The advantages of AI in e-commerce

Here are the advantages of AI.

In this new era of Big Data, several Artificial Intelligence technologies allow us to respond more precisely to customer needs. As well as anticipate market developments. Bringing together several analysis and management techniques, AI is today an essential element for companies. And the guarantee of their competitiveness. Present in all sectors, Artificial Intelligence also has many advantages when used in e-commerce.

Advantages of AI for e-commerce

Today, online shopping is an integral part of consumer habits. In order to increase the growth of e-commerce, several Artificial Intelligence tools will now allow improving the online customer experience. Thanks, in particular, to a personalization of the content. In the online retail sector, AI can combine the benefits of the in-store customer experience with the ease of online shopping. In a study conducted by KPMG these last years, these new technologies could improve e-commerce in 5 main areas:

• Personalization and improvement of the customer experience
• Optimisation of stocks through robotic logistics
• Image recognition for a tailor-made service (personalized content and suggestions)
• Processing the masses of data collected by e-commerce thanks to Big Data
• Perfecting chatbots to improve customer relations

A considerable improvement in service

In e-commerce, AI, therefore, has an important role to play in the possibility of improving service. As the results of the study conducted by KPMG show, the most developed segment is that of personalizing the customer experience. Indeed, thanks to the data collected from customer journeys, companies can implement particularly effective predictive marketing strategies.

Significant development potential

According to experts in the field, the use of Artificial Intelligence in e-commerce is “still in the making”. As a result, there are many possibilities for future development. And the application of AI is expected to become increasingly sophisticated. To improve the performance of these technologies, several Deep Learning techniques can be used to enhance the learning of AI. In the future, Artificial Intelligence could thus allow supporting e-commerce with new solutions:

• Real-time price management
• Tailor-made product recommendations
• Personalized marketing strategy
• Shopping with voice commands
• Shopping with virtual reality technique

It seems clear that the advantages of AI are many. But we are still at the beginning of this new era. And the challenges of AI are therefore numerous. That’s why the development possibilities of these technologies are very important today. Artificial Intelligence is constantly learning and will therefore be able to improve and meet the new challenges of e-commerce.

What are the challenges for AI?

Artificial Intelligence is still in development, but it is already enabling e-commerce companies to improve their online business. This improvement can be found at different levels in e-commerce with various applications. In particular, the use of AI tools will enable companies to adopt a new customer-centric marketing strategy: relational and predictive. Responding in real-time and anticipating needs are the main challenges for marketing today. By taking an interest in particularly large and varied masses of data, AI enables companies to adapt their marketing strategy in order to offer a quality customer experience tailored to each customer. In e-commerce, the possibilities for AI development are numerous and different challenges are emerging:

• Integration of cognitive technologies
• Modification of the distribution of tasks between humans and machines
• Development of jobs related to Artificial Intelligence
• Pooling of investments for the development of these technologies

How does the application of AI apply to everyday life?

While the increased use of Artificial Intelligence may suggest a loss of relationship between companies and customers. It is actually the opposite process that brands are looking for. Indeed, in order to stand out from the crowd, companies focus on guaranteeing quality customer service and establishing a relationship of trust with consumers. In everyday life, the application of Artificial Intelligence can be found at different levels.

Personalization of the offer

Starbucks customers can order by voice or from a messaging system using the new “My Starbucks Barista” service. Based on customer data (purchase history, preferences, additional information), the algorithm of this service allows the brand to propose personalized recommendations for each customer.

Search results

In order to improve the relevance of search results, the eBay buying and selling platform uses machine learning. This Artificial Intelligence technology takes into account all the products on the website. And provides the most relevant search results possible.

Visual search

With its application “Snap. Find. Shop.“, the fashion and cosmetics brand Neiman Marcus offers its customers a particularly interesting visual search functionality. Customers can take a picture of an item in the real world and then find it in the shop’s online catalogue.

Promising features for the future of e-commerce

Artificial Intelligence can improve the activity of e-commerce companies at various levels. Indeed, both in their management and in the service offered to customers. Artificial Intelligence provides companies with particularly relevant and interesting information. By applying Artificial Intelligence to various e-commerce services, companies seek to offer a tailor-made service and establish a personalized relationship with each customer.

Finally

Although the advantages of AI in e-commerce are more than obvious. It should not be forgotten that most of them still need to be developed. But it remains promising.

If you are interested in AI and innovation in e-commerce, you can find all our articles on this subject here.

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