Research has shown that a growing number of individuals are taking to the Internet in order to obtain high-quality goods and services. There are several reasons behind this trend. Not only is online shopping very convenient, but the competitive nature of the industry ensures that consumers will often be able to encounter rock-bottom prices. However, these and other benefits would not be possible without cutting-edge e-commerce technology. From websites intended to sell clothes to those which promote virtual gadgets such as smartphone applications, digital technology plays a massive role. What are some of the latest trends and how are these set to transform the digital shopping experience?
The Use of Artificial Intelligence
To be fair, artificial intelligence (AI) has actually existed for well over a decade. It can be argued that the most well-known example can be seen in the role of chat bots. Chat bots are essentially algorithmic applications designed to enhance the levels of interaction that are available to the end user. In the past, they answered common queries and their scope of functionality was rather limited. However, these very same bots are able to mimic the responses associated with humans and it is quite difficult to tell the two apart.
AI can also be seen in “smart” search engines and autocomplete forms. These online documents are now capable of understanding very complex human inputs and as a result, they will offer more targeted results. This is very important for the advertising community, as relevant answers are more likely to cause a consumer to take additional actions such as visiting a website or completing a purchase.
The Role of E-Commerce Software Packages
E-commerce platforms have come a long way since their inception during the latter half of the 1990’s. Not only are they highly advanced in regards to functionality, but their levels of security now rival many banking institutions. E-commerce software therefore represents much more than a convenient means to electronically pay for a product or service. It offers several additional features including:
• Dozens of different payment gateways.
• Drag-and-drop functionality.
• Customized storefront themes.
• Lightning-fast responsiveness.
Another important to mention is that these bundles can provide the online retailer with an additional level of redundancy. As they are based within the cloud environment, an in-house loss of data will not be crippling; all information is still preserved online. It is therefore perfectly reasonable to understand why many digital firms are choosing to partner with respectable e-commerce providers such as Shopify.
Technology is certain transforming the ways in which online transactions are executed. The most interesting observation is that many analysts predict an even more profound level of growth in the years to come. Will there come a time when the human element is completely removed from the online sales equation? Although this will most likely not occur in the foreseeable future, it is still an undeniable fact that the digital retail marketplace is being forever modified thanks to the presence of these systems.