Electronic commerce or e-commerce has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. This year we are witnessing a transformation due to new and innovative technologies that can help revolutionize the way we buy and sell.
Here are seven technologies that will be part of the future of e-commerce.
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of products or services over the Internet, which allows users to conduct commercial transactions online using websites and mobile applications. If you want to know more about e-commerce you can read our previous articles on this topic, on how to master this type of business (https://www.bluepixel.mx/post/the-future-of-retail-are-you-ready-to-dominate-the-world-of-e-commerce) or the platforms on which you can develop it. (https://www.bluepixel.mx/post/on-which-platform-should-i-develop-my-e-commerce)
Why include technologies in e-commerce?
This combination is fundamental because it improves the customer experience, increases operational efficiency and above all generates greater opportunities for growth.
Advantages
Improved customer experience
By applying technologies to your e-commerce you can provide the opportunity to personalize the shopping experience, with opportunities ranging from augmented reality to more accurate product recommendation tools, so you can improve customer satisfaction rates and foster brand loyalty.
Automation and operational efficiency
Automation can save you time on tasks that can be repetitive, such as customer service via chat, so chatbots and virtual assistants are ideal for providing help and answers to frequently asked questions. You can also integrate systems and tools to analyze data that can help you with order tracking, shipping logistics, inventory, etc.
Expanding sales channels
The different technologies you decide to apply to your e-commerce will help you take advantage of different platforms and reach a wider audience, which will increase the visibility of your brand.
Security and trust
There are also technologies such as blockchain that help guarantee the integrity of the transactions that take place within your page, which not only benefits you, but also your consumers. Similarly, you can establish biometric authentication or extreme security encryption to protect your users' personal and financial information.
7 technologies to redefine the way you shop
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence, can drive personalization and product recommendation based on algorithms that analyze consumer behavior, preferences, behavioral and buying patterns, so you can offer highly personalized recommendations that will improve conversion rates.
How to apply it in your business?
Product recommendations
As we mentioned to you, AI is used to analyze customer data, behavior, history, preferences and behavior patterns in order to provide personalized product recommendations.
Price optimization
Prices and existing market demand can also be analyzed to dynamically adjust prices to maximize your revenue.
Fraud detection
With machine learning algorithms, they can help you identify patterns in transaction data to detect or prevent anomalies and fraudulent activity to protect you and your customers.
Supply chain optimization
With this technology you can also improve the efficiency and accuracy of inventory management through demand planning, so you can reduce operating costs and ensure fast and reliable delivery of products to the customer.
Personalizing the customer experience
You can personalize the user experience with these technologies. Displaying personalized promotions and offers on the home page to increase consumer engagement and loyalty.
- Augmented Reality (AR)
AR has transformed the way users interact with products online. You must be wondering how it is used, as it is achieved through the use of apps or devices that are compatible so that users can experience how products would look like in the real environment before buying it. It is also used in e-commerce to improve collaboration and communication between buyers and sellers.
How to apply it in your business?
Virtual product testing
AR allows your customers to try on products virtually before buying them so they can get an idea of how it would look on them before they buy it. Which helps reduce uncertainty, reduce returns and increase customer confidence in choosing products.
In-home product visualization
It is also useful for customers to see how certain products would look in a real environment before purchasing them. This works in the case of decorative products (paintings, sculptures, vases), furniture (couches, beds, chairs).
Interactive shopping
You can also offer an interactive shopping experience for customers to interact with products in 3D, seeing all the details and getting additional information. This is so innovative that it helps to capture customers' attention and improve the buying process.
- Chatbots and Virtual Assistants
As we have previously mentioned, customer service is a key point in any e-commerce, so chatbots and virtual assistants are extremely important. These technologies are based on AI, so they can be available 24/7.
How to apply them in your business?
Resolving common queries
You can program your chatbot to answer your customers' most frequently asked questions and queries. This is done by providing predefined questions that the AI can access to help customers get the information they need without the need to search for it or wait for a human to answer.
Navigation and product search assistance.
They can also guide customers through the process of browsing and searching for products on the website, as well as, provide personalized recommendations and suggest alternatives based on the customer's preferences and needs.
Checkout process and order tracking
Chatbots can help your customers with product tracking and provide order status information. They can also provide order status updates and answer questions related to product delivery and returns.
- Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
Blockchain technology is transforming security and transparency in electronic transactions. Cryptocurrency payments, backed by blockchain, offer a secure and decentralized alternative to traditional payment methods. This not only provides greater protection against fraud, but also enables faster and cheaper transactions, eliminating intermediaries.
How to apply it in your business?
Cryptocurrency payments: Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, allow direct and secure payments in e-commerce. Merchants can accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, which offers advantages such as fast transactions, reduced intermediaries and lower transaction costs compared to traditional payment methods.
Payment security
The blockchain provides high levels of transaction security and trust, so data integrity is ensured to protect you against fraud and theft of financial information. So you can guarantee secure payments and protect your users' information.
Loyalty and reward programs
Cryptocurrencies and tokens that are based on blockchain are used to create loyalty and reward programs. Tokens can be issued as a reward for purchases or a specific action performed. You can also give the option for these tokens to be exchanged for additional products or services, discounts, etc.
Supply chain logging
You can use blockchain to track and record the supply chain, it also allows your customers to track the origin and authenticity of products to increase transparency and trust in delivery processes.
- Internet of Things (IoT)
Devices such as voice assistants are revolutionizing the online shopping experience. They are integrated with an e-commerce ecosystem that allows users to make purchases or manage their orders with voice commands. Customers can make purchases quickly and easily.
How to apply it in your business?
Smart logistics and delivery
It can be useful for tracking smart tags that can track and monitor shipments in real time, thereby improving the user experience and streamlining logistics.
Replenishment automation
These devices for households to monitor the level of everyday products such as food or cleaning products to automatically place the order when they need to be replenished, allowing customers to avoid running out of essential products.
Intelligent marketing and advertising
This enables the personalization of marketing and advertising strategies so that data collected by the device can be used to send targeted promotional messages and offers to customers. This increases the likelihood of conversion.
5. Live video shopping
How is it done?
It is a form of sales that consists of live broadcasts, allowing to humanize the way in which e-commerce is carried out. Either through social networks or any platform you want to hire. Many of them allow you to perform simultaneous lives on different platforms. All you have to do is get a camera or record from your cell phone, have an internet connection and start showing your store's products.
Advantages
This is very important and useful for retail companies (fashion or beauty products) or digital products (courses, services, etc.) It helps your viewers to understand and know your products first hand.
Types of sales
There are different types of streams you can do. Whichever one you choose to do, try to keep your viewers as involved as possible:
Product or line launch.
You can do two types of strategies
Unboxing
Open the product the way customers would, it is important to focus on the packaging and show the product as it would be delivered to your customers.
Presale
You can show the new product line and allow customers to pre-order the entire collection or the products they are interested in.
Product demonstrations
In this type of transmissions you can show how the products work, solve doubts, as well as the variations that the product may have (sizes and colors). It is very useful to move from the consideration stage to the purchase stage.
Flahs sales
It consists of offering exclusive discounts during the online sale, which helps to maintain the engagement of the broadcast.
Giveaways
This dynamic can be done through a post on social networks and announce the winners in a live broadcast to maintain the transparency of the process.
Live auctions
You can offer products in your live broadcast, but allowing users to bid amounts for them as auctions, thus increasing engagement and your earnings.
7. Sidekick by Shopify
A recent release from Shopify that aims to help entrepreneurs, it is activated with a Robin logo icon (entrepreneurs are Batman). It is an Artificial Intelligence chat capable of answering any questions you have about your business and helps you perform time consuming tasks for a business owner.
At BluePixel we develop your e-commerce platform with Shopify, guaranteed to catch the attention of your potential customers and increase your conversions, if you are interested contact us at hello@bluepixel.mx
