Over the past number of years, the digitized business space has witnessed a significant shift in paradigm with the emergence of ecommerce marketplaces. In 2022, the market was estimated to have reached a valuation of over $5.7 trillion, and in 2021 alone, global ecommerce sales touched $4 trillion, putting overall economic activities in Germany, a G7 nation, in the backseat. So what is the driving force behind this boom in the ecommerce sector?
Undoubtedly, the pandemic, as an unintended consequence, gave ecommerce a boost, but the reality is that a host of great technology has kept that momentum going. Regardless of whether you operate your business in the brick-and-mortar infrastructure or on a virtual platform, it is the overall customer experience that largely drives sales. Leading ecommerce markets are deploying a plethora of next-generation technologies to elevate this experience and to keep consumers invested. Let’s talk about AI, application performance, analytics, contextual engagement, and monitoring, along with some other relevant technologies that have been shaping the ecommerce customer experience.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a real buzzword right now. It seems no industry has gone untouched by the trend, and it has certainly had an impact on the ecommerce sector. For a number of years, we have watched ecommerce leapfrog with AI-backed chatbots, whose purpose it is to make the customer journey smoother. AI-driven algorithms have greatly personalized online shopping and this technology has been deployed across the industry in areas such as AI-backed inventory management and smart product suggestion.
Automated responses generated through AI-backed chatbots have significantly simplified online shopping and the technology has become a tool that consumers now expect. For instance, a recent Microsoft State of Global Customer Service report stated that 61% of buyers prioritize platforms that have this functionality over those that don’t. AI-powered customer support systems on ecommerce platforms are one of the more leverageable tools when improving and increasing customer engagement.
There is no doubt that AI is slowly but surely proving to be a crucial element in the success and longevity of ecommerce platforms. It provides valuable insight into customer behavior and expectations, and the market as a whole has reaped many benefits from the clever adoption of AI.
Application performance in ecommerce
Application Performance Monitoring, or APM tools, are being increasingly deployed across ecommerce platforms. These processes are helping analytics teams to elevate user experience by boosting reliability and upgrading site performance. An effective APM will focus primarily on monitoring a site’s infrastructure. The system can then track a user's experience, empowering administrators with the data needed to react instantly to any issues that arise. With APM, minor problems can be quelled before they grow into a larger issue that will require increased resources to solve.
Ecommerce business owners and marketers are currently more vigilant in using APM. These technologies and processes help them understand their progress and map their performance over time. Harnessing these metrics, marketers obtain valuable insights on the performance of the store and user experience. They expertly address the pain points that can otherwise cause a user to avoid or abandon a platform.
Contextual engagement
Technology tools often uniquely leverage contextual engagement to amplify the online shopping experience, effectively allowing ecommerce professionals to keep their finger on the pulse of consumer behavior. A prime example would be when retailers and brands offer coupons or special deals to selected customers based entirely on previous transactions. Companies can even send geo-targeted in-store notifications to a shopper when their products align with the customer’s purchase history. It adds a layer to the overall experience, keeping online shopping engaging and current.
Data analytics in ecommerce
Predictive analytics have been shaping the ecommerce customer experience significantly in recent years. By deploying big data technologies, modeling techniques, and statistical methods, data analytics have been helping ecommerce brands to predict future trends. Naturally, when they analyze customer feedback and behavioral patterns, they can adopt a proactive stance to enhance CX. Rather than a reactive approach where a customer reaches out to them, the top European ecommerce companies, such as Ubuy Germany, Aliexpress, etc, have been vigilant in preventing potential issues.
Thanks to data analytics, business analysts and data scientists have been consolidating information to map out a larger picture of the customer experience. Bridging the gaps, they can address specific issues and personalize the user experience on platforms and by analyzing the pre-purchase, post-purchase, and in-purchase journey, they can deliver a holistically refined shopping experience to customers.
Smart recommendation systems
Smart Recommendation Systems have greatly advanced how ecommerce platforms communicate with consumers. We live in a world where we are endlessly bombarded with messages, to the point where we no longer read the notification after a quick, cursory glance. Smart recommendations can be utilized to ensure that the person you are targeting has expressed a genuine interest in engagement. In fact, a PwC survey reveals that around 30% of customers are happy to spend more on contextual products than those they learned about through targeted recommendations.
Smart systems work on AI and ML. Their powerful algorithms evaluate the historical data of customers to keenly suggest products that are of relevance. It is a technology that is driving ecommerce engagement right now, affecting large corporations as well as SMEs. Interestingly, a recent report from McKinsey, indicates that more than 33% of Amazon’s sales arise from the smart recommendation engine.
Supply chain visibility tools
For most of the successful ecommerce brands, ‘out-of-stock’ products no longer convert to tickets. Rather than waiting for a product to be restocked, consumers will look elsewhere. Enter supply chain visibility tools, where ecommerce brands have a transparent view of their inventories and can keep track of the supply chain from warehouse to delivery. These tools can predict the popularity of certain items as well as the spike in products during peak seasons. Syncing the invoicing and inventory tracking processes is a reliable way to manage supply chain visibility. Moreover, tools for ensuring better supply chain visibility are capable of generating reports to facilitate better decision-making. These tools deliver financial reports based on the number of units sold, so that inventory trackers can locate missing units.
Overall, the world of ecommerce is being continuously changed and improved through the adoption of advanced technologies. All industries benefit from these advancements and would undoubtedly fall to the side if left behind on the march towards modernity. Enhanced AI efficiency, smart tracking and monitoring, alongside a proactive stance to address potential issues, have been streamlining the customer experience with successful ecommerce platforms.
Smarter inventory management and shopping interfaces continue to keep loyal customers hooked and invested in the process, not just the end result. AI-integrated bots are creating a 24-hour service when human agents are unavailable. By incorporating a range of smart, innovative and informed technologies, the global ecommerce industry can confidently deliver a satisfying customer experience to the millions of consumers, based all around the world, and without a doubt, the very latest in technology is at its core.
