When we shop in a brick and mortar store, except sometimes in the big box retailers, we have sales clerks to help us. They show up options, make suggestions, and we feel personally served.
E-commerce shopping, however, is a different experience. It is up to us to navigate a site, look at our options, read the descriptions and prices, and then make a decision based upon our best “gut” feelings. We cannot hold the item; we cannot physically see and feel it; and there is no sales clerk to help us make our selection.
Things are changing, however, as there are now new tools that businesses can use to make our shopping experience far closer to “reality” than ever before. We can have close to the same assistance that we expect to get in a physical store.
Examples of Virtual Assistance
Suppose you could try on glasses frames before you even visit your optometrist for your eye exam and new prescription. You can do this on many optometry websites right now. You give permission for the site to turn on your camera, align your face, and then begin to try on any number of frames. When you arrive for your exam, you have already chosen them.
But virtual assistance goes beyond this. It can include engaging conversational interactions. Consider Tacobot, Taco Bell’s chat bot. When customers place orders online, the bot confirms their order and then goes on to make suggestions and recommendations of other items, based upon that order. But virtual assistants can and will do much more in the future.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Raise the Ante
Anyone who has shopped on Amazon has experienced artificial intelligence and machine learning. We get on the site and look at products. It is so noted. When we return, we are reminded of what we looked at previously. And when we make a purchase, the familiar phrase is presented: “Others who have purchased this also purchased…,” and we are presented with a number of other items. All of this is based upon Amazon’s ability to gather data about customers like you, to sort out what they have purchased, and present products that you might also buy. This is artificial intelligence at work.
Big Data and Math
First, let’s talk about big data and math. The amount of data out there in cyberspace is huge and growing hourly. Data scientists have developed mathematical algorithms that will capture data, both structured and unstructured, based upon queries. And once the data is captured, artificial intelligence will sort it, analyze it, and prepare reports, based upon more specific queries. Think about the implications of this. Consumer behaviors can be captured and analyzed, and this data can drive the decisions that businesses make about what products to offer, even on an individual, personal level, such as Amazon does.
Until now, this ability was reserved for large enterprises that could afford the services of data scientists. Now, however, smaller and medium-sized businesses have tools that can do the same thing. When e-commerce companies can access data and use it to serve their customers better, they become far more competitive in their market places.
And Machine Learning
And when machines can be programmed to use all of that data, churn it, and learn from it to make predictions about consumer behaviors, businesses can plan for future products and services they should be considering. Further, machines can now engage in language learning (natural language processing), and begin to serve customers better, as they master language patterns and are able to answer questions and queries. If you ask Alexa what she is doing, she will very honestly tell you, “I am learning.”
Replacement of Human Assistants?
Will machines replace human assistants? Not completely. There will always be more complex issues that will require a human to resolve with a customer. But here’s the beauty of machine bots:
- They can handle the basic, less complicated questions and problems – how to return or exchange an item, product descriptions, etc.
- They can continue to learn language patterns to handle more and more questions and issues
- They can identify issues they cannot handle and transfer a customer over to a human
Virtual assistance is changing the face of engaging and serving customers. E-commerce businesses that want to stay competitive will take advantage of the tools that are now available to provide a premier customer experience. And in so doing they will realize far more loyalty from those customers.