According to e-commerce experts, artificial intelligence is going to be our partner. If we misuse it, it will be a risk; if we use it right, it will become our partner. The advancements in AI are transforming countless industries. Modern technology reshapes how a business operates these days and when it comes to e-commerce print-on-demand t-shirt stores, technology can give a boost to your sales. AI has taken the e-commerce world by storm, replacing manual labor with automated systems and enhancing the shopping experience for users at the same time.

Are you an e-commerce stakeholder looking for ways to improve your conversions, reduce costs and time? To achieve these goals, incorporate artificial intelligence in your brand strategy. Going by recent estimates, e-commerce sales are set to top $27 trillion by the end of 2020. What does this mean for e-commerce store owners? It means there will be greater potential to use new technology to up your game and gain the upper hand over competitors. Firms can use AI tools to transform a customer’s shopping journey by delivering a highly personalized, value-added experience.

How will artificial intelligence transform the e-commerce sector in 2020?

Everywhere you go today, the essence of AI is spreading in every sector. It is building a strong niche which will be hard for customers, and e-commerce owners, to resist. According to a survey conducted by Tractica, AI in e-commerce will increase revenue by up to $36.8 billion worldwide by 2025. AI is the ‘superhero’ that can help firms achieve their goals by making it easy to gather customer data in real-time. To generate more leads and provide excellent user engagement, e-commerce giants are joining hands with artificial intelligence. So, without any further delay, let' see how AI is impacting the e-commerce world.

1. Role of voice assistants: If you are still using Google searches to compare product and prices, you live under a rock. It’s time to wake up.  It's the age of Alexa and Siri; shopping for your favorite product is just a command away! Google's Alexa and Apple's Siri are your shopping assistants. Integrate technology into smartphones or smart speakers designed for voice communication. If you want your business to stay and blossom in shrinking boundaries of the competitive market, jump on the trend of voice optimization. To support this statement, here are some voice search statistics:

• According to Quoracreative stats, 50% of all searches across the internet will be voice searches by 2020.
• According to Gartner, 30% of all searches will be done using a device without a screen.

2. Target potential buyers to enhance the sales game: Did you know that 37% of market sales are affected due to poor quality leads? This means potential buyers interested in your product will fall through the cracks, affecting your business and sales. If firms fail to understand the customer data, it will be challenging for them to figure out what customers want and meet those expectations. For instance, use facial recognition to learn the buying behavior for your products, like custom printed t-shirts for men. AI tools help acquire data that is beneficial for their business to grow. The real-time data helps in scrutinizing buyer demand, enabling the creation and promotion of products accordingly.

3. Chatbots: Have you ever thought about how your favorite e-commerce store offers 24/7 assistance? It's only possible because of chatbots. These AI tools provide customers with all possible solutions and answers they need to complete their purchase and aid their buying decisions. The bots communicate with customers and help them via text or call.

4. Retargeting leads: You might design retargeting campaigns to gain more customers; every e-commerce owner does it to convert those customers who didn't convert in the previous marketing campaign. But earlier, these efforts were based on guesswork. Marketers did not know whether customers will be willing to convert.  In addition to this, a lot of effort and resources are wasted. With the help of AI, you can improve your retargeting efforts. AI provides relevant customer information that aids the crafting a specific message. Use customer data to provide personalized offers to lead retargeted customers in the sales funnel more efficiently.

5. Reduce cart abandonment: What's the one thing that plagues e-commerce sales? Without any second thought, it is the cart abandonment rate. Consumers abandon their carts at the checkout process or even earlier. According to a recent study, the cart abandonment rate worldwide has reached 69.57% for online retailers. To increase sales, ensure there are fewer abandoned carts and this is where AI can help you. AI helps in automating follow-up inquiries for any abandoned cart. It provides data on why leads give up when they are close to converting. The reason for abandoned carts can be a technical glitch, lack of payment options and shipping conditions. This information acquired through AI removes obstacles leading to abandoned carts.

6. Personalization: Did you know that to customize the content, web interfaces and customized products give you an upper hand over competitors? Targeted personalization allows e-commerce store owners to increase their conversion rate, user engagement and decrease time transactions. Send the right message at the right time as personalization monitors devices and channels to create an enhanced customer view. In addition to personalization, provide recommendations to customers using AI-based information on their shopping behavior. The AI algorithm takes the necessary information, third-party history data, content data and other data to offer customers valuable recommendations. It also helps in sales forecasting and filtering fake reviews.

The days of cold-calling and using yellow pages are gone. Now, firms selling print-on-demand products are shifting to AI tools to beat the competition and boost customer loyalty. As an e-commerce owner, adapt your business to the latest trends in technology.