Google saw a 50%-plus increase in search traffic in December to its “popular products” integrations, where shoppers can view and filter results with a variety of product details in an ecommerce-friendly carousel display, as it works to claw back the enormous flow of checkouts to dominant Amazon. Google is leveraging aggregated shopping feeds based on structured product data from merchants.
For retailers and ecommerce brands, interacting with customers and leaving a good impression is not only a never-ending task, but incredibly important for sustained growth. This is why brands should make it a priority to take advantage of automated tools that save time, reduce the need for customer service agents and provide a consistently seamless customer experience while shopping.
It was quite a week in the ever-expanding universe of generative AI, as the arms race among tech titans escalates, new solutions proliferate and more retailers jump in with both feet. From Elon Musk to Google, Amazon, Walmart and Levi Strauss, more companies are moving beyond the experimentation stage and planting a flag as a wide range of applications hit the market.
Ecommerce entertainment is a fast-emerging trend merchants will need to build into growth strategies and investment plans. “Showbiz” will be the new ecommerce battleground. The convergence of tech, commerce, brand power and consumer hunger for enjoyable experiences will increasingly drive competitive differentiation.
ChatGPT, the generative AI tool based on Microsoft-backed OpenAI technology, is creating media buzz on a new level, with its much-touted ability to create human-seeming language, content and interactions for just about any business or private context. It’s also causing major disruption in retail, even as ethical and legal issues arise.