The pandemic encouraged online shopping when the brick-and-mortar stores were shut down. Gradually, e-commerce portals inevitably became a highly convenient route for shoppers. According to a report, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to overtake the US online shopping market by the year 2034. This growth can be attributed to factors like increased internet and smartphone penetration, alongside growing technological awareness.
Needless to say, a variety of cutting-edge emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and data-tracking, are paving the way for progressive innovations in the world of new-age shopping. The brands are now looking at the next phase of growth, which relies on newer technology trends like voice-assisted search, quick commerce, personalised offerings and virtual try-on.
Voice-shopping with Alexas and Siris
Imagine you’ve come home after a long day at work and suddenly realise that you are out of your monthly essentials. Without much of a click on a computer or tapping on a smartphone, a simple voice command to artificially intelligent voice recognition bots like Siri or Alexa, can order your essentials and have them delivered right to your doorstep in a few seconds.
The seamless functionality of placing voice commands on these bots is pure innovation, which makes modern shopping effortless. Placing voice commands to make an online purchase is known as voice commerce, which relies on vocal recognition technology. The technology filters the sound into a readable format, and then a backend algorithm guesses what was said to respond appropriately. Like many artificial intelligence programs, this technology keeps on improving and augmenting with repeated use.
Reportedly, more than 45 million consumers ordered using voice technology in 2021. Despite being a relatively recent phenomenon, voice commerce is expanding quickly as it provides consumers with a frictionless experience and an opportunity for brands to be discovered easily.
Commerce gets quicker with 10-minute deliveries
The quick commerce industry has rapidly grown, thanks to the recent phenomena of instant gratification amongst the masses. Everyone wants to choose from a vast array of products and they want them delivered quickly. “Ten-minute deliveries” and “no minimum order” have become standard in the quick commerce ecosystem. All of this is the result of significant changes and tech advancements in supply chain and logistical methods. Quick commerce operates on the back of local dark warehouses that are built in the user’s proximity.
Players are continually introducing logistical innovations and leveraging platform-based tech tools to take control of this market. This uses platform-based software to encompass all operations from taking an order to deliveries, refunds, routing and inventory reconciliations. Refunds are done automatically and shipping labels are produced without manual intervention. Every step of the order journey is automated and integrated with the help of tech intervention.
Buy Now Pay Later- a boon for the e-commerce industry
BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) options allow customers to pay for a transaction at a later time without incurring any additional fees. The solution caters to the younger generation and is bound to see significant uptake. Reports suggest that in comparison to customers in other markets around the world, about 28% of Indians are expected to make purchases utilising BNPL services in the upcoming year. Lately, BNPL options have become an important source of transactions for e-commerce platforms. Some statistics also show that BNPL will comprise 14% of the transaction value for e-commerce companies by 2026.
The sophistication of BNPL offers will increase as e-commerce becomes more and more competitive and merchants want to stand out from the competition. Through BNPL, the suppliers will try to increase customer loyalty by offering cashback or incentive programs that reward on-time payments to promote repeat purchases.
Next frontier in e-commerce: Virtual try-on, hyper-personalisation, and visual search
As a result of tech proliferation, the e-commerce industry has gone beyond data predictions, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtual try-on, visual search and hyper-personalization that are reshaping the next frontier for e-commerce.
Augmented Reality (AR) allows virtual try-on sessions, wherein users can virtually try on clothes through their devices. Digital avatars can be created for realistic representations of apparel and accessories, that can be tried on virtually to see the fit and look. This method enhances customer decision-making and makes the e-commerce experience even richer.
Product offerings on e-commerce are no more random and are backed by rich analytical data. This data is gathered from users’ online browsing activity, online behavioural analysis and interests derived from their search results. They are then shown product results, which they may be most likely to purchase. While the collection of users’ internet data is a complicated subject, it continues to make online shopping more efficient, saving users from making tonnes of searches in a vast pool of online products.
Another prominent tool is the addition of visual search functionality. Here, if a user likes a particular look or colour combination, they can simply click a photo of it and search using that image rather than typing keywords. This technology shows relevant results related to that image, which is quick and effective. As technology advances, more and more retailers are switching from the conventional type-and-search method to improve customer experience.
Way forward
It’s fascinating to see how the pandemic catalysed e-commerce to become a more digitally and technologically advanced ecosystem. It has caused a paradigm shift in the way we work, live, and interact with businesses. E-commerce is no longer manual, where tech interventions have made the online shopping experience richer and more convenient.
Modern e-commerce is more personalised and has become smoother in providing end-to-end solutions to its buyers. This digital proliferation is about creating and utilising cutting-edge tech disruptions, that make life simpler, save time and make the experience more vivid.
(The author is Dr. Somdutta Singh, Founder & CEO Assiduus and the views expressed in this article are his own)
