5 major benefits of integrating Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce websites
Staying abreast of competition in the online marketplace is quite challenging. According to a recent survey, the global eCommerce market size was estimated at USD 9,093.6 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 10,361.0 billion in 2020. The e-commerce marketplace growth is estimated to reach USD 27,147.9 billion by 2027. Hundreds of websites are trying out new ways of sustaining themselves and succeeding. So, what makes some of them click and others sink?
For any business to prosper, customer satisfaction and their overall buying experience are major contributors. Technology has played an important role to this end. The emergence and subsequent growth of Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce have been pivotal in enhancing customer engagement. Let us see some of its major effects in the following lines.
5 ways in which Artificial Intelligence has impacted the online marketplace
Online shopping is all about convenience. Customers do not have to visit brick and mortar stores for any of their needs in the current times. What makes it even better is that they do not have to type for products in the search bar anymore. With the help of Voice Search, it happens faster and is more effective. The integration of Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce websites automatically displays the relevant products based on the customers’ previous shopping history. In some cases, it even reminds them to purchase items that need to be replenished over a period of time, such as groceries, etc. Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa have become our best shopping assistants and continue to help us save time and effort.
Security is a big risk that eCommerce websites have to address without fail. Cybercrime is growing every day and combating it requires special tools. The algorithms in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning work well to identify such risks and prevent any fraud. These safeguard all the sensitive data that is shared on online businesses and ensure customer security.
Chatbots are excellent means to keep users engaged. They do not have to wait to get any queries answered and this helps them make purchasing decisions faster and better. AI helps recover past purchase patterns of customers and come up with the relevant search results when they visit the website next. eCommerce analytics is another means to analyze such huge volumes of data and create a marketplace that offers the best shopping experience for each customer in question.
Marketing campaigns, special offers and deals can be personalized based on the data collected for each shopper and notifications sent based on these. Artificial Intelligence can recommend items that are relevant to the demographics of the customers so that they do not have to spend much time in searching for them. An automated system customizes the users’ preferences, price ranges and brand affinities and creates a delightful shopping experience.
Artificial Intelligence is able to predict the customers’ behaviors in a timely manner and help eCommerce businesses in their inventory management. Making sure that the stock is not empty when there is a demand for a particular item at a specific time period is key to the success of any online shopping portal. In addition to this, packing items and making them ready for the delivery process can also be automated with the help of robotics in warehouses. Delivering them on time every time can be accomplished with the help of AI and Machine Learning through periodic notifications to the respective departments.
Voice Search
Enhanced security
Better user-engagement
Personalization
Finer inventory management
All the above mentioned benefits are significant in keeping customers’ happy and ensuring that they return to the same websites over time. They are more likely to recommend such experiences to their family and friends which results in a growth in the customer base.
Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce development
Machine Learning, a part of the larger Artificial Intelligence, helps machines think like human beings. This aspect makes shoppers believe that they are interacting with another human rather than a machine since the responses/actions are enhanced. Incorporating Artificial Intelligence algorithms at the time of the development of eCommerce websites is the ideal method of going forward. This way, businesses can make themselves future-ready by all means and be able to sustain in the hugely competitive online marketplace.