One of the biggest eCommerce trends for the coming year is predicted to be artificial intelligence or AI. Because of its unbeatable convenience and widespread capabilities of it, one report states that AI is expected to contribute an astounding $15.7 trillion to the global economy by the year 2030.
If the user experience is your #1 priority, there are numerous ways that AI can improve everything from the design of your website to the recommended products that appear for each customer to analyze huge amounts of user data. To get an idea of how much AI can impact your online business, here are some of the top trends of the year (so far!).
Current AI Trends in eCommerce
It’s fairly common to hear people becoming concerned about the future of AI. Some fear that machines will eventually take over their professions completely. However, eCommerce developers actually work with AI because it allows them to focus on UX more than the technical aspects of the website. Some popular applications of AI in eCommerce include:
- Automation. Methods like A/B testing can launch automatically, without requiring any humans to set up or run the test. Developers can also schedule tasks to be completed at specific times, such as ordering more items when inventory falls below a predetermined number, or sending out reminder emails for customers who abandoned their carts.
- Optimizing products. Certain AI applications can determine when optimization may benefit a website, whether it’s by changing the color of a CTA button or replacing a word on the checkout page. Fabricio Teixeira, the founder of UX Collective, explains that “Machines will do most of the work, while designers will become the strategists orchestrating all the optimization work.”
- Machine learning. With machine learning technology, the machines act without programming by analyzing past experiences. After they gain “experience,” they will be able to accurately predict future trends, such as buying behaviors of specific consumers.
- Chatbots. These AI-powered bots allow customers to get quick answers 24/7, without having to wait for a real human to respond to their questions. Chatbots are equipped with machine learning capabilities, letting them build and learn from past interactions with customers.
- Voice recognition. Alexa and Siri are examples of digital assistants who respond to vocal commands and can complete tasks like order products, play music, or Google a specific question. Many apps are expected to incorporate voice recognition software in the near future in order to further improve user experience.
How User Experience is Improved with AI
AI is beneficial for developers and customers alike because it’s excellent at analyzing data as well as learning more about human behaviors with each new interaction. As customers utilize chatbots or other features on a retailer’s website, data analysts can more accurately determine what people want, how they prefer to purchase items, and other important consumer preferences. Over time, AI will be able to help merchants:
- Boost user engagement. One area where retailers can struggle involves their mobile apps. With AI, developers can determine what kind of mobile apps users are looking for and how they can improve their apps to encourage more interactions.
- Create personalized experiences. AI can develop individual shopping journeys for each customer based on their behaviors, previous actions, which products they clicked on, and much more. Even mobile apps are improving their personalization capabilities by suggesting changes as the user continues to use the app!
- Foster deeper connections. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, AI lets you meet customers wherever they are, whenever they want to interact with your site. For instance, geo-targeting customers by offering them special discounts based on their location are completely possible with the help of AI.
- Make better decisions. It can be overwhelming to look at an enormous amount of data and come to the best conclusion about what steps to take next. AI simplifies this process by analyzing the information for you and summarizing the results in a way that allows you to make a well-informed decision.
Importance of Staying Updated
As artificial intelligence continues to advance and integrate into eCommerce stores around the globe, retailers need to keep their sites up-to-date and ready for the latest innovations. In an effort to help busy merchants focus on their businesses instead of worrying about completing website upgrades on time, Wagento is offering an entire year of automatic Magento 2 updates for a fixed monthly rate.
Business leaders who sign up for the program will be able to get 12 full months of hassle-free upgrades without having to contact a developer, worry about surprise fees, or face unexpected downtime. Along with the ability to choose your own budget and select when you’d like your site to be upgraded, the program includes additional features such as:
- Security updates and bug fixes.
- Automatic upgrades (similar to a SaaS Platform).
- Magento security scanner.
- Redundant module checks.
- Integrations and third-party updates.
- Assistance with maintenance, API integrations, migrations, and more.
If you want to learn more about No-Hassle Upgrades, you can click here to request further information!
