Do you immediately throw away the paperwork you get with your online shopping orders because you are confident that none of it will be useful or relevant to you? The days of generic marketing are all but over: advancements in Artificial Intelligence are helping companies create more meaningful connections with their customers. Here are a few examples of how AI is optimising the online shopping experience and recreating the personalised service of a traditional retail store.
Personalisation
Imagine only receiving useful marketing materials that are relevant to you and your business – thanks to advances in AI, targeted messaging is constantly improving the customer experience. Delivery notes, for example, can now be personalised based on customer profile, geography and purchase path to ensure that every customer receives relevant, bespoke offers and product recommendations. This type of personalisation goes a long way toward enhancing the customer’s online shopping experience and securing repeat business.
Artificial Intelligence can take numerous different factors into account, from browsing history and purchase history to the time and date of purchase. This type of data collection can help companies make accurate recommendations about the types of product their customers may be interested in. For example, if the majority of Forms Plus customers who ordered point of sale till rolls also ordered shelf edge labels, we could make a helpful recommendation for shelf edge labels whenever someone added till rolls to their cart. This helps customers avoid the frustrating experience of realising they need additional items as soon as they place their order, and potentially helps them avoid extra shipping costs. Personalisation has a whole range of benefits for customers, including targeted discounts for products they purchase on a regular basis, improved customer service, and accurate product recommendations for future orders.
Chatbots
Wondering whether you can customise a particular form or get an urgent next-day delivery? Waiting for an answer from a customer service representative can be exasperating if you are trying to make an order out of hours or during busy ordering periods. Fortunately, Chat Bots can assist – powered by Artificial Intelligence, they can answer many customer queries automatically and instantaneously. Chat Bots can also provide order updates throughout the purchase process and send notifications through Virtual Assistants or services such as Facebook Messenger. With technological advances enabling Chat Bots to convincingly simulate human conversation patterns, it’s possible you have encountered a helpful bot without even realising you were being assisted by a machine.
Inventory Management
Going online to reorder your office stationery only to find out that the notepads you need are out of stock can be annoying – fortunately Artificial Intelligence solutions can help to prevent this situation. Data collection tools alert companies when an item is running low, so they can ensure it is restocked before it runs out. Business owners no longer need to rely on a gut feeling about what types of products their customers want – analytics and forecasting tools now help online retailers make sure they are stocking the most popular products, so customers can easily find what they need.
For a personalised online retail experience from a company with more than 35 years of print experience, contact Forms Plus today. We look forward to assisting you.