How e-commerce giants are using AI and marketing (Part 1) - Daniel Faggella

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How e-commerce giants are using AI and marketing (Part 1) - DanielFaggella

• "If Amazon’s latest earnings are any indication, product recommendations powered by AI also have been successful. The company reported a third-quarter sales increase of 34 percent to $43.7 billion. The recommendation system is integrated into every aspect of the purchasing process.
• The company’s AI also aids sellers by helping them create product-buyer matches on personalized virtual storefronts to improve the chances of selling their products. The recommendations are based on buyers’ purchase history, background and location, among others. Alibaba claims that through this technology, they recorded a reported 20 percent increase in conversion rate during their 24-hour online shopping event in 2016.
• In an interview (PDF) with MIT Technology Review, Felix Liu, Alibaba’s head of Customer Experience Business Group, explained that AI has helped the company by obtaining massive customer data, discovering key issues and improving the company’s inquiry management channels. In one instance, Liu cited how their chatbot was able to detect abnormal levels of order status inquiries and took only 30 minutes to provide a solution to their affected customers. As Liu put it, 'AI currently helps 100 percent of our customers with inquiries, and resolves 50 percent of them completely.'”
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$25B for Alibaba in just one day

Image credit: nytimes.com

Alibaba, the pre-eminent Chinese eCommerce company, has just set another new record. With their recent announcement of a $15B investment on artificial intelligence this is just the beginning.

Alibaba’s Singles Day Sales Hit New Record of $25.3 Billion

“This year’s shopping festival entered new territory, blazing past $1 billion within two minutes of the holiday, starting at midnight on Saturday. By the end of the day, sales had hit a new record of $25.3 billion, more than 40 percent higher than sales on Singles Day 2016.”

Alibaba AI Helps Mobile Engagement

Alibaba AI Helps Mobile Engagement

"It now has 529 million users, up by 22 million more people. The use of AI has improved not only the content provided by Alibaba, but also in how people search for products.

The secret to this is really simple. AI has made product search more precise.

This is done through a variety of ways, from machine learning, deep learning, transfer learning and much more. Computers learn a shopper’s preferences whenever someone would type in the product being searched for."

ai eCommerce News - June 30

AI/BOT: Is AI The Key To Retail’s Survival?

“Forty-five percent of retailers are planning to use AI in the next few years, according to the latest research from Boston Retail Partners. This AI integration will be done through the use of chatbots or digital assistants and primarily used for customer enhancement services.

•    Optimizing the customer experience — 55 percent

•    Increasing customer loyalty — 50 percent

•    Improving mobile shopping experience — 45 percent

•    Creating a seamless experience across channels — 42 percent

•    Enhancing personalized service/sales assistance — 32 percent

•    Providing personalized promotions, recommendations and/or offerings — 24 percent”

Alibaba is using AI to create tailor-made shopping experiences

“While it is still early days for AI technology, Alibaba has made no secret of its ambitions in the space. However, Alibaba faces competition from its rival Chinese internet companies Baidu and Tencent, both of which are investing heavily in AI.

Baidu, which is in the process of becoming an AI-first company, this year announced a major breakthrough in technology development after successfully teaching a virtual agent to learn a language from scratch. The move is viewed as a significant step towards teaching machines to learn like humans.

Last month, Tencent announced it would open a second AI lab, basing its new centre in Seattle, as the firm steps up its research into AI, machine learning and deep learning.”