You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand AI.
It is well within reach and already helping ecommerce teams solve some of the industry’s biggest challenges.
The Kooples are using it to increase basket value by 9.5%.
La Redoute are using it to increase recommendation click throughs by 40%.
PrettyLittleThing are using it to reduce their zero results to 0.1%.
No longer is it just a buzzword. It is a reality with quantifiable results.
But how does it work? And why is it so effective?
Here are three reasons you should be using AI to enhance product discovery:
1) AI Understands Your Customer’s Intent
In store, supermarkets provide shoppers with a tailored experience based on human psychology and buying behaviours.
Chocolate and wine await the shopper at the end of the aisles as a “reward” for surviving the weekly shop.
Fresh fruit and veg fill your trolley from the start, making it easier to throw the “not-so-healthy” stuff in later.
Albeit effective, these strategies are based on generalised consumer data. An expectation that “most people will behave a certain way”.
Now imagine each time someone enters the store, the shelves dynamically adapt to the customer’s intent, changing in variables like assortment, pricing, and special offers.
This is the power of AI.
A personalised shopping experience for each and every individual that enters your ecommerce store. The ability to suggest the right product, at the right time.
“Understanding context and intent underpins ecommerce discovery across different moments on the shopper journey,” – Paul Tough, Chief Product Officer @Attraqt
2) AI Adapts to Your Customer’s Search
Traditional search works on the premise that it needs to provide exact or close matches for your customer’s search query.
But the way your customers use search is not so simple any more.
They now search multiple keywords, related terms, answers to problems and long sentences.
In 2020, nearly the whole world went online to buy a face mask for the first time and ecommerce stores were quick to react. But they missed something important.
Not everyone was searching “face mask”.
Instead, they searched for terms like “coronavirus”, “covid-19” and “something to cover my face”.
Oh, and don’t forget “fce maks”.
Ecommerce sites using traditional search methods either showed these people zero results or a range of beauty products. Those with AI as part of their search journey discovered the newly stocked face masks.
It understands the nature of not just what your customer is searching for, but why your customer is searching for it.
“This is where the real value in AI happens – the algorithms are able to derive insights and patterns, continuously learning and predicting based on every instance of shopper behaviour. “- Paul Tough, Chief Product Officer @Attraqt”
3) AI Works With Your Team to Uncover New Opportunities for Growth
As the shift to online continues, the pressure on ecommerce teams grows.
Human beings can only process so much data at once, yet the number of requests coming in thick and fast.
This is where AI comes in. It allows retailers to process data faster and more efficiently than human beings ever could.
Up to ten millon times faster, in fact.
Which leaves your team to focus their time and energy on the things a machine can’t do such as strategic prioritisation, creative ideation and laying the foundation for continuous improvement.
Both human beings and AI have their limitations, but together they’re a superhuman force that creates customer journeys as effective as they are meaningful.
“It’s a partnership of human-algorithm that always yields the best results” – Paul Tough, Chief Product Officer @Attraqt”
Superhuman Online Experiences
To learn more about how AI positions ecommerce sites ahead of the competition, read our latest whitepaper “Superhuman Online Experiences”.
Written in collaboration with ecommerce experts Attraqt, we provide valuable insights on how the world’s leading online retailers are using AI to drive product discovery and further develop the customer journey.
