Unlimited choice of goods, helpful assistants, personalized approach, instant troubleshooting, countless yet effortless try-ons—that sounds like dream shopping, doesn’t it? However, with E-commerce, dream shopping was turned into reality and first-class services. Initially, the idea of online shopping was already exciting, as customers could reach any store in the global network and order their preferred goods. Yet the novelty quickly evaporated, pushing e-commerce to look for new and more groundbreaking ideas, which happened to be artificial intelligence (AI).
Although AI has been around for decades, its active usage started around 2022, with the introduction of ChatGPT and other different solutions to enhance the management and customer experience.
How to Implement AI-Based Solutions in E-Commerce?
AI solutions can elevate the performance of every E-commerce store, however, they require a solid technical and software foundation for implementation. The global market offers quite a few E-commerce platforms, like BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, etc. Each of them offers different services for its clients, to fit all their financial and business needs.
Considering the highly complex nature of AI tools, it is recommended to create a website using Magento, as its technical characteristics will provide the best foundation for future e-commerce stores and AI solutions.
The types and opportunities of implementation should be discussed with the dedicated team of developers, who possess decent knowledge and expertise regarding AI tools.
AI-Based Solutions for E-commerce
1. Meta-Personalization
E-commerce stores have always been customer-centric, tailoring their functioning according to specific customer avatars. Yet, with the help of AI, personalization reaches the impossible—it targets the needs and wishes of every customer individually, without any generalized views or approaches.
AI analyzes all the incoming data about the customer, including views, likes, comparisons, browsing history, purchases, abandoned cart items, etc. All the pieces of information let the AI algorithms create real-time product recommendations, thus, elevating the chances of finalized sales.
2. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Augmented and virtual realities make up for the major downside of online shopping: lack of tangibility, inability to try things on, etc.
AR allows customers to check the products as if they were real, yet without the need to leave a homey atmosphere. The’matching’ is done with the help of the application and smartphone, tablets, glasses, or headsets. With the help of cameras and sensors, the user can see how the ‘products in question’ fit the surroundings and thus choose the best ones. AR helps to choose clothes, accessories, makeup, toys, etc.
VR provides a deeper understanding of the product’s ‘chose-ability’, as it provides 360-degree videos and photos, creating the feeling of a real store. It allows the user to visit the store without leaving their home place and order the goods even from a different continent.
3. Voice Commerce
AI takes care of all the super-busy customers, introducing voice commerce.
Voice Commerce provides multifunctionality into an overly-scheduled day. As the name suggests, the purchases are performed with the help of a virtual assistant; however, the customers don’t need to be distracted from their main occupation. Moreover, such a shopping experience is more efficient for the customers, as they order the things they need without all the browsing and doubts of choice.
4. Flexible pricing
Relevant pricing is a sensitive topic in the E-commerce environment. Everyone understands how the commerce world works, yet, it is still important to find balanced pricing to create value for customers and keep them engaged.
AI provides businesses with current pricing trends and competitors’ policies, which lets businesses adjust their prices appropriately.
5. Customer support
Customer support is one of the critical characteristics of the online store. Every user wants to feel protected from unexpected issues, and have them resolved in the shortest possible time. While human-based support can barely handle large volumes of requests, AI algorithms and chatbots are there to help.
The chatbots are taught to communicate the simplest issues regarding FAQs, delivery terms, tracking numbers, etc.; people, however, can handle more complex issues, communicating directly with the customers.
6. Localization
AI promotes global development as it allows for the adjustment of websites’ characteristics based on location.
Having performed the scanning of the IP address and location data (if available), AI tools transform the way information is presented to local preferences, thus engaging more customers and sales.
The Takeaway
Artificial intelligence has started a new generation of changes in our society. While its real potential is still to be discovered, the E-commerce world can fully enjoy all the benefits of its tools—personalization, data analytics and statistics, customer support, augmented and virtual realities, voice commerce—the list of improvements is endless.
When considering AI solutions for an e-store, it is important to have a perfectly functioning tech foundation, like the Magento platform, as its highly organized system can allow the integration of all the AI tools businesses may opt for.
Magento and AI tools will help you create a one-of-a-kind store in the digital environment and start a long-term history of growth and success.
Also read:
