AI in eCommerce: How eCommerce Businesses Can Benefit from Artificial Intelligence in 2023?

Earlier, transitioning from a simple brick & mortar store to an eCommerce store was considered enough. However, now in the fast-paced world where technology is changing rapidly, having only an eCommerce store is not enough. Adopting the latest technologies is a need of the hour, and Artificial Intelligence is one such technology.

Talking about the eCommerce industry, AI uses machine learning technologies and algorithms to get valuable consumer data so that you can provide desirable UX via different means and grow your business.

So, should you adopt Artificial Intelligence for your eCommerce store or wait for a few years? To answer the question, we have given practical strategies on How AI can benefit your eCommerce business.

But before we look into that, we will understand the current scenario of AI in eCommerce.

So, let’s get started.

The State of AI in the eCommerce Industry

According to a report by Oracle, 78% of brands have utilized AI tools or are planning to use them soon.

According to InsightAceAnalytic’s research, AI eCommerce solutions were valued at $3.71 billion in 2021. The annual growth rate is anticipated at a CAGR of 15.7% between 2022 and 2030.

These statistics indicate that Artificial Intelligence would help the eCommerce industry to reach new heights.

So, whether you have a custom eCommerce store or build on any eCommerce platform like Shopify, Magento, etc., you can utilize artificial intelligence tools for marketing & growing your business.

Now, let us know the applications of AI in eCommerce.

11 Effective Ways of Using Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce

Here is the list of eCommerce AI strategies that will be adopted by eCommerce stores worldwide.

1. AI-Powered Product Recommendations

Personalized product recommendation is one of the most popular eCommerce strategies where products are suggested to the users via email, website, or app by analyzing their shopping habits.

According to Invespcro, 75% of customers would love to purchase a product as per personalized recommendations.

The eCommerce stores like Amazon use AI with machine learning to understand the customers’ specific interests, preferences, and past behaviors. Retailers here gather as much data as possible from customers and examine it thoroughly to offer recommendations that are relevant to them. The artificial intelligence-backed product recommendations are generated in real time, ensuring that they are relevant and up-to-date.

Apart from this, you can also use customer data for future predictions, making tailor-made sales strategies, improving product pricing, and getting necessary customer insights. In the end, offering a personalized experience in product recommendations helps to increase sales and engagement by presenting products to customers that interest them.

2. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

AI Chatbots is a computer-based program that leverages machine learning and language processing to become familiar with users’ questions and offer the required support in real time.

Virtual assistants are remote workers who provide administrative and technical support to your customers from a remote location.

Chatbots and virtual assistants are widely used to offer customer service, resolve queries, and provide recommendations instantly. You can integrate these artificial intelligence technologies into your eCommerce website or app.

The primary benefit of virtual assistants and chatbots is that they can look after numerous queries in real time; hence, these technologies improvise the sales process and offer a top-notch shopping experience. Another essential benefit of chatbots and virtual assistants is that they work 24*7.

As per one report, online retail has the highest acceptance rate of 34% from customers for artificial intelligence chatbots..

3. Inventory Management

It is the process of storing, ordering, and selling goods & services. In simple words, inventory management is keeping the right stock at the right place at the right time.

Initially, inventory management was just limited to maintaining the current stock levels. With the emergence of artificial intelligence & machine learning, you can predict demand via sales patterns, weather patterns, and market trends. For instance, AI & ML helps keeps you updated with the inventory you need to order and the total to keep in stock.

Besides inventory management, AI allows warehouse management with the help of automated robots. The key benefit of using artificial intelligence in inventory management is that it allows you to automate your routine tasks and gives recommendations on slow-moving or surplus stock.

In the end, AI-powered inventory management allows you to enhance operational efficiency, decrease costs, and generate high revenue.

4. Automation

Automation is referred to as various technologies that limit human intervention to a minimum. If you have your business on multiple channels like a website, app, and social media page, it’s high time to consider automation.

Automation using AI is a game-changer for eCommerce businesses. It allows you to automate various things like inventory management, fulfillment & shipping, customer service, and marketing. By automating all of these processes, AI saves a lot of your time and energy on repetitive things.

Here, you can consider various eCommerce trends running in the market and automate things accordingly.

5. Improving Cyber Security

eCommerce stores possess a high amount of customer data & it needs to be protected. Artificial intelligence helps to protect from various cyberattacks in the following ways.

Identifying Threats & Attacks
AI allows analyzing massive customer data to detect threats, potential vulnerabilities, and suspicious activities in real time, enabling you to resolve things as soon as possible.

Blocking Traffic and Bots
AI enables you to detect and block malicious traffic, thus allowing security experts to emphasize essential tasks. Besides this, AI improves authentication and access control by identifying good & bad bots and blocking suspicious login attempts.

Using artificial intelligence in cyber security can help your eCommerce business stay ahead of evolving threats and ensure your online operations are safe and secure.

6. Sales Forecasting

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, sales forecasting became necessary. Artificial Intelligence can significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of sales forecasting in eCommerce. It enables to do sales forecasting efficiently. Here, you can analyze historical data to detect patterns that help determine future sales. It involves checking various things like seasonality, product popularity, and customer demographics.

Besides this, AI helps in sales forecasting to examine real-time customer data like products they view or add to a cart and utilize the information to optimize the pricing and manage inventory well.

Lastly, AI in sales forecasting allows you to predict marketing results, satisfy customer needs, and generate good revenue.

7. Voice & Visual Search

Voice and visual search are two of the most well-known technologies that eCommerce stores adopted worldwide to attract customers and increase conversions. Let’s have a brief about it.

AI-powered voice search technology allows customers to utilize a natural language voice command to search the eCommerce store. It is convenient for people that have some challenges in typing. For instance, voice search enables users to search for products using short or long phrases. Here, you can optimize product listings through clear and concise language and integrate the right set of keywords.

Visual search is an AI technology that allows shoppers to search via real-world imagery instead of text search. Visual search powered by artificial intelligence uses image recognition technology to help customers find products based on pictures or sketches.

For instance, a customer can just search for products via images on the eCommerce site. Here, you can optimize the images of your products based on what users search.

Hence, consider integrating voice & visual search in your eCommerce store.

8. Semantic-Based Search

The search result is a very crucial aspect of eCommerce personalization. Semantic-based search helps to achieve the same. It uses natural language processing and machine learning techniques to decipher the searcher’s intent and contextual meaning of the phrases in search instead of matching the exact query in the search index.

[Image Source: jobspikr]

Regarding eCommerce, semantic-based search enables customers to navigate and instantly find the products per their needs. It allows customers to use general terms and phrases and provide a list of the most suitable products. For instance, a customer can use a search query like “Winter dresses” instead of declaring brand or style, and an eCommerce marketplace or search engine showcases a list of dresses a customer can wear.

Moreover, semantic-based search also helps you to enhance your search rankings. How? You can store users’ search queries and create specific content as per the queries, which ultimately helps your eCommerce website rank higher and generate more traffic.

9. Handling Fake Reviews

Customer reviews are highly crucial in any eCommerce store. The reviews decide whether the product will do wonders or fall apart. A fake review can be either good or bad. When potential customers detect a fake review, they will likely abandon the product and leave the eCommerce store.

According to Invesp, 82% of customers say they have read a fake review.

Thankfully, artificial intelligence can save your eCommerce store from fake reviews. It uses natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to understand the language and content of reviews and identify all the fake or biased reviews.

For instance, you can train an AI system to detect reviews with common keywords or phrases, like “good product” or “like it.” It can examine the overall tone and sentiment of reviews and report those that are highly positive and negative.

With AI, you can find & remove fake reviews, enhance the efficiency of your review system and provide a top-notch user experience to the audience.

10. Remarketing the Potential Customers

It is a method to reach out to customers who have visited your eCommerce store before once. They have also bought from your online store before or have left at some point before making a purchase.

Using AI, your eCommerce store can become familiar with the behavior pattern of the customers considering the total sales and most viewed items. Further, you can target customers through push notifications, email marketing, and advertising.

11. AI Can Detect and Deter Counterfeit Products

AI can detect and deter counterfeit products by using advanced algorithms to analyze images, descriptions, and other data points to identify patterns indicative of counterfeit activity.

By analyzing this information in real-time, AI systems can detect counterfeit products quickly and accurately, which can help prevent them from being sold to unsuspecting customers.

Additionally, AI can track and monitor the supply chain, allowing retailers to identify potential sources of counterfeit products and take steps to prevent them from entering the market.

Final Thought on Using AI in eCommerce

In the end, AI can transform the eCommerce industry in various ways. It includes personalized recommendations, automating repetitive tasks, and improving search results. In addition, AI could optimize inventory management, enhance supply chain efficiency, and improve customer experience through chatbots & virtual assistants.

Adopting AI in eCommerce will help eCommerce businesses to survive & thrive in the industry. Therefore, if you haven’t yet considered AI, it’s high time to consider it for your eCommerce store.

If you need any help integrating technology in your eCommerce store, feel free to contact us.

We are an eCommerce development company. We have helped a wide range of eCommerce stores worldwide in integrating the right technologies. Hence, we can understand your business needs and integrate the most reliable technology that enables you to grow.

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