👩‍🎓🛒👨‍🎓 AI-Assisted Shopping – Key Recommendations

We are entering a new era when AI-assisted shopping will soon move from curiosity to functionality expected by modern shoppers. Conversational Commerce and Augmented Reality are maturing technologies that can give Merchants a competitive edge.

I recommend eCommerce businesses develop a deep understanding of these technologies and don’t delay exploring how they can be deployed in their online stores to provide customers with immersive and interactive product experiences.

• Invest in Conversational Commerce capabilities by carefully selecting a solution that provides a genuinely interactive, Generative AI-powered solution. Look for a solution that allows you to define brand voice and train it on your products and customer preferences.
• As the “conversation-first” future arrives, the bot’s effectiveness will define customer impression of your brand, how much contextual value it adds, and how fast it can deliver it. The bot’s capacity to engage in human-like interactions could lead customers to associate its limitations with the competence of the merchant’s staff. Don’t let it happen!
• Innovate with user interface and how to integrate Conversation Commerce into customer journeys. Be helpful, not annoying, test, learn, adjust.
• Augmented Reality (AR) offers significant advantages to businesses selling online. By integrating AR technology into their platforms, merchants can provide customers with immersive and interactive product experiences. That boosts customer engagement and helps reduce returns by allowing customers to visualize products in their real-life settings before purchasing.
• A special note to B2B merchants. Your products are complex, and a knowledgeable virtual assistant can greatly increase customer satisfaction and conversion. You have a unique opportunity to leapfrog the competition by simplifying user choices with AR and knowledgeable chatbots.
• Merchants in the Fashion industry should plan to add virtual fitting room capabilities. They significantly impact the customer experience, so their adoption across the industry will be swift. Don’t fall behind.