Global IT trends like IoT, AI and AR are having a huge impact on e-commerce, transforming online shopping. Both consumers and retailers will be able to experience better and convenient transactions. In 2016, e-commerce sales were 1.86 trillion US dollar as is expected to gross 4.48 trillion US dollars by 2021.
Customer experience
Through IoT, online retailers will be able to do two things in order to personalize customer experience. One, come up with offers according to the choice of the customers; and two, provide the offers and delivery according to customized or preferred timings. Also, when IoT updates information like warranty period and purchase date, retailers can set up system notifications and send warranty extension offers through email. IoT enabled devices can identify and report issues before the consumers notice them. This means the store owners can know about potential problems on time and take care of them.
Monitoring store traffic and customer demand in real time, can customize the current in-store shopping experience. That gives the opportunity to implement rich digital marketing inside the store or announce events to customers via their mobile devices.
Websites
User experience is of utmost importance. However, as and when IoT takes over, retailers will have to think of how data can be processed from different sources.They will have to be responsive not just to cell phones and tablets but also to other objects that run on this technology. IoT will change the ways in which responsive websites are designed.
Inventory management
IoT helps e-commerce business owners to maintain the inventory record with the use of IoT enabled sensors. Real time inventory management gathers and sends relevant and updated data of the items to their ERP systems. Taking supply and demand planning to the next level.
Logistics management
GPS and RFID are cloud based technologies that provide the online store owners with data like identity of the personnel involved, traffic conditions, location, weather etc. This makes logistics management a lot more efficient. It can also help automate the shipping and delivery processes so there are no problems related to missing shipments. Apart from these features, one can also supervise features like speed of the vehicle and temperature. We all agree that an easy delivery process, gives customers satisfaction.
Amazon is an example, the biggest giant in the e-commerce market, uses IoT installed robots which take care of picking, packing and many other jobs which ensure the effectiveness of the product. Amazon in their warehouses uses drones facility to pick up and deliver products.
Customer Feedback:
IoT helps the retailer to make a different identity in front of consumers. Through this technology, a retailer enables the consumer to present their views regarding the product. It helps them to improve their product quality which ultimately makes them well-known among customers.
IoT targets specific customers for personalized advertisement. It recognizes the shopping pattern through online browsing which in result help the business retailer to sell their product to the targeted customer. IoT is used by many stores to track popular products on social media.
Dash button:
Dash button is a device which is an IoT enabled operated on the battery and is used for a domestic purpose to acknowledge the order management. Amazon invented dash buttons, it is full of creativeness and innovation. Only by pressing the button it informs the supplier about the shortage of product and gets it delivered.
Smart Supermarkets
Amazon Go introduced automatic checkouts, buying processes have become automated. One can just walk in, purchase and walk out with the amount billed to their mobile phones. These predictive systems will be adopted by several food chain stores in the near future. Predict when the customers leave for shopping and the products will get packed ready to be picked up based on the list they send.
Also food stores will start using predictive equipment maintenance, when units are instrumented with sensors, they can predict maintenance issues that might affect power consumption for savings or monitor temperature fluctuations to ensure food safety.
Chatbots
Chatbots are among the leading tools used by e-commerce solutions developers. Chatbots are, basically, virtual consultants and customer support providers that work 24/7 without requiring any manual input. An example of a successful launch is the H&M chatbot on KIK
Chatbots can store huge amounts of customer data and build off previous interactions, the chatbot can tailor its responses and recommendations to provide a customer experience that improves every time that customer uses the bot.
AI
AI powered technologies have great potential in optimizing search through millions of similar-format pieces of data on websites. Obviously, the UX enhancing tool that guides users through the marketplace’s assortment is the intelligent search feature which is considered to be one of the major e-commerce trends of 2019. AI and ML can help create insightful product recommendations. This is the way Netflix and Spotify use AI for their resources.
AR mobile version
The AR concept began taking over the hearts of mobile users several years ago, when first applications like Pokemon Go and the like started to appear in app stores.IKEA launched their dedicated smartphone app, with which users can see how furniture items fit their home interiors in the virtual mode. The AR capabilities are unlikely to be sufficiently integrated with the desktop, but an AR-based mobile app is a pretty efficient business solution.
With the fast growth of online shopping, retailers are very keen to bring the same customer experience of online shopping into the store wherever they can. They should focus on IoT applications that better serve customers and create value.
Their goal is to have that same limitless control to craft a customer experience and collect detailed data to help them predict how customers will shop.