It’s no secret that AI is one of the hottest trends in retail today. But how can retailers harness the power of AI to benefit from higher conversion and AOV with minimum cost and effort?
According to research from IBM, 60% of consumers are willing to buy from brands that use AI to personalise their experience. We’re not just talking about a few tweaks here and there: we’re talking about fully immersive experiences where customers feel like they’re getting an in-store level of service online.
But what if you don’t have a billion-dollar tech team at your disposal? How can you provide an experience that feels personalised—without spending years on R&D or hiring an army of developers? In this article, we’ll go over how you can start using AI right now in your eCommerce store to improve your shopper’s experience and drive more sales!
What is an AI-powered shopping experience?
An AI-powered shopping experience is an automated process that allows you to personalise your customer’s experience. It can be used for personalising their shopping experience, suggesting products to the right customers and guiding them through their shopping journey. This can all be done without capturing their personal data!
Why do online retailers need an AI-powered shopping experience in their online stores?
The customer is always king. But they don’t always know what they want. That’s why it’s your job as a retailer to understand your customers, maybe even better than they know themselves. In brick-and-mortar stores, shop assistants carry out this role.
Amazon and Netflix are prime examples of how personalising your customers’ experience with AI can lead to success. You go straight to the strips on Netflix instead of the search bar when you want to watch something new. Netflix has mastered the art of providing an outstanding hyper-personalised experience.
On the other hand, the Amazon Effect is the profound and far-reaching impact that Amazon has had on nearly every sector of both the physical and digital retail world since its inception. Amazon shoppers are used to real-time curation of the millions of items on the site, every single time they shop and are loyal to them for the same reason. In fact, analysts propose 35% of Amazon’s sales are attributed to this experience.
Challenges and myths for AI adoption in retail
If you’re like most retailers, you’ve probably heard the rumours: AI is only for big companies like Zalando or Asos. Or that it’s super complicated and expensive to implement, and hard to use. Or that it requires a lot of data gathered over a long period of time.
But none of that is true! AI is here and ready to help you level up your retail game.
Let’s take a look at some common myths about AI and debunk them one by one:
1. Amazon-level experience is only available to big retailers.
For a long time, the power of AI has been reserved for the world’s internet giants with massive resources to get it right. Still, innovative tools like Shopbox can replicate an Amazon-level shopping experience on retailers of any size.
2. Huge amounts of data sets are required for AI
Another myth is that ‘big data’ is required for AI to work effectively. No huge amounts of historical data are needed as AI learns and adapts to shoppers in real-time.
3. Visitors have to be ‘known’ in order the offer personalisation
Asking your customers to log in to offer personalisation or chasing them around the internet with 3rd party cookies is a terrible experience! Thanks to AI, retailers can now tailor each shopper’s experience without knowing anything about them. AI only cares about what the shopper is interested in and matches them to the right products.
4. Technical expertise is required to use AI
You no longer need to have an in-house team of data scientists or understand machine learning to use AI. AI platforms can be plugged into your site without effort and ongoing maintenance. In fact, AI-Powered smart merchandising tools can reduce all manual online store merchandising efforts for stock updates, pricing changes etc.
How AI Is helping online retailers personalise every shopper’s experience
Using AI, Shopbox replicates the experience of having a personal shopper, creating a unique journey for every customer from the first click. Whether it’s finding the perfect gift or getting help with an outfit for a special occasion, Shopbox is there to provide the attentive but unobtrusive assistance that shoppers crave.
1. Reduce bounce rate and improve dwell time
Customers who see more relevant products don’t hit the back button on Google. They spend more time in your online store, exploring and returning for more. With AI, shoppers typically spend 3-5x more time on your eCommerce store. Improving your online shopping experience can significantly lower your cart abandonment rate as what is in the cart is of real interest, not impulse in cart additions.
2. Eliminate guesswork with powerful insights
As an online retailer, it’s important to understand your customers’ shopping habits and preferences clearly. And in today’s data-driven world, that means having access to the correct information at the right time. However, collecting this data can be complex and intrusive. Using a dynamic self-learning system that automatically adapts to each shopper in real-time provides powerful insights that eliminate guesswork.
3. Boost conversion rate and order values
If you use technology to provide a great online shopping experience, increased sales will take care of themselves. An enhanced website design can help you improve traffic, conversion and grow your business. Retailers like Kitlocker are using Shopbox to increase basket size and conversion rate by 300%.
Get started with AI-Powered Shopping
Are you tired of paying Google to bring visitors to your site who then leave your online store feeling like they never found exactly what they were looking for? Do you wish you could do more to provide the best experience possible for your customers, show them more products relevant to their interests and keep them shopping with you? If so, it’s time to take control of your shoppers’ buying journey. A better shopping experience leads to happier shoppers, more sales and higher-order value for your online store. Why wait? Get in touch today and see how easy it is to harness the power of an AI with Shopbox.
