Artificial intelligence (AI) has made as strong strides in the digital landscape as the appearance of the Internet back in the day. It seems only lazy people aren’t talking about its capabilities and the potential for future developments. 

If you ask us, we’ve already spotted the tangible impact AI has had on enhancing marketing efforts. And, as we move into the future and AI becomes smarter and more potent each day, its role will only intensify.

In this article, we’ll talk about AI in digital marketing and how it can be used to boost product sales. We will also tell you about the trends that are shaping the future of retail. Ready to start? Then, let’s get the ball rolling.

Understanding AI in Digital Product Sales

Before we begin, let’s start by understanding what AI means in digital product sales. AI is a super-smart helper for businesses. It can easily replace the whole marketing department, providing you with insights into everything related to sales, including:

• Customer preferences;
• Behavioral patterns;
• Previous interactions with other websites;
• Purchasing history;
• Budgets;
• Customer’s age, gender, demographics, and interests.

By gathering and analyzing this data, AI algorithms can make accurate assumptions about the likelihood of a customer being interested in a product and his actions further on.

Moreover, they can tell you with precise accuracy where and when it’s best to target customers to increase the chance of them making a purchase, which is particularly important in the field of sales. 

As you can see, AI isn’t anything like those sales tactics sales managers used in the old days — it doesn’t rely on gut feeling. Instead, everything is based on data and analysis, allowing businesses to make better decisions. 

It’s worth noting that AI, despite its relative novelty, has already been long enough for many companies to recognize its benefits. Amazon, for example, was among the first to use AI in their shopping search. Another huge online marketplace making use of artificial intelligence is Alibaba. Thanks to AI, they never run out of the right stuff in stock.

Taking all of this into account, it’s easy to see that AI is the future of selling, and ignoring it would leave you on the side of the proverbial road. 

Incorporating AI in Your Selling Strategies

The unique thing about AI is its multi-faced nature. It’s probably one of the few technologies that renders itself useful in several application areas. Let’s look more closely at how AI can be used in selling strategies to maximize your outcomes. 

1. Chatbots and virtual assistants

Long gone are the days when stores had to maintain an in-house customer support team to handle customer queries. With AI-driven chatbots, they can maintain their presence round-the-clock while delivering top-notch customer service. 

AI is swiftly transcending boundaries and offering unprecedented advantages in customer support arenas. The recent evolution of AI for customer support shows just how businesses are optimizing customer interactions and tailoring responses using artificial intelligence.

These AI systems are adept at not just answering routine inquiries but also preempting user requirements, providing solutions even before a problem arises. As companies adopt these forward-thinking strategies, they’re noticing increased customer loyalty and, in turn, enhanced revenue streams.

Modern chatbots are different from what they were when they first came out in the market. Today their capabilities are very impressive. Not only can they answer any questions, but you won’t even know you’re talking to a chatbot — they’ve become so smart.

In addition, chatbots do a brilliant job of generating leads and helping secure future purchases.

For example, if a customer inquires about a product that is currently not available in stock, he or she can fill out an online form, asking for a notification once the product arrives. A company, in turn, will receive their contact details, which can be used for further interaction.

Chatbots in e-commerce are a relatively new trend that’s gaining traction. According to Statista, only 9% of online stores are using chatbots to interact with their customers. However, this isn’t a bad thing. This means you have an advantage to be the first to use chatbots and take your business ahead of the curve. 

2. Personalized marketing campaigns

Another area where AI shines is personalized marketing campaigns. The ability of AI algorithms to garner and analyze vast volumes of data allows them to learn customer preferences, behavioral patterns, most frequently visited marketplaces and social media networks, as well as the amount of money they’re most likely to spend. 

With this data, sales managers and marketers can ramp up their promotion activities. Instead of bombarding users with the same offers, they can segment their audience into several groups, based on specific criteria, and target them with different campaigns that are more likely to catch their attention. 

AI’s ability to predict customer preferences and trends in real-time is another remarkable advantage. You can use it to attract new customers with personalized offers, positively impacting conversion rates and sales growth. 

3. Tailored content 

It’s not only marketing campaigns that can be adjusted to meet the specific interests of customers, though.

When you know what people are interested in and how they’re searching for information when looking for specific products online, you can polish your landing pages and product descriptions to meet those requests best. 

Also, you can use AI tools to take a sneak peek into your competitors’ strategies, identify keywords that they rank for, and create a content plan to make your products more discoverable on the web.

All in all, it can be your reliable assistant in content creation, ensuring that your website appeals to your clientele. 

SEE: Top 5 Lucrative Digital Niches in Africa for 2023/24 (Backed by Expert Data)

4. Image recognition

It’s also worth mentioning that AI-driven networks are excellent at analyzing images, making them a powerful tool for fashion brands.

With its help, companies can automate the process of identifying and tagging products in images, which will not only speed up the inventory management process but also enhance the overall shopping experience. ‘

For example, Heuritech, a fashion tech company headquartered in Paris uses AI to analyze millions of images and anticipate clothing trends. They share their visions on their platform so that other brands can create fashionable collections to deliver to customer expectations.

Even if you don’t make clothes, you can use AI to figure out what colors and styles will be in vogue and stock up on the right inventory. 

5. Virtual try-on

Artificial intelligence can take a customer’s shopping experience to the next level by providing them with personalized recommendations.

This can be especially useful in situations where it’s difficult to say if the product is going to be a good fit or not. One way to solve this issue is to turn to virtual reality and create virtual fitting rooms.

However, there’s also an easier way — use the old chatbots, trained to deal with common fit issues and provide personal recommendations based on a customer’s body size and type. 

This is how it works. Chatbots request a photo of the customer and then scan it with AI. After that, AI, along with Machine Language (ML), analyzes the body peculiarities of a client and provides a list of all brands that offer clothes of the right style and size. 

This feature offers plenty of advantages for e-commerce businesses. Marketplaces with virtual try-ons have a better chance of standing out from the competition and attracting more sellers and buyers. On the other hand, small retailers can use this function to sell more of their stuff by directing customers to the clothes that fit them best. 

Future Trends and Possibilities

While we can’t tell you for definite what’s going to happen in 3-5 years, we can still make assumptions based on the trends we’ve seen so far. So, here’s a quick glimpse into what the future may hold for us in enhancing digital product sales.

• Hyper-personalization. We’re confident that AI-powered personalization will become even more granular, tailoring the entire purchasing journey to customer preferences. 
• Voice search. As web designs become more inclusive, we can expect more companies to incorporate voice search into their interfaces, helping customers find and purchase products hands-free. 
• Visual search. Visual search capabilities will improve significantly. It will be enough for people to snap a picture of an item they like, and AI will identify it and find similar products. 
• Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). 5G technology is already looming on the horizon. This will open doors for the extensive use of advanced technologies such as AR and VR. So, in 2024 and beyond, we’re likely to see more virtual try-ons.
• Supply chain optimization. With the help of AI, companies will be able to minimize the negative effects of economic and social shifts and improve the supply chain, ensuring they have the right inventory, and it’s there in stock at the right time. 

Looking at the pace at which AI continues to evolve, it’s safe to say that we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of its potential. More exciting things will happen in the world of e-commerce. 

Final Thoughts

To sum up, AI is having a transformative impact on digital space. It can answer customer inquiries, predict customer’s likes and dislikes, and sell, without any intervention on the part of a sales representative.

That said, AI in no way is poised to replace humans. To get the most out of it, achieve sales growth, and steer sales processes in the right direction, collaboration with sales managers is important. 

In this post, we’ve shared with you some of the most interesting ways of incorporating AI into your strategies to boost purchases. Make sure to embrace as many trends as you can, and you’ll conquer the fast-paced world of e-commerce, leaving your competition irrelevant! 

Author bio:
Roy Emmerson is the co-founder of TechTimes.com, a B2B SaaS platform that helps businesses stay up-to-date on the latest technology trends. With over a decade of experience in the tech industry, Roy is a thought leader in the field and is passionate about helping companies embrace new technologies to improve their operations and drive growth.