AI in the B2B E-commerce sector is producing a slew of creative solutions and revolutionizing the e-commerce industry in different ways. Let’s look at some of the most recent artificial intelligence case studies that have impacted this industry.

E-commerce industry’s AI-enabled smart solutions

AI technologies introduce internet buyers to various products they were previously unaware of. Sentient Technologies, for example, is enabling virtual digital shoppers who may recommend new products to online buyers based on their unique purchasing history and data insights.

Amazon is introducing Alexa Voice Shopping, which allows you to review the best of Amazon’s daily bargains and conduct online shopping purchases with just your voice, thanks to the success of the Amazon Alexa gadget. Plus, there’s more. Amazon Alexa can also provide you with style advice, such as the best outfit combinations and a comparison of outfits to see which looks better on you.

The number of returned goods purchased through online sales is decreasing thanks to artificial intelligence in the fashion e-commerce market. Zara, for example, is utilizing AI skills to recommend the appropriate apparel size and style choices. This can assist the fashion company in lowering product returns and increasing repeat purchases.

Apart from these advancements, AI-powered applications are revolutionizing the E-commerce market in the following areas:

Email marketing with AI sends out marketing emails for products that the receiver is interested in. Apart from sounding more human than automated, these email marketing solutions do intelligent user analysis based on their responses and are tailored to specific customers’ demands.

Supply chain automation with AI allows e-commerce platforms to manage their supply networks more effectively. Other advantages include making business decisions about vendors, delivery timetables, and market requirements.

Business intelligence, consumer profiles, and online sale analysis are just a few of the benefits of AI-based data analytics solutions for the e-commerce sector.

Omnichannel AI solutions provide a consistent and seamless consumer experience across online and physical retail locations. Sephora, for example, uses a combination of AI and machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision in its AI-based omnichannel solutions to bridge the gap between in-store and online customer experiences.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence in e-commerce, as discussed in this article, is playing a pivotal role in delivering creative solutions and great user experiences. Three of the most common e-commerce  AI powered applications involve personalized shopping, product recommendations, and inventory control.