Sales-Boosting e-Commerce Trends Now

The e-commerce world isn’t just all about Black Friday or huge Christmas season deals.  E-commerce sites should perform well year round, more often through best practices and tried-and-tested techniques in making online sales.  Here are some current trends that can boost sales in this platform.

Faster shipping, easier returns

Good shipping times and delivery logistics remain one of the most powerful differentiators in e-commerce.  Delivery should be fast and efficient, and returns and exchanges should be convenient.  Emerging technologies like driverless freight are taking centerstage in facilitating transactions for both companies and their customers.

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Virtual assistance and better customer experience

A virtual assistant who guides site visitors, answers frequently asked questions, and makes product suggestion is fast blurring the lines between purchasing from a physical store and an online one, making the transaction more personalized, realistic, and paving the way for better purchase decisions.

Increased AI integration

E-commerce continues to be disrupted by the seamless integration of artificial intelligence as well as things like machine learning and robotics, anywhere from product recommendations to enhanced search functionality.

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Augmented reality and virtual reality

From Sephora offering different makeup looks to curious customers to the app IKEA Place allowing users to try out furniture and accessories before buying, both AR and VR are increasingly looking promising in terms of significance and progress.

Voice search

It’s predicted that 50 percent of search will be in voice form by year 2020, dramatically reducing or altogether eliminating the need for clicks when buying online.

Abhishek Gattani is the head of search at Walmart Labs and the founder and CEO of Cuberon. He spearheaded the launch of Walmart’s “Polaris” search engine, which currently powers many of the company’s e-commerce products globally. Learn more on this page.

Effective Ways To Use Artificial Intelligence In e-Commerce

Artificial intelligence is not a new concept, but more and more brands have started implementing several AI systems to help in their business. Today, artificial intelligence can be used in a variety of ways. Here are some effective ways to use AI in e-commerce. 

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AI can help brands target the right audience. By filtering elements like location, age, gender, and other preferences, AI can bring your ads to your target market. AI can even go through purchasing patterns of customers and help suggest other items they might want to purchase that can complement that they already bought or are planning to buy. 

And not only can AI find out what consumers want, but they also adjust to every change in their profile. For example, a person moving into a brand’s area of influence will automatically see ads, or if they add a certain sport to their profile, AI can adjust to these changes. 

AI can also learn language and speech patterns. That’s why a lot of brands are investing in AI chatbots. This program lets them communicate with their consumers 24/7 and supply them with relevant answers to any queries. It can run all day and all night, which saves a company money compared to having actual people handling chat support.

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Abhishek Gattani is a senior director at Walmart Labs and, as head of the search, spearheaded the launch of the company ’s search engine and e-commerce platform, Polaris. Registering a 15 percent increase in sales, the platform now powers Walmart’s e-commerce products, including Walmart.com, store search, mobile web, and mobile apps. For more insightful reads on e-commerce, visit this blog. 

Powerful benefits of harnessing machine learning in e-commerce

Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI), is a method of data analysis that’s based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions without much human intervention. This is not another buzzword: machine learning is about making sense of digital data at a much faster rate than humans are capable of. But how do they benefit e-commerce? 

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For starters, machine learning allows for segmentation, personalization, and targeting. E-commerce websites typically suffer a great distance from their customers, compared to face to face interaction. Things like machine learning can tweak the customer experience online to drive sales and increase revenue. 

It can, for instance, be instrumental in providing product recommendations. It can tap into the customer’s specific buying habits, preferred colors or looks, and the type of budget they are playing with. In addition, these high-tech solutions can also prioritize product recommendations that are likely to have bigger sales returns. 

As search is critical to the success of e-commerce businesses, machine learning can vastly improve product search and appear in front of potential customers. Search results became more meaningful and geared toward who really need them. 

It also assists in price optimization and fraud protection. In the former, the technology can change prices to account for factors such as competitors’ offer, demand, time of day, and kind of customer. In the latter, it can process huge volumes of data at rapid speed to prevent fraudulent transactions before happening. 

The robots have arrived, and they’re no longer the stuff of science fiction. It’s important to analyze whether machine learning could become your company’s “now” and serve as a huge asset to e-commerce campaigns and initiatives, rather than pursuing costly and resource-intensive manual processes. 

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Abhishek Gattani is the head of search at Walmart Labs, where he spearheaded the launch of Walmart’s 'Polaris' search engine and e-commerce platform. For similar reads, visit this page.

Enhancing e-Commerce With Chatbots

Last 2016, the total global revenue that artificial intelligence (AI) brought in reached $643.7 million. By 2025, that amount is seen to increase to $36.8 billion as developers continue to enhance the capabilities and efficiency of this technology.

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E-commerce businesses can also benefit from AI through chatbots.

A chatbot is an automated program designed to be able to converse with people through a mix of natural language processing, machine learning, and human operators. The technology has actually been present for a number of years now, a notable example of which is Siri.

Because of consumer behaviors, businesses who have embraced the e-commerce platform should consider adopting a chatbot technology. Many customers prefer receiving responses to their inquiries within a short time. And traffic to e-commerce websites is quickly surging by the day. Chatbots can become an indispensable tool due to these.

And the good news is that consumers are becoming more open to transacting with chatbots. According to Ubisend, 20 percent of consumers would consider buying goods and services after talking with a chatbot. Reaching target audiences, giving efficient customer service, endorsing products and services, and driving sales can be that much easier for e-commerce brands through a chatbot.

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Abhishek Gattani, an alumnus of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and founder of companies Cuberon, Big Refunds, and Fireball Solutions, is currently the head of search at Walmart Labs. He was instrumental in the launch of the company’s search engine and e-commerce platform, Polaris. Learn more about him by visiting this LinkedIn page.