Online shopping is meant to be an easy way to find the right product for the right occasion. Not only does eCommerce give shoppers the ability to browse a variety of products and compare prices, the added convenience of doing it from home makes it all that more appealing. However, shopping online can be overwhelming for any shopper.
eCommerce Tools Built upon Recommendation AlgorithmsBrowsing through thousands of products can be an overwhelming experience. Unlike shopping at a retail store, online shoppers do not have access to a knowledgeable sales associate who can answer their questions or recommend the right product for their needs. Thankfully, eCommerce has evolved to include the next-best thing, offering automated product recommendations based on fundamental elements of the buyer-seller interaction. These product recommendations solutions are built upon sophisticated technologies that take customer data, like browsing behavior, purchase history, demographics and social profiles, into account to suggest products that are tailored to fit the individual customer.
How do Online Guided Selling Tools Help Shoppers Find the Right Products?Commerce has a long history of blending customer service with new technologies. With the rise of eCommerce and subsequent innovations, online retailers have evolved to include online guided selling tools that mimic the knowledgeable sales associate that customers are used to interacting with in-store. Guided selling software bridges the gap between in-person communication and the eCommerce experience. This is how it works:
Asking the Right QuestionsOnline shopping assistant software mirrors the intuitive nature of the sales associate by asking the right questions necessary to recommend a product for a shopper. Tailored to the shopper’s needs, questions may pertain to a shopper’s lifestyle and usage, brand preference and technical requirements, price point and other considerations. For example, a shopper who is looking to purchase a television may be asked questions such as budget, viewing distance, Internet connectivity, streaming services, use of peripherals, types of media viewed, et cetera
Aggregating the AnswersGuided selling software synthesizes all information gathered and, with state-of-the-art recommendation algorithms, identifies the product that best matches the shopper’s needs among all products in the catalog. Like a virtual sales representative, the dynamic question and answer process systematically narrows the product selection with each subsequent requirement of the shopper. Using sophisticated data processing, eCommerce guided selling tools easily sort and match products to a shopper’s needs to deliver relevant product recommendations.
Providing Real-Time RecommendationsBy asking the right questions and aggregating the answers, online assisted selling tools provide shoppers with real-time product recommendations that reflect a shopper’s needs. Likewise, automated product recommendations that take user behavior into account to deliver recommendations create a more personalized and satisfying shopping experience for the user.
Personalization Tools in Today's Customer-driven eCommerce EnvironmentOnline retailers understand the role and importance of the friendly and knowledgeable sales associate. While translating that factor into online shopping is more challenging, eCommerce retailers have a variety of eCommerce assisted selling solutions available to recreate the sales associate experience online.
