By Anna Ribas, on 25 September 2024
Have you ever thought about implementing Artificial Intelligence tools in your online store? Or using the AI features offered by marketplaces? If you’ve come across this article, it’s because the answer is yes.
We’re all familiar with how generative AI can be used to create text from simple prompts or generate images from scratch. But AI is capable of much more and can be a tremendously useful tool in ecommerce.
In this article, we’ll cover two things: how you can incorporate AI into your ecommerce platform and how you can take advantage of the various AI features offered by marketplaces. Plus, we’ll explain why it’s a good idea to do so.
AI in Ecommerce & Marketplaces
Artificial Intelligence applied to ecommerce and marketplaces can be used both internally and externally. This means you can use it to streamline your work processes and offer users a better customer experience.
Since the rise of ChatGPT’s popularity in 2023, AI has become an essential tool for any online marketing and sales professional.
In the following sections, we’ll dive deeper into the exact ways you can implement this technology in an ecommerce setting. We’ll also explain how marketplaces have jumped on this trend.
How to Use AI in Your Ecommerce or Marketplace
The difference between a marketplace with AI and AI applied to ecommerce is that in the first case, the platform itself has integrated AI tools for users to utilize and for sellers to benefit from.
On the other hand, in ecommerce, you will need to implement them yourself or use a plugin or extension. However, if you’ve developed your online store using an ecommerce platform, that platform might already provide these tools.
But if your goal is to develop a marketplace from scratch, you’ll be in the same situation as with ecommerce.
Either way, no matter what your situation is, we’ll now go over various ways to introduce this technology into these environments.
Personalization
Personalizing an ecommerce site or marketplace means tailoring content and suggestions to each user. This way, what one consumer sees upon entering the platform will never be the same as what another sees.
Thanks to personalization, users are shown the products that are most likely to interest them, based on their tastes and past searches or purchases. Therefore, personalization is a great way to encourage users to increase their shopping cart value.
Many marketplaces already have this type of AI technology integrated, so if you’re selling your products in these spaces, you’ll benefit from it. But if you want to apply this AI to your ecommerce site, you can use tools like GetResponse or Clerk.io, among others.
Chatbots and Virtual Assistants
Implementing an AI-powered chatbot or virtual assistant in your online store allows you to maintain customer service even when your staff is unavailable. Essentially, they offer 24/7 customer support. But that’s not all—they are also excellent tools for filtering requests so that only the more complex inquiries reach your staff, while simpler questions can be resolved in seconds.
Aunoa.ai is a very interesting option, but Zendesk and HubSpot have also developed solutions. Again, it doesn’t matter how you’ve built your ecommerce site—you’ll be able to benefit from AI tools without any issues.
Retargeting
Retargeting is a digital marketing strategy that involves re-engaging users who are already familiar with your brand (whether because they’ve visited your website, viewed your social media profile, or opened an email) with online ads. These ads usually appear as display ads or on social media.
When it comes to AI in ecommerce, retargeting can be adapted so that when a user enters the online store, they are shown products they’ve previously viewed, saved in their cart, or added to a favorites list. It’s a way of reminding them that these products interest them and are available, increasing the chances of them making a purchase.
It’s also highly effective to make these recommendations when the items have dropped in price or are on promotion.
The tools we recommended earlier for personalization can also help you with retargeting.
Upselling and Cross-Selling
AI-powered personalization tools for ecommerce can also help with these strategies.
Upselling involves encouraging the customer to purchase a higher-value product than what they’ve already bought. Cross-selling, on the other hand, is about selling a complementary product to what the user has already acquired or is planning to purchase.
AI tools will detect purchases that users have made or are considering and suggest items that complement or surpass that product. This way, as a business, you can increase your revenue.
Optimized Search
If you already have a search bar in your ecommerce site, you should know that you can enhance it with Artificial Intelligence. There are tools like Doofinder or ecommerce platforms like Shopify that allow you to optimize your search bar with:
- Auto-complete.
- Error recognition.
- The option to show related or previously viewed products first.
- The option to show trends or top-rated products first.
Source: doofinder.com
This will give your customers a better user experience by helping them find what they’re looking for faster, which in turn increases your chances of making a sale.
Visual Search & Voice Search
In addition to text search bars, you can also enable searches through voice or image, as Google already does.
This will provide your customers with great flexibility when searching for products in your store.
For instance, Shopify’s search bar offers visual search capabilities.
Additionally, implementing voice search will make your ecommerce site much more accessible to people with disabilities.
Why is it a Good Idea to Use AI in Ecommerce and Marketplaces?
- Improved user experience.
- Time savings and optimization for customer service teams.
- Increased sales opportunities.
- Potential improvement in customer loyalty rates.
Marketplaces with AI Applications
Earlier, we mentioned some AI tools you can implement in your ecommerce store, but now we’ll focus on how this technology is incorporated into marketplaces.
Additionally, we’ll share some examples of marketplaces offering AI tools that brands can use to their advantage.
Amazon Bedrock
Amazon Bedrock is a generative AI tool package from Amazon that allows Amazon Web Service customers to develop their own AI applications tailored to their needs. From chatbots to text and image creation, Amazon Bedrock provides access to different language models to create various solutions.
Walmart
Walmart, the famous American hypermarket, operates in several countries and online as a marketplace. In 2024, they decided to improve the functionality of their online stores by incorporating generative AI features.
One such feature is a search function that offers customers a more useful, intuitive, and personalized experience. For example, instead of typing in the name of the product, users can simply describe the situation they want to address, and related items will appear.
For instance, if you’re getting ready for back-to-school, you don’t need to search for “planner,” “pens,” or “binder.” Just enter “I need help preparing for the new school year,” and the relevant items will show up.
Source: tech.walmart.com
Zalando and Its Fashion Assistant Powered by ChatGPT
In 2023, Zalando became one of the first marketplaces to use AI in sales. Thanks to its integration with ChatGPT, and without needing to develop its own AI, Zalando introduced its virtual fashion assistant, a chatbot that goes far beyond the typical virtual assistants found in many ecommerce stores.
Zalando’s virtual fashion assistant can have very comprehensive conversations with users and help them find exactly what they’re looking for on the platform, as well as suggest products.
Zalando’s goal for the future is to personalize this AI to perfectly adapt to each customer’s context.
