4 Technologies to Increase Online Sales

The world of e-commerce is growing, with over 263 million online shoppers in the United States alone (Digital in the Round). To avoid drowning in a sea of competition, online retailers rely on sales. But in order to keep your head above water and ride the wave, retailers must keep up with their customers’ ever-changing expectations. The question is, how?

Today’s world is driven by technology. With a plethora of robust options out there, knowing which ones can help generate more leads, engage shoppers, and increase sales and conversion rates, can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you’ve landed at the right place.

Whether you’re questioning if your existing technologies are working in your favor, or looking for a complete overhaul to set your online store up for optimal success, we’re here to help. This article breaks down five technologies to boost e-commerce sales and deliver an optimal customer experience.

CRM Systems 

Customer relationship management consolidates all customer data and communications to one central location so companies can track and manage their customer relationships. 

By 2028, CRM solution growth is expected to reach an astonishing $128.97 Billion. And with 47% of users stating that their CRM software had a strong impact on customer satisfaction, it’s a valuable technology for virtual stores to understand their customers’ needs better.

Related: How to Make Instant, Data-Driven Business Decisions

There are many effective CRM tools and strategies that online retailers can adopt, such as:

• Contact information storage and contact management
• Customer interaction and behavior tracking to determine the right campaigns based on where shoppers are in their customer journey
• Loyalty and rewards programs to improve retention and revenue
• Targeted marketing to segment audiences for specific messaging 
• Better sales communications, thanks to tools like notes and dashboards

Put it all together, and good CRM platforms can help improve performance by providing information needed to keep customers happy, while also helping your sales team track their progress and performance.   

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) mimics human intelligence by learning and adjusting consumer behaviour to increase performance and produce more precise results. 

Many of us already use AI technologies in our daily lives, through tools like Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant, for example. But did you know that the influence of artificial intelligence on the retail industry alone is estimated to be worth between an astonishing $400 and $800 billion? It’s no surprise then that more than 40% of customers believe that AI improves their lives in some way.

If you think the pros for your shoppers might be plenty, check out all the advantages AI can have on your e-commerce business:

• Detects all customer touchpoints with your brand and assesses these interactions 
• Collects detailed data to generate sales-worthy leads 
• Analyzes content based on their interests, preferences, and browsing history
• Provides important information for marketing and trend forecasting
• Enables multi-channel marketing automation for a seamless experience across all platforms
• Improves search results for your customers, including product matches and recommendations

Chatbots

Known for their wide-scale availability and high customer satisfaction rates (90%, to be exact) and wide-scale availability, chatbots are undeniably one of the best technologies for online retailers right now. These virtual assistants interact with humans through a store’s online chat and can manage multiple conversations at any given time. 

Chatbots are so popular that the global chatbot market is projected to reach $1.95 billion by 2027! And it’s no wonder why. Aside from answering your customers’ questions quickly, chatbots can also help with other important responsibilities. E-commerce sites that employ chatbots can offer a range of services and solutions, like: 

• Speeding up the online purchase process
• Freeing up time for your team members to focus on other important tasks
• Providing 24/7 real time assistance when live support staff would otherwise be unavailable
• Maintaining a consistent tone for your brand through every interaction
• Suggesting additional products that could lead to  increased revenue
• Integrating with shopping carts to reduce cart abandonment
• Repurposing information used for one customer to assist another with a similar question or concern
• Evaluating and ranking the relevance of customer information for future shopping behaviors and solutions

If you’re unsure whether these helpful virtual robots are worth adding to your e-commerce arsenal of tools, consider this: Online retail stores have the highest rates of chatbot approval (Invesp), and close to 50% of consumers say they’re interested in purchasing products using them.

Personalization Technology (Like Granify!)

Not to toot our own machine learning horn, but Granify takes the best of many of these technologies and merges them altogether. The result is a comprehensive yet simple way to offer personalized shopping experiences to every shopper who visits your site. And right now, this matters more than ever before.

Consumers don’t just want a more personalized experience while shopping online, they demand it. Studies show that 72% of customers will only engage with personalized messaging (SmarterHQ), and 80% are more likely to buy from an online store that provides a tailored experience.  

So, how can technology like Granify cater to this growing consumer expectation? It’s a layered approach that begins with understanding your customers’ shopping preferences and behaviors.

First, the Granify Brain identifies opportunities to increase revenue by pinpointing shopper objections by analyzing over 500 behavioral data points per second for each shopper in real time. From there, we compare the data to the 1.5 trillion data points we accumulate every month to isolate at-risk shoppers (aka potential cart abandoners). Finally, our smart decision engine predicts who isn’t going to buy—and then we change their minds.

How?

• Delighting customers with personalization practises like product recommendations and targeted product spotlights
• Designing dynamic product spotlights and messages that are proven to delight shoppers
• Providing the right message at the right moment for every shopper 

The result for retailers is new customers and higher conversion rates, like the 6.7 billion shopping sessions we optimized in 2021. 

Having personalization tools like Granify doesn’t just appease the needs of your customers, but also provides vital consumer data that can work in conjunction with other marketing strategies that go beyond your e-commerce site.

Tech for Thought

Figuring out what technologies can take your online store to the next level is the first step in achieving long-term success. The next is applying them and ensuring you understand how they work so you can use them to your full advantage. Apply the recommended technologies we’ve suggested to your e-commerce site, and you’re sure to not only increase your online revenue, but also free up time for your team to focus on other areas of the business. Sure, it may take some time to determine what works best, but the end result will definitely be worth it.

Start Boosting Your Conversions

Granify can get your online sales heading in the direction you want quickly and efficiently. Ask our experts how our technology can be easily applied to your existing tools for a seamless and hassle-free experience on your end—and for your customers, too.