In this new era of Big Data, several technologies of Artificial Intelligence make it possible to respond more precisely to customer needs and 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 by being used within e-commerce.
AI at the service of 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 make it possible to improve the online customer experience thanks, in particular, to personalization of the content . In the online sales sector, AI combines the benefits of the physical store customer experience with the ease of shopping on the internet. In a study conducted by KPMG in 2018, these new technologies could improve e-commerce in 5 main areas:
• Personalization and improvement of the customer experience
• Optimization of stocks by robotic logistics
• Image recognition for a tailor-made service (personalized content and suggestions)
• Processing of the masses of data collected by e-commerce using Big data
• Perfecting chatbots to improve customer relations
Significant improvement in service
In e-commerce, AI therefore has an important role in terms of the possibility of improving service. As the results of the KPMG study show, the most developed segment is that of personalizing the customer experience . Indeed, thanks to the data collected from customer journeys, companies can put in place particularly effective predictive marketing strategies .
Significant development potential
According to experts in the field, the use of Artificial Intelligence in the field of e-commerce is “still in the making”. As a result, there are many possibilities for development in the future and the application of AI should be improved more and more. To improve the performance of these technologies, several Deep Learning techniques can be used, thereby strengthening AI learning. In the future, Artificial Intelligence could thus make it possible to support e-commerce with new solutions:
• Real-time price management
• Tailor-made product recommendations
• Personalized marketing strategy
• Purchases by voice commands
• Shopping with virtual reality techniques
The challenges of AI are therefore numerous and the possibilities of development of these technologies are today very important. Being in perpetual learning, Artificial Intelligence will therefore be able to improve and help meet the new challenges of e-commerce.
What are the challenges for AI?
Still in development, Artificial Intelligence already allows e-commerce companies to improve their activity on the internet. This improvement can be found at different levels in e-commerce with various applications. The use of AI tools will notably allow companies to adopt a new customer-centric marketing strategy : relational and predictive. Responding in real time and anticipating needs are the main challenges of marketing today. Being interested in particularly large and varied masses of data, AI allows companies to adapt their marketing strategy so as to offer a quality customer experience tailored to each customer.. In e-commerce, the possibilities for AI development are numerous and different challenges emerge:
• Integration of cognitive technologies
• Modification of the distribution of tasks between human and machine
• Business development in connection with Artificial Intelligence
• Pooling of investments for the development of these technologies
How does the application of AI translate on a daily basis?
If the increased use of Artificial Intelligence can suggest a loss of relationship between companies and customers, it is ultimately the reverse process that brands are looking for. To stand out, companies strive to guarantee quality customer service and establish a relationship of trust with consumers. On a daily basis, the application of Artificial Intelligence is found on different scales.
Personalization of the offer
Vocally or from a messaging service, Starbucks customers can order 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 offer personalized recommendations for each customer .
search results
In order to improve the relevance of search results, the eBay buying and selling site uses machine learning . This Artificial Intelligence technology makes it possible to take into account all the products present on the site and to offer the most relevant search results possible.
Visual search
With its “Snap. Find. Shop. ”, The fashion and cosmetics brand Neiman Marcus offers its customers a particularly interesting visual search functionality . Indeed, customers can take a picture of an object in the real world and then find it in the store's online catalog.
Promising features for the future of e-commerce
At different levels, Artificial Intelligence improves the activity of e-commerce companies. Indeed, as much in their management as in the service offered to customers, Artificial Intelligence provides companies with particularly relevant and interesting information. By applying Artificial Intelligence in the various e-commerce services, companies seek to offer a tailor-made service and establish a personalized relationship with each client .