Episode 3 – Role of AI & Data Analytics in eCommerce Growth

Introduction & Episode Overview

Zenul: Welcome to the third episode of the Commerce Connect video podcast series by Krish. In today’s episode, we carry forward our conversation on the role of AI and data analytics in e-commerce with our esteemed guest Sadeq, a notable figure in the digital commerce and the marketing domain. For those of us who have just tuned in and may have missed the last two episodes, Sadeq provided us valuable insights into evaluation of e-commerce with AI and data analytics coupled with some real time and real life examples of how AI helps in enhancing the overall customer experience that has led to the significant growth of the e-commerce businesses. 

We also discussed limitations, challenges and innovative solutions. We navigated through the crucial domains of data security, privacy, and the ethical considerations around AI. In our latest episode, let us explore the future of e-commerce, covering emerging AI and data analytics trends. We’ll also discuss practical strategies for smaller e-commerce businesses to leverage AI without overwhelming their operations.

Emerging Trends in AI & Data Analytics in eCommerce

Zenul: Tune in to some explainable insights shaping the future of digital commerce. Hey, Sadeq, welcome back. It’s good to see you again.

Sadeq, artificial intelligence is like a futuristic friend. You might not always understand what it’s saying but it makes your life cooler one algorithm at a time. What emerging trends in AI and data analytics do you see for shaping the future of e-commerce?

Sadeq: Well, if we’re going nowadays for the e-commerce space, we have tended to see that the small and medium enterprises or companies tend to have more rapid innovative and agile possibilities that they can adapt the changes of the technologies faster than the big guys.

How Global Marketplaces Are Leading AI Adoption

Sadeq: On the other side we have seen how the startups sometimes just one startup comes to the platform and it’s just implementing one specific niche of the e-commerce and they do something that even the big people they haven’t. If you will think about big companies such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Mercado etc. For them it’s not about doing a test or experiment over the user but it will take from them a lot of resources, extensive research till they deploy something. But imagine if you are a startup you have probably 50,000 to 100,000 customers at most, so you might get an idea and you might just develop it over one month or two and you just go and see how things work and keep it working.

So that’s one of the things that we have seen right now. One of the startups that I have seen has implemented a cool AI within their e-commerce. In fact it’s mainly an AI e-commerce project or a business. It was all about seeing the latest fashion models in Milano or in Paris.

AI as Your Personal Assistant in eCommerce

Sadeq: And based on what you are seeing there’s like a sort of simple icon that it’s like your personal assistant and asking this icon, for example, does this dress suit me? Based on the persona, the personality, the characteristics, the previous pictures, the access over your social media and analyzing your pictures, it tells you this doesn’t suit you. It looks quite classic while your lifestyle is more of a modern and youngster. So it doesn’t suit you.

AI for Product Descriptions & Catalogue Management

Sadeq: So just imagine they have taken the project quite far to a level that part of the business model has been monetized by getting attribute information from large brands just to describe their products properly. Because for these big brands, they describe their products, it has a sort of DNA within their products which this AI might not understand. So this is one of the cool examples that I have seen for AI e-commerce.

Building a Customer-Centric eCommerce Landscape

Zenul: That’s really interesting. Now Sadeq, in the fast evolving landscape of e-commerce, emerging trends in AI and data analytics are poised to redefine the future predictive analytics and consumer personalized experiences to streamline supply chain management. These trends promise to elevate the online shopping experiences. It will be a driving force behind innovative strategy shaping a dynamic and a customer-centric e-commerce landscape.

How can e-commerce businesses prepare for and adapt to the evolving landscape of AI and data analytics?

Sadeq: I believe that it all starts with embracing, as we have mentioned in the second episode a culture of continuous learning and understanding what’s happening outside from at least different perspectives: from technology side, business side, or economic side. Because at least in the past three to four years I have seen a huge hype for social commerce.

Fostering a Data-Driven Mindset Across Your Business

Sadeq: Now we are in 2024. I no longer hear about social commerce. I’m not saying it’s dead but sometimes technology is good but it fits what you need. So you need to make sure that you are uplifting your team. You need to make sure that they are always informed and up to date.

From another angle, I would say foster the data-driven mindset because AI should present for you information and outputs which helps you to make better decisions for your business. Think about it, you have thousands or tens of thousands of people visiting your website or your mobile application every day. Never do this without understanding their behavior and what they are doing.

One of the fashion brands, they have seen that the majority of the people do the search and browsing for their products within the application but for the actual checkout it happens within a desktop. By understanding that, they were even able to improve the experience of how they are transitioning from the mobile application to the website.

3 Actionable Steps to Get Started with AI & Data

Sadeq: And number three, I would say to invest with the right tools and with the right partners. That’s very important because since these tools and technologies are pretty new, you wouldn’t find a company or a partner that is saying we have 10 years of experience in AI. Yes, AI didn’t just come up but nobody was investing that much within artificial intelligence.

So when you are going to develop your e-commerce, you need to also consider partnering up with the right partner to assure that you do have the right harmony between your commerce solution and your AI solution.

AI & Data Tools for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses

Zenul: A very interesting perspective you mentioned Sadeq, that every company needs to have a data-driven mindset. Analyzing data is quite complex. Considering the small to midsize businesses, they consider AI and data analytics beyond their scope of operations and that could be heavy on their wallets investing of course into the tools but then also into the resources who can be understanding the data and giving right decisions to the business. So how can the smaller e-commerce businesses with limited resources utilize AI and data analytics?

Sadeq: We are living nowadays in the heaven of having tons of solutions and tools. But if I would go for the small and midsize companies I will say, start small. To be very honest, you shouldn’t think about how to use AI in everything. Be specific. Identify one particular goal and think about what sort of pain you are trying to resolve. For example:

• Do you want to have better recommendations for the customers?
• Are you trying to have better content?
• Are you trying to understand the customers?
• Are you trying to segment the users in a better way?
• Do you want to optimize the website?

What do you want to achieve in particular? Because within e-commerce, you do have hundreds of different functionalities. Someone might just come up with an AI which helps you into having a better wish list. So do you want to solve everything or do you want to start small and to be more specific and from time to time understand other things.

SaaS vs. Custom AI Solutions: What’s Right for You?

Sadeq: Number two there are many tools nowadays, I would call them free or open source tools because more or less they are in experimental stages. So yes it is good to invest in the right tools but if you are small or have a limited scope, it might be more wise to start with tools which you can afford and tolerate having some mistakes and errors.

Think about solutions that don’t need to invest heavily into the setup and the configuration. Don’t go for your own brand of AI. Don’t start by implementing the large language models from scratch. You can go for some solutions. Have a trial seven days, 14 days, one month, two months. Go for even one year over SaaS. Just try it out.

Because eventually you want to see the results and you want to see the ROI first. So that’s why some of the SaaS solutions might be good and wise to start using it, checking it out, see how it works, and if there’s a chance for tweaks then you might go and think about better solutions, bigger solutions. Ultimately if your whole operations might be AI-oriented and technology-centric then you might need to go and invest heavily into having your own authentic AI solution.

AI Adoption by Segment: A Smarter Approach

Zenul: Rightly said. Instead of focusing on the larger and bigger objective, breaking it out into smaller pain areas and the smaller goals that you want to achieve and then going on for adoption of AI into those specific segments, have the necessary ROI gain behind it and then go on for further implementations as well.

To prepare and adopt, businesses must prioritize staying informed, fostering data literacy, and investing in scalable IT solutions. Smaller e-commerce enterprises can leverage AI effectively by focusing on specific applications, like chatbots, personalization, streamlined customer support, ensuring innovation without overwhelming the operations. Embracing these trends is not only a choice but a necessity for businesses aiming to thrive in the dynamic world of e-commerce.

Sadeq: Absolutely. Yes.

Wrap-Up & Key Takeaways from Sadeq

Zenul: Ladies and gentlemen, as we wrap up this enlightening podcast series on the role of AI and data analytics in e-commerce growth, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Sadeq. Your expertise has been a guiding light in illuminating the intricate intersections of technology and commerce. Through your insights, our audience has gained a deeper understanding of how AI and data analytics are catalysts for this unprecedented growth in the e-commerce universe. Your passion and dedication to sharing the knowledge has been truly inspiring. And as we conclude this series, we carry with us a wealth of insights and renewed perspective of the transformative power of AI in shaping the future of online businesses.

Thank You & What’s Coming Next

Sadeq: One last word for all the audiences of this podcast: don’t be late in testing more AI. Go online, find the right partner. It was my pleasure to be on this platform and this AI podcast. Thank you very much.

Zenul: Thank you so much Sadeq. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. If you found today’s discussion insightful, stay tuned for more captivating e-commerce talks. We have a lineup of fascinating topics in store for you. Don’t miss out on the latest trends, innovations, and discussions shaping the e-commerce landscape. Until next time, stay curious, stay informed, stay healthy, and stay tuned for more enriching conversations right here on Commerce Connect. Thank you.