AI is everywhere and it is solving real-world problems every day. That is why we had to think of how does AI help eCommerce business growth and that is exactly what we are going to explore today.
We are going to find out the impact of AI in eCommerce so that we can understand how impactful is AI in online retail as well as compare it to machine learning and see if machine learning in online retail is as effective.
We will understand why AI-driven customer engagement is far more effective than any other measure of marketing strategy and how AI can be very beneficial in multiple areas of eCommerce.
We will explore ideas like inventory management with AI and how it can streamline the process and reduce inefficiencies. We will also discuss how AI can be extremely beneficial for fraud detection and prevention.
Before we do that, we need to understand what is AI so that we can understand better how AI-powered marketing strategies and AI-enabled E-Commerce is going to be powerful.
So, What Is AI? Is It the Same as Machine Learning?
We are going to keep it simple because we want this blog to be understood by everyone and that is why we will help you understand AI and the difference between IT and machine learning in a simple way.
In order to understand AI, you need to think of human intelligence. AI is replicating human intelligence with the help of a machine that can mimic human intelligence.
That means training that machine or model to do complex tasks but also understand those tasks and problems in a rudimentary way just as a human would so that AI will be able to think on it on and understand problems and solve them like a human but far more effectively.
This is amazing from the point of view of chatbots and virtual assistants in the customer segment using AI. That is why AI is very beneficial and can be put to great use with E-Commerce because of its complex unique challenges.
Now you might wonder what is machine learning. Machine learning is simply teaching a machine to do a task. Machine learning is not helping the machine get an intelligence of its own so that it can think like a human.
Machine learning is much more specific and it aims to teach a machine a task over and over so that it can replicate similar desired results after a certain number of rounds.
Now that you know what is AI, you might be already thinking about the implications of AI in eCommerce because it can be groundbreaking. A company that might use AI is going to have a huge competitive advantage through AI over its competition.
That’s why AI implementation is not just being thought of as a novelty but a necessity and it will definitely be stable in the future and we will see more future trends in AI for e-commerce.
Can AI Really Bring a Change in E-Commerce?
If you need to understand the impact of AI in e-commerce then all you need to do is to break down E-Commerce into its basic form.
Success in e-commerce is understanding the consumer better and providing better logistics. If you can fulfil both of them and bring efficiency to both of them then you are a winner at eCommerce.
Consumer Satisfaction
AI can work wonders for consumer satisfaction because AI can identify shopping patterns and recommend the best products for consumers.
AI can better understand what consumers want and they can even recommend other products based on customer purchase patterns. There are endless possibilities for customer satisfaction with AI.
You can even create a model that will optimise your website for the best customer satisfaction.
Logistics
AI can dramatically improve the logistic situation which is a very manual and menial task.
AI can map out the best shipping routes and the best shipping dates and you can even factor in things like fuel cost and traffic situations to bring the best kind of efficiency.
Conversion rate optimisation with AI is also going to make sure that customer needs and understood and addressed by improving the factors mentioned above.
If you can utilise AI for customer satisfaction and logistics then you have a successful eCommerce formula in your hands. We are not even getting to the part where you can utilise AI for digital marketing.
Now that we know the level of impact AI can have in e-commerce, we are going to be talking about the benefits of AI for E-Commerce businesses.
Here Are the Benefits of AI for E-Commerce Businesses
Custom Visual Experience
One of the most beneficial uses of AI is going to be customer satisfaction and you can ensure customer satisfaction by giving them a custom experience.
In order to understand this, you need to think of luxury brands. If you go into any luxury boutique store, the salesman is going to provide you with a very custom experience.
You are only going to be recommended products that you like and you can take as much time as possible to determine if you want to get something. The salesman will also personally contact you whenever there is a new product.
That is not possible with regular everyday products but with AI that can be replicated on any website. Customers will get product recommendations as if a human is recommending it to them.
Customers can now browse the website and only look at things that they are interested in and they can even ask the AI-enabled chatbot for something that they might not know the name of.
The possibilities are endless when you combine AI features and utilise it to provide a custom experience for clients.
Review Filtering and Custom Review Generation
Anybody who uses eCommerce can tell you that eCommerce is amazing and that you can have a far better experience with eCommerce than physical shopping.
But one of the biggest problems of e-commerce is reviews because consumers usually look at reviews to understand whether a product is good and reviews are one of the most important components that help people decide.
But reviews can be artificially created and you might be a seller and generate artificial reviews so that the product looks even better than it is actually. AI will make sure only the most authentic reviews and the most helpful reviews are at the top of the review section.
AI will ensure that only genuine reviews and helpful reviews are at the top of the list and remove fraudulent reviews. Furthermore, AI can be utilised to create custom reviews by collecting data from all the reviews into a single condensed review for consumers to look at.
Better Product Listing and Visuals
If you are an online seller then one of the ways by which you can shine and get noticed is to have a good product description and good visuals of the product.
If a product has pictures and videos then consumers are more likely to buy it because they can see the product better. With AI you can greatly improve the visual aspect of the product.
This is because not every seller is going to have a professional photography team for every product they list and that is why they cannot simply compete with big brands that have their own media team.
But with AI any regular picture taken can be enhanced and a 3D model can be created which can be put into realistic surroundings. This means you can create stunning visuals of your product that are authentic as well as attractive.
This can be integrated into a simple tool on all eCommerce platforms.
Return Customer Targeting
If you want your E-Commerce business to be successful then all you need to do is to have return clients which means the clients are coming back for another purchase after their initial purchase and it will ensure business stability and longevity.
This can be done with the help of marketing but also a good customer experience and AI can help that in a great way.
If you do not want AI to take an active part then you can just utilise the data it collects. All you need to do is compare all the factors between clients who return and clients who do not return and you will have your answer.
If the clients that return show a particular pattern, then you need to implement that pattern with all clients so that you can increase your chances of customer return.
But if you want to take a more direct approach to this then all you need to do is program the AI to make those changes itself on your E-Commerce platform so that it is always optimised.
And did we mention price optimisation because it will play an important role in the customer experience as customers will only get the best prices and sellers will see profits resulting in return customers.
Enhanced Customer Support
The best form of customer support is to have a human on the other end with a simple-to-reach phone line but we know that is very difficult and even eCommerce giants like Amazon do not provide that facility.
That is why you need to involve the clients in a chat process so that you can understand what they want and make sure that that problem is solved within the chat so that it does not take up important time of your customer executive.
Chatbots are quite simple and can be annoying to customers because existing chatbots do not understand the client like a human would.
Now imagine introducing AI into your chats how can perfectly understand what the client wants and provide them with that solution!
For example, if a client wants to do something complex like convert an existing order payment into an EMI as well as reschedule it but cancel it if it exceeds a certain delivery time, then a regular chatbot will never be able to do it.
If you bring AI into the equation then that AI will be able to solve the issue and the customer will not even have to wait for a human to listen to their problem.
Product Listing Scams
Every e-commerce platform has 90% hard-working sellers providing good quality products but the remaining 10% are selling counterfeit products which can easily be categorised into a scam.
Now it is impossible to identify something like that on a big eCommerce platform that sells everything. That is where AI can come in.
AI can identify counterfeit products and counterfeit listings and analyse authentic customer reviews to find out which products are not actually what the seller is advertising and take them off the product listing.
If you do not want the system to be completely automated then you can have a human do the final decision making but it is still going to be a good way of ensuring the prevention of counterfeit products.
Inventory and Logistics
If you run an eCommerce platform then one of your biggest concerns would be efficiency in logistics and inventory management.
The customers are never going to see it but if you do not have efficiency then it is directly going to reduce your sales.
AI can work wonders and it can totally automate your inventory management system so that you do not even have to take a look at it and it will be at its peak efficiency.
AI can simulate peak seasons and can reorganise warehouses to stock inventory that might be in demand for a sales season.
AI can move products from warehouses where it is not needed and distribute them to places where a certain product is being ordered more often.
AI will make it easier and quicker for customers to get what they need and customers are going to order even more which will directly impact your sales and help you become an eCommerce success.
AI in Marketing
While this deserves a blog of its own but we are still going to talk about the benefits of AI in digital marketing as concisely as we can.
One of the biggest factors of e-commerce success is going to be marketing strategies and AI can formulate the best kind of marketing strategies.
AI can study your competitors and the best names in the market to formulate the perfect marketing strategy for your business. AI can then generate the perfect marketing content and then run ads with the best kind of efficiency and make changes wherever necessary depending on real-time data.
This means you are going to get the finest marketing manager at a fraction of the cost and also have the best quality content all bundled together into a neat package.
Of course, there is going to be a learning curve to optimise your AI to do something like that in marketing but if you can do it then you will always be at the top of your competition.
Apart from all the above, AI can be a blessing when it comes to cyber security and it can also be amazing for cross-border payments for your international clients.
All you need to do is to enable AI for all your eCommerce operations in every aspect of the way right from the marketing to customer handling as well as internal operations like inventory and logistics.
And if you feel like that is too complicated then you are right because it is not just enough to have the intention of using AI because you need to implement AI deep into your system as well.
That is exactly what we do at Think To Share IT Solutions. We are one of the premier names when it comes to AI enabled web design and development solutions and we are also renowned for AI implementation into all our services.
We will make sure AI is integrated deep into your eCommerce platform so that you can reach peak efficiency without even hiring a single person.
We welcome you to visit our website and check out everything we do and we would love to help you achieve AI efficiency in your E-Commerce business.
Common AI in E-Commerce FAQs
How does AI help business growth?
AI can be amazing for your eCommerce business because AI can bring amazing levels of efficiency to your eCommerce business. You can implement AI for digital marketing and customer experience but you can also implement AI for cyber security and also backend operations like inventory management and logistics.
If you can implement AI into every aspect of your business then you are always going to stay on top of your competition. This will definitely lead to business growth.
What is the relevance of AI in achieving better profitability in eCommerce?
If you want profitability in e-commerce then you need efficiency. If you need happy clients then you need to give them a good experience. You need the best kind of cyber security and you need honesty at every step of the way from product listings to reviews.
If you do all that then your eCommerce business is going to be popular and profitable. AI will help you at every step of the way and make your systems more efficient and better suited for your clients so that they get a custom hassle-free experience.
Your inventory management and logistics will also reach peak efficiency and all that will contribute to profits.
How does AI affect our everyday lives in eCommerce?
If you look at it from the standpoint of a customer then AI can be amazing for eCommerce because it will dramatically improve their experience.
If you are the end customer and if you are visiting a website that has enabled AI in eCommerce then you can expect significant changes.
You can expect the most relevant product suggestions and you can expect the best deals and you can also expect the best delivery times, not to mention the best prices.
And if you still have any complaints then you will also get the best solution finding and customer grievance resolutions.
How can AI improve ecommerce?
AI has the power to change E-Commerce for the better from everyone’s standpoint and everyone is going to be a winner.
If it is your E-Commerce platform then you can see the best kind of efficiency in your system and you can see respectable amounts of business growth.
If you are the customer then you can see improved customer experience and you can get a customised E-Commerce experience.
And if you are a seller then you can expect better sales provided you show honesty in your product listing. You are going to see that your product will be noticed by more clients because of precise product recommendations from AI.
AI will transform eCommerce eventually within a matter of years if not months.