3 ways in which AI is improving online shopping
AI is improving online shopping. And both retail and e-commerce companies have started to take notice and implement artificial intelligence solutions. This article covers three major areas where Artificial Intelligence is helping retailers change online shopping, making it easier and more adaptable.
Image recognition and image search
Until now, traditional search in online shopping relied on using keywords or strings of keywords to show results. While this might be ok on a Google search where you might be looking for a news item or a movie recommendation, it isn’t all that helpful when applied to online shopping. Whether you are looking for clothes or furniture, visual search is what you need.
And this is possible nowadays because AI has advanced a lot. You can now upload a picture of a piece of clothing or piece of furniture that you like, and find that particular product, similar products, or recommendations based on it.
A lot of popular e-commerce companies are using image recognition – Neiman Marcus, Amazon, and H&M, to name a few. For example, the Neiman Marcus app users can take pictures of the objects they like and see if the store sells something similar.
With the rise of websites such as Pinterest and social media influencers that promote fashion items, cosmetic products, gadgets, or furniture, e-commerce websites need to tap into this trend. And an advanced AI providing visual search is one of the main tools they can use. Plus, studies show that this approach is not just some trend, but it’s good for business. Visual search leads to check out twice as quickly as text-based search.
Product recommendation
Another issue plaguing a lot of e-commerce websites is the way they usually make product recommendations. We’ve all experienced this at one point or another. You buy something from a website, and then you receive a set of recommendations that have nothing to do with your purchase. Or you are interested in a product, and the recommendations that the website gives you are either too expensive or lack the functionalities you need.
But recently, these sorts of situations have been occurring less and less. Artificial Intelligence solutions can now consider characteristics such as color, brand, size, material, and so on when making suggestions, not just customer data and behavior patterns. This leads to better recommendations for your customers and increased sales.
AI fashion stylists
For some of us, shopping, whether online or in a store, is a fun and relaxing experience. But that’s not true for everybody. A lot of us are in a hurry, we are busy and as a result, not in the mood to spend a lot of time searching for clothes or seeing which of them fit our style.
Companies such as The North Face or Thread are taking this into account and have developed AI-powered solutions to help their clients find what they need in the shortest amount of time and with as little hassle as possible. The North Face solution can help you find the right jacket based on your needs, while Thread gives you personalized fashion tips based on details regarding your age, measurements, and budget, which you can then buy online.
AI is improving online shopping. And if you are in the industry, you need to start adopting artificial intelligence on all the channels you use to sell your products.
At QTeam Solutions, we’re developing artificial intelligence solutions to help retailers and e-commerce companies increase their profits and results by improving their customers’ online shopping experience. And we can do the same for you.
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