Is the advent of AI in eCommerce a Silver Bullet?
Tags: ai, ecommerce
Published: 2019-12-17 09:03:55

Last Sunday, my nephew gave me a surprise visit at my place. He showed a new app on the play store. Being a tech savvy, I like to explore new apps and what’s happening in the technology across the globe. So, I happily started viewing the app. Later, when I did a research to know more about the widespread use of eCommerce apps, I came across some startling facts which I would like to share with you guys.

According to <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2019/09/10/what-enables-amazon-to-dominate-ecommerce/">Internet Retailer estimates</a>, Amazon accounted for nearly 37 cents out of every dollar that U.S. consumers spent online in 2018 and more than 5 cents of every retail dollar that U.S. consumers spent. 

Amazon is an eCommerce powerhouse. In 2019, this giant retailer is expected to hit a 52% market share in the US and almost 14% worldwide. Clearly, leveraging AI in eCommerce is one of the reasons behind the great achievement. With more than 100 million Alexa devices being sold, this Amazon’s smart speaker maintains a 70% market share in the US. Do you know which technology does Alexa work on? It is one of the most popular Amazon products driven by Artificial Intelligence.

Amazon’s potential to harness AI is the secret behind its GREAT success. It goes without saying that it is the Amazon’s AI capabilities that helps in analyzing customer behaviour through their search patterns and accordingly design a targeted marketing strategy for rendering customized recommendations. According to <a href="http://rejoiner.com/resources/amazon-recommendations-secret-selling-online/">rejoiner</a>, Amazon’s recommendation engine drives 35 percent of the total sales. 

It is now clearly evident how using Artificial Intelligence has turned out to be a real game-changer for the eCommerce industry. So, what are you waiting for? You can hire magento developer and use AI in your next eCommerce app too. Let’s have a closer look at some of the benefits of leveraging AI in the eCommerce eco-space.

<b>Improving Customer Experience</b>

“Among all the technology trends shaping 2019 and beyond, the adoption of AI to improve Customer Experience will surely be one of the most promising ones,” says Jessica Ekholm, VP Analyst, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/analyst/15397">Gartner</a>. 

The advent of AI in eCommerce has certainly improved Customer Experience more than ever before! AI helps to vamp-up customer experience and it does this by empowering self-service round the clock. AI-driven chatbots for examples render automated assistance to customers by resolving online queries without any need for human intervention. Thus, using AI helps you to connect with your customers allowing you to understand their needs which is essential for any business to drive results. This is why <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/80-of-businesses-want-chatbots-by-2020-2016-12?IR=T">Business Insider experts</a> predict that by 2020, 80% of enterprises will use chatbots.

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<a href="https://miro.medium.com/max/1950/1*duU9nzagAAKFyLboQaDcWQ.png">Source</a>

<b>Rendering Better Search Results</b>

Have you ever abandoned your online purchase just because the product results being displayed right in front of you were irrelevant? If yes, then surely you would not prefer to shop from that site again. 

This is why large enterprises NOW are using AI display customer-centric search results for displaying relevant results to the desired ask. eCommerce websites are increasingly leveraging NLP (or Natural Language Processing) and Image Recognition to analyze the user language and produce better product results.

Clarifai, a popular AI company is availing the AI benefits in eCommerce by building smarter applications that can see the world as people. In their words, “Artificial Intelligence with a Vision.” Intelligent applications like these empower businesses by providing a customer-centric experience thus ensuring improved search results for the users.

Another well-known app company Pinterest is partnering with eCommerce stores for its new offering Pinterest Lens. Thus using AI in eCommerce sites has helped its users to find matching items in the store directly from their image on Pinterest. People will not abandon their search anymore because now they are able to find their relevant product when asked.

Such developments driven by Artificial Intelligence not only helps businesses to generate better revenues but also reduce customer’s pain. This is why <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/07/25/28-best-quotes-about-artificial-intelligence/#60525ec24a6f">Larry Page</a> said these words,

Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google. This ultimate search engine would understand everything on the web. It would understand exactly what you wanted, and it would give you the right thing.

![Alt Text](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/wwgo18yr5p6imllzd6we.jpg)

<b>Forecasting Sales</b>

“<a href="https://www.salesforce.com/quotable/articles/how-AI-is-transforming-forecasting-for-the-better/">Forecasting</a> should be treated for what it really is: A science.” 

It is important to create accurate forecasts so that you can drive the right conclusion using the collected data and facts. This is the beauty of using AI. It’s brutally honest and lets you know the accurate measurement for driving meaningful data insights.

Good sales forecasting is essential for your business to grow!  It is one of the AI benefits in eCommerce that has completely reshaped the way we analyze data these days. Instead of merely accessing the data as done earlier, AI and Machine Learning NOW help you comprehend the data’s impact on your business. It allows to know how a company interacts with its data.

The AI algorithms read the sales pattern and drive useful insights to design marketing strategies for improving sales. So, leverage AI in eCommerce as AI acts as a force multiplier in heightening the accuracy of sales forecasting to scale your business growth. Companies boasting accurate sales forecasts are 10% more likely to grow their revenue year-over-year and 7% more likely to hit quota, says a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/falonfatemi/2018/11/16/predicting-sales-success-with-ai/#9cd19f9102b2">research</a> conducted by the Aberdeen Group.

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<a href="https://igniteoutsourcing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/benefits-of-artificial-intelligence-in-ecommerce.jpg">Source</a>

<b>Targeting Potential Customers</b>

With the newly developed AI algorithms, businesses can directly communicate with customers allowing them to understand their needs. AI allows companies to read the minds of their customers helping them to engage the right audience. All thanks to the AI-driven algos! Using these, AI analyzes data and search patterns to render improved personalization thus allowing you to target potential customers.

So, you can use AI in your eCommerce app too. This will help to increase engagement rates and decrease time transactions. For this, you need to hire react js developer who can help you in building enticing apps for your business needs. Other advantages of using AI include inventory management, better future recommendations based on customer searches, and prediction of the right product. This is why large enterprises NOW foster the use of AI more than ever before!
According to IBM's latest studies, the adoption of AI-driven intelligent automation in retail and consumer product industries is expected to increase from 40% to 80% in the next 3 years.

![Alt Text](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/t8apd8vzb2liyx2upcri.png)

<a href="https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/image1.png">Source</a>

<b>Enhancing Cybersecurity</b>

A <a href="https://www.symantec.com/content/dam/symantec/docs/about/2017-ncsir-global-results-en.pdf">study</a>, by U.S. cybersecurity software giant Symantec, said that 978 million people across 20 countries were affected by cybercrime in 2016. The victims of cybercrime lost a total of $172 billion — an average of $142 per person. 

Also, in the 2017 Official Annual Cybercrime Report, it’s estimated that cybercrime will cost $6 trillion annually by 2021 while the figure was $3 trillion in 2015.

As you can see cybercrimes are on the rise. They are the biggest threat to eCommerce platforms these days. This is why app owners are looking for ways to keep customer data secured at their site. Thanks to the advent of AI algorithms that proficiently examine the data traffic, access and transfer. These algorithms carefully inspect the data and if there is a security breach, then AI programs can detect these to prevent cyber attacks.

So, with the integration of Artificial Intelligence and deep learning into security solutions, eCommerce platforms can NOW prevent cyber threats and increase the security of their databases. 

![Alt Text](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/q0yabgi23c19k17kwwao.jpg)

<a href="https://varindia.com/leadstory/2019/july/leadstory-6.jpg">Source</a>

<b>Final Words</b>

By now, you must have realized how AI has reshaped the eCommerce industry. With improved customer experience, important, better search results and accurate sales forecasting, AI has completely transformed the eCommerce market. Newer AI algorithms have helped business owners in keeping the data safe and secured.

Sales teams can chalk marketing strategies and personalize the sales cycle through AI-driven applications helping them to target the right prospects at the right time. So clearly, Artificial Intelligence dominates the market as it provides better recommendations to users making it easier for them to find their desired product quickly. Right product display helps to create more chances of engaging the right audience. Remember, 

“Your most unhappy customers are your most important source of learning,” <a href="https://ecommercetips.org/ecommerce-quotes/#Ecommerce_isnt_the_cherry_on_the_cake_its_the_new_cake">said</a> Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder.