 "AI surge in e-commerce")
For long brands have been using artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and automation tools in a piecemeal manner with an eye on cutting costs and increasing productivity. However, of late, a number of brands particularly in e-commerce have taken the lead in leveraging technology to build products and streamline processes to make consumer experience more personalised and predictive. Such innovations are also helping brands bring down incident escalation as they are able to serve them better.
Myntra's private clothing label, Moda Rapido, is a prime example of a technology-powered brand. It tapped AI to determine user preferences, colours, design and fabric type to launch the brand Moda Rapido. The brand is powered by AI and Myntra has a robot character that represents Moda Rapido and is capable of offering new designs and styles to buyers. It has been purely created by leveraging data points representing customer preferences and converting these into data insights for product design, with minimum human intervention.
All this has helped Myntra save time as well as cost involved in determining product design and styles for different seasons, says Ananth Narayanan, CEO at Myntra.
Amazon uses AI and machine learning to ensure customers have a great shopping experience. As per a company spokesperson, the need for AI arises as the company adds more products on its platform. "One of the uses of AI at Amazon is to track inventory real-time and alert sellers in case their stock runs out. AI is a means to our end and gives customers a seamless experience. On the other hand, sellers also know when to restock so that the customer is not disappointed with 'out of stock' prompts," says a company spokesperson.
The e-commerce player also has Amazon Echo, a home device which uses a built-in chatbot named Alexa which responds to user voice and takes all kinds of commands. Alexa can also be used to shop at Amazon.
AI is also at the centre of Snapdeal's fashion strategy. A spokesperson says, "We are extensively using algorithms developed in-house driven by the latest frontier in AI called deep learning to remove manual intervention as well as speed up pace of work with an aim to provide our customers a superlative experience."
Some of the ways these algorithms are deployed by Snapdeal include - improving search quality by making the system automatically detect colours, product attributes, etc.; improving catalogue quality and standardisation to help sellers upload their products according to quality parameters; and using deep learning to understand any gaps in the assortment, for instance to ensure products are tagged and assorted in a consistent fashion.
A number of newer players too are reposing faith in AI and AR. Urban Ladder is using VR for testing out new services. The curated online furniture player offers customers a virtual walk through different interior designs. It is using Google Kart to offer this experience to potential buyers. The service is being beta-tested and Urban Ladder plans to launch the service commercially in more markets by the next quarter.
There is also another use case at Urban Ladder that borders on the line of AI usage. It offers wardrobe/kitchen installation services, a labour intensive exercise. Right from customers registering on its website to sharing their preferences and selecting design, the entire process stretches to two months.
But, with the help of AI and by using information such as customer's family size, cooking preferences etc., the company now offers a pre-proposal. Powered by algorithms and based on consumer choices, the company prepares a pre-proposal for clients with a sample design, price point etc. The information is coded by technology and there is no human intervention for matching buyer preferences and design suggested.
"With pre-proposal as a starting point, we have been able to bring down the buying process from earlier 21 days to 10 days right from placement of a query, design selection and execution. The automated system helps cut down on back-and-forth discussions between clients and the company, home visits for specifications etc. This improves our chances of converting potential buyers into a sale," says Rajiv Srivatsa, chief operating officer and co-founder, Urban Ladder.
The company is also using AI to streamline its supplies and stock. Arming its warehouse professionals and sales people with AI-powered handheld devices the company has been able to improve stock availability prediction (accuracy levels) from 85 per cent to 99 per cent.
Even as brands recognise the growing power of technology, experts caution that the decision to deploy it should not purely be driven by cost impact alone. A particular technology might be cheap, but it may not necessarily be capable of delivering the desired results. Therefore, it's necessary to take a long-term view.
Take a holistic view: Rajiv Srivatsa
While leveraging technology even if it has to be adopted internally and involves re-training staff, the focus should not be on savings. The investment decision needs to be guided by how the improved processes can lead to better user flow. Also, even as one goes about leveraging technology one has to ensure all the different pieces come together to help improve customer experience. One has to take a long-term view and guard against investing blindly in an enterprise resource planning platform or solution.
Rajiv Srivatsa
COO & co-founder, Urban Ladder
COO & co-founder, Urban Ladder
