Many online retailers plan to embrace AI to enhance customer experience according to a new report published by SLI Systems.
The report said that many have concrete AI plans for the next 12 months, even if VR/AR, Voice-Activated Apps and Virtual Buying Assistants remain elusive.
In its third quarterly 2017 E-commerce Performance Indicators and Confidence Report, which reflects survey findings from hundreds of mid-size retailers worldwide, SLI Systems found UK-based respondents lead the pack when it comes to plans for Technology Implementation, Artificial Intelligence use and 2017 Holiday revenue forecasts.
However, 26 percent see their fulfilment Costs Per Order increasing this quarter compared to the same quarter in 2016, potentially hindering profits.
Worldwide, 54 percent of e-commerce professionals reported their company uses or plans to add AI in the future, with the largest group (20 percent) expecting to add AI within 12 months.
Among regions, e-commerce merchants in the UK report the most aggressive plans for implementing AI with 33 percent expecting to use AI within the next year, compared to the 17 percent in the U.S. and 15 percent in Australia and New Zealand .
In addition, 14 percent of UK retailers are already using AI in some fashion, making AI a reality for nearly half of UK retailers within a year.
More than 84 percent of UK retailers expect Site Conversion to increase in Q3, compared to Q3 2016.
More than 86 percent of UK-based respondents expect an increase in Mobile / Tablet Transactions in Q3 2017, compared to the global average of 71 percent.
More than 22 percent of UK-based respondents view Personalisation as their number one Q3 priority, with Replatforming a distant second (12 percent). In comparison, retailers in the US and AU-NZ regions rank Replatforming as their top initiative for the quarter.
67 percent of UK merchants surveyed plan to purchase or implement new technologies in Q3 compared to 48 percent in Q2 – a near twenty-point increase.
