Paul Montwill
CEO, Magico
AI has already made huge changes to ecommerce, but the next five years could be crucial to making teams more efficient, levelling the playing field across business sizes and transforming the sector.
Consumers engage with AI when shopping online, whether consciously or not — from predictive text on product searches to personalised purchase recommendations. However, retailers are not always aware of the benefits AI can offer their business. “AI is getting a lot of publicity. People see the power of it but can’t always grasp and use it effectively,” says Paul Montwill, CEO of ecommerce specialists Magico.
AI assistance for ecommerce success
Running a successful ecommerce website requires multiple skills across merchandising, digital marketing, customer service and graphic design. For online retailers, accessing all these resources in-house can be a huge challenge, as many teams often operate with just one person.
That could mean reaching out to AI to help. Technology like Magico’s new platform, EcommExperts AI, will add virtual assistance to online stores. “Without having to hire a full team, you can get a team of virtual assistants ready to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, possibly 100 times faster than any human. There’s great power in there,” Montwill explains.
AI is a complete game-changer. It already has a major impact, and these developments will transform ecommerce, filling skills gaps and empowering small teams to compete with larger competitors.
AI-driven task prioritisation boosts revenue
Another challenge faced by businesses is knowing which tasks to prioritise to ensure revenue growth. Underpinning AI assistance with existing analytics, as Magico does with its AB Commerce platform, could see virtual assistants trained to identify revenue boosting opportunities and equally where revenue is being lost.
“We often see online managers who are extremely busy, but their online revenue growth is not reflecting the effort,” says Montwill. “Highlighting which tasks will have an impact on their revenue and then using AI to execute these recommendations quicker will have a huge impact on teams’ efficiency.”
Revolutionising the ecommerce landscape
In about five years, Montwill says, ecommerce will transform with AI’s increasing contribution. “AI is a complete game-changer,” he insists. “It already has a major impact, and these developments will transform ecommerce, filling skills gaps and empowering small teams to compete with larger competitors.”
