It goes without saying that technology keeps revolutionizing the world as we know it. E-commerce is, by all means, the rave of the moment. A prime concern of every online store owner is to make every visit to his site memorable.
While there might be a myriad of ways to attain that goal, this post focuses on how owners can boost user experience in their online stores using Artificial Intelligence.
Lean in. There might be something for you!
#1. Chatbots
Chatbots, one of the hottest stuff on the business scene today, are relentless inanimate virtual assistants that work endlessly to give your site visitors the support they need.
You know those tiny prompts that pop up on the bottom of your screen when you visit certain sites, asking if you have any questions … that’s exactly what I’m talking about.
These bots help businesses save money and kick their customer support up a higher gear. Thanks to their automatic operation, they are immune to overly inquisitive site visitors, stress and frustration.
As a matter of fact, chatbots have been found to cut operational costs by up to 30%, while being able to answer 80% of normal questions.
If you’re looking to integrate chatbots into your online store, there are a variety of them available for you.
#2. High-quality Recommendations
Artificial intelligence gives your online store the ability to serve tailor-made content and personalized product recommendations using permutations and combinations that consider the following:
- previous searches and purchases
- Interactions with categories
- preferences and actions of users who exhibited similar behaviours.
AI and machine learning aid online stores to boost user experience by meeting the personalized recommendation target. The outcome is a higher chance of converting first-time visitors into repeat customers. Consequently, there will be maximized returns with every customer.
This feat is achieved through AI’s ability to scan through the tiniest measure’s of data to predict customer behaviour, and then offer recommendations to each individual. The ability to learn and make predictions is crucial for e-commerce sites to help buyers find items.
#3. Customer-centric Search
The search feature helps online shoppers swiftly find what they are looking for. However, the average lexical search is hinged on character matching which limits the results to exact matches of the query words or their close variants.
Artificial intelligence to the rescue!
With AI and its customer-centric search feature, online stores’ search engines can decode the intent and contextual meaning of the search query. This in turn improves the accuracy of the search result, boosts user satisfaction, and prevents irrelevant search results.
The beauty of it lies in the fact that this capability is not limited to just characters. Visitors can browse using visual similarity.
#4. Increased Retargeting Strategies
Do you know that the lack of a follow-up strategy causes a significant portion of leads to fall through the cracks?
What’s more?
Customer-data overload seems to be crushing businesses. It is easily a burden to the average human mind, but to AI engines, it is a treasure trove of intel that could be used to further the sales cycle.
Artificial intelligence helps online stores save information that will be used upon the next visit of a customer.
#5. Site Accessibility and Device-friendliness
A crucial element of the online store design is site accessibility and device-friendliness. Ecommerce sites optimized in this regard are usable by all users, regardless of the savviness of the user.
Device-friendliness implies that the site should work fine on whatever device it’s being used, be it a desktop, tab, or mobile phone.
Site accessibility means that your website should be easily usable by persons with disabilities. Having an accessible website is mandated by the American with Disabilities Act. Failing to comply with the directive and other laws governing e-commerce exposes your business to potential lawsuits and the loss of a large audience.
Thus, AI makes accessibility a reality by providing language translation and captioning handy for those who need it. It further enables automatic image recognition and alt-text for the visually challenged.
Examples of AI-powered web accessibility tools are:
#6. Eliminate Counterfeit Products
I daresay we all know the dangers of counterfeit products.
Thankfully, AI helps provide a measure of brand protection by adopting machine learning algorithms that spot counterfeits, and also help businesses get an idea of how consumers are discovering their products.
Data is then drawn from various online marketplaces to determine which products are counterfeit.
Some indicators that AI looks out for include:
- When an account was created
- Its posting rate
- The kind of items it sells
- Possibly fake reviews
Online stores allow even clients to submit claims for the removal of fake products.
#7. Curb Fake Reviews
There is the saying that the best marketer is a satisfied customer. Online customer reviews can positively impact your business.
Statistically, research showed that 88% of customers valued online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Simply put, reviews are the foundations and pillars of trust in the e-commerce ecosystem and the online world in general.
The bane of many brand owners today is fake reviews that either smear the image of the brands or falsely hype them. These reviews, popularly referred to as “astroturfing”, come across as seemingly neutral and trustworthy. Sadly, they are far from that!
Nipping false reviews in the bud is crucial to the success of any business and the protection of consumers.
Artificial intelligence, therefore, emphasizes verified and helpful reviews on online stores. AI ensures that the visibility of verified customer reviews are boosted, while also endorsing reviews marked by others are helpful.
#8. Optimized Personalization Across Devices
Thanks to artificial intelligence, there are new heights and depths of personalization as far as online stores go.
The said personalization has spread from mere multi-channel approaches to multiple customer touchpoints that help businesses make heads or tails of how customers interact online.
The AI engines observe various devices and channels of use to provide a unified and consolidated customer view, therefore, allowing shoppers to enjoy a seamless experience.
Finally, artificial intelligence is one of your best friends as far as boosting user experience on your online store is concerned. In what other ways does AI help improve user experience on e-commerce sites?
Your thoughts are welcome.
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