Cyber Monday 2023: how to master the AI-shopping revolution

Cyber Monday is one of the most anticipated events of the year for retailers and consumers. It takes place the Monday following Thanksgiving and features unbeatable online discounts on numerous products from well-known retailers. Cyber Monday has always been popular among online shoppers, but it gained even more traction following the pandemic, with a 15% increase in overall online sales from 2019 to 2020.

According to the Adobe Holiday Spending Forecast, Cyber Monday 2023 is expected to see the most growth over Cyber Week, reaching a record-breaking $11 billion.

This means that retailers need to be ready to offer their customers the best online shopping experience possible, and one of the key factors for that is AI-powered product recommendation

What is AI-powered product recommendations?

AI-powered product recommendations are a type of machine learning technology that can analyze millions of data points, such as customer behavior, preferences, purchase history, product attributes, and more, to deliver highly personalized and relevant suggestions for each customer across all your touchpoints.

AI-powered product recommendations can help retailers increase conversions, Loyalty, and revenue by providing customers with a more engaging and satisfying shopping experience. They can also help customers discover new products or content that they might not have found otherwise.

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Basic types of AI-powered product recommendations

But how do you implement AI-powered product recommendations for your online store? There are different types of recommendation engines that you can use, depending on your business goals and data availability. Here are some examples:

Collaborative filtering: This type of recommendation engine uses historical data on user interactions, such as ratings, reviews, clicks, purchases, etc., to find similarities between users and products and recommend products that similar users liked or bought in the past. For example, if user A and user B both bought products X and Y, and user A also bought product Z, then product Z can be recommended to user B.

– Content-based filtering: This type of recommendation engine uses product metadata, such as name, description, category, images, etc., to find similarities between products and recommend products that have similar features or characteristics to the ones that the user liked or bought in the past. For example, if a user buys a blue shirt with stripes, then a blue shirt with dots can be recommended to them.

– Hybrid filtering: This type of recommendation engine combines collaborative filtering and content-based filtering to leverage both user and product data and provide more accurate and diverse recommendations. For example, a hybrid filtering engine can recommend products that are similar to the ones that the user liked or bought in the past, but also take into account the popularity or trends of the products among other users.

– Context-aware filtering: This type of recommendation engine takes into account additional contextual factors, such as location, time, device, seasonality, etc., to provide more relevant and timely recommendations. For example, a context-aware filtering engine can recommend products that are suitable for the user’s current weather or occasion.

Why are AI-powered product recommendations important for Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is a highly competitive and crowded event, where customers are bombarded with thousands of offers and deals from different retailers. To stand out from the crowd and attract customers’ attention, retailers need to offer more than just discounts. They need to offer value and relevance.

AI-powered product recommendations can help retailers achieve that by showing customers the products or services that they are most likely to buy or enjoy. By doing so, retailers can:

– Increase conversions: Customers are more likely to buy something if it is relevant to their needs and preferences. According to management consulting firm McKinsey, 35% of Amazon purchases — and 75% of Netflix content — hailed from these product recommendations back in 2013.

– Increase Loyalty: Customers are more likely to return to a retailer if they have a positive and personalized shopping experience. AI-powered product recommendations can help create that experience by showing customers that the retailer understands their needs and preferences and can offer them what they want.

– Increase revenue: Customers are more likely to spend more if they are exposed to more relevant and appealing products or services. AI-powered product recommendations can help increase the average order value and the lifetime value of customers by cross-selling and up-selling related or complementary products or services.

Successful cases of using AI-powered product recommendations

A successful case study of using AI-powered product recommendations is Google, which is a fully managed service that delivers high-quality recommendations at scale. Google has used its expertise in recommendations across its flagship properties such as Google Ads, Google Search, and YouTube, to create a state-of-the-art machine learning model that can correct for bias and seasonality and excel in scenarios with long-tail products and cold-start users and items. AI-powered recommendations can also maximize the value of your data by incorporating unstructured metadata such as product name, description, category, images, etc., and deliver recommendations at any touchpoint using your desired strategy and business rules.

AI-powered recommendations have helped many businesses improve their online performance and customer satisfaction. For example, IKEA Retail (Ingka Group) increased its global average order value for eCommerce by 2% by providing personalized product suggestions based on customer behavior and preferences. Another example is Adore Me, a lingerie brand that increased its revenue per visitor by 4% with AI-powered recommendations by offering customers more relevant products across their journey from homepage to shopping cart to order confirmation.

Pobuca Experience Cloud’s role in AI-shopping revolution.

As we gear up for Cyber Monday 2023 and we delve into the essential role of AI-powered product recommendations in boosting conversions and Loyalty, it’s essential to highlight the indispensable support of Pobuca Experience Cloud.

Pobuca Experience Cloud is the comprehensive customer experience management solution that can take your Cyber Monday strategy to the next level. Among its arsenal of features, Pobuca Experience Cloud offers the Advanced Customer Analytics module, which complements AI-driven product recommendations with crucial components like churn prediction and early detection of VIP customers.

How do these capabilities boost Cyber Monday’s conversions and Loyalty? Here lies the answer…

• • AI-Powered Product Recommendations: we’ve emphasized the significance of personalized product recommendations in enhancing the Cyber Monday shopping experience. Pobuca Experience Cloud’s AI-driven recommendations analyze intricate customer data, ensuring that you provide tailored product suggestions. The result? A considerable boost in conversions as customers are more inclined to make purchases when they see items aligning with their preferences.
    
    
  • Churn prediction: while Cyber Monday attracts new customers, retaining your existing ones is equally critical. Pobuca’s churn prediction module employs predictive analytics to identify customers at risk of churning. Armed with this knowledge, you can proactively engage these customers, offer personalized incentives, and reinforce their Loyalty during Cyber Monday.
    
    
  • Early detection of VIP customers: recognizing and rewarding your VIP customers is a surefire strategy to enhance Loyalty. Pobuca Experience Cloud’s Early Detection of VIP Customers module uses data-driven insights to pinpoint customers who consistently engage with your brand and make substantial purchases. By acknowledging and catering to these VIPs during Cyber Monday, you can deepen their Loyalty and transform them into brand advocates.

By seamlessly incorporating these Pobuca Experience Cloud modules into your Cyber Monday strategy, you can maximize conversions and cultivate enduring customer Loyalty. In the competitive arena of Cyber Monday, delivering a tailored and frictionless shopping experience is the key to distinguishing your brand and securing customer Loyalty.

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Conclusion

As we look forward to Cyber Monday 2023, it’s clear that the AI shopping revolution is here to stay. Cyber Monday is a great opportunity for retailers to increase their online sales and revenue by offering their customers unbeatable discounts and deals. However, discounts alone are not enough to win customers’ Loyalty and trust. Retailers need to leverage the power of AI and start offering highly personalized product recommendations and create more detailed Loyalty strategies based on advanced customer analytics