Decoding GenAI’s Game-Changing Impact On Indian Ecommerce Platforms

If there is a prominent example of a sector or an industry that has been quick in leveraging the potential of emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR), chatbots, and blockchain, it is, without a doubt, ecommerce.

Notably, it is on the back of the sector’s ability to foresee emerging trends that it’s on the trajectory to become a $400 Bn market opportunity by 2030. This is a rise by a factor of nearly 100 going by Avendus Capital’s estimated $3.9 Bn market size in 2009.

Not to mention, with the massive adoption of GenAI, the ecommerce sector is now uniquely positioned to benefit more than ever. Piggybacking on GenAI integrations, ecommerce platforms operating in India have already started to make massive waves.

While many have already integrated several GenAI tools into their repertoire to enhance customer experience and operational efficiencies, others are not too behind in the GenAI adoption race.

For instance, Amazon introduced a set of GenAI capabilities last year to allow sellers to create better product descriptions, titles and details. These new tools use large language models (LLMs) trained on massive datasets to churn comprehensive product descriptions.

“These new capabilities will make it faster and easier for sellers to list new products as well as enrich existing listings, helping customers make purchase decisions more confidently,” Amazon had then said in a blog.

While the juggernaut, Amazon, was quick to catch on to the trend, an increasing number of ecommerce platforms can today be seen using GenAI to create rich marketing content.

“With GenAI, it is easier and faster to generate rich and engaging content. This content can be dynamically personalised as well leading to a targeted and high retention consumer acquisition,” Vaibhav Khandelwal, cofounder and CTO at Shadowfax, said.

According to the CEO of Snapdeal, Himanshu Chakrawarti, the evolving nature of AI enables marketeers to stay ahead in their game.

Talking about Snapdeal, Chakrawarti said that the ecommerce platform utilises ML algorithms for real-time personalised recommendations and incorporates LLMs like ChatGPT to facilitate content generation.

Enhancing User Experience

Today, the primary focus of ecommerce founders is on enhancing the overall user experience of their platforms with GenAI integration. Elaborating on this, the head of AI at Meesho, Debdoot Mukherjee, said, “In India, a significant portion of users often express their needs through lengthy sentences rather than using keywords in their searches. Historically, search engines have struggled to efficiently understand and address these types of queries. However, with the implementation of LLM-based models, the understanding of users has improved dramatically.”

He added that the ecommerce unicorn is utilising GenAI in multiple areas. In terms of search and product discovery, there are specific LLM-based solutions that aid in comprehending the long tail of search intent more effectively.

Moving on, GenAI is also proving useful in the area of product reviews. Prior to selecting a product, many users rely on the feedback provided by other customers. However, navigating through a lengthy list of customer reviews can be tiresome, as some reviews may be more informative than others. GenAI streamlines this process, helping users find the most relevant and helpful reviews more efficiently.

“GenAI is playing a crucial role in summarising customer reviews and extracting critical aspects about various product features. By summarising customer sentiment along different dimensions, it effectively enhances the productivity of user experiences,” Mukherjee said.

According to Rajnil Mallik, partner and GenAI GTM leader, PwC India, GenAI’s capability to analyse and summarise unstructured data has bolstered traditional predictive analytics functions like cross-selling, up-selling, and customer retention. Moreover, it has enhanced conversational agents, leading to improved product listings and more intuitive customer reviews.

“Today, customers can seamlessly move across using voice and touch, between reading information and watching videos, even experiencing the product from the comfort of their home. Besides, for many sellers, technology is playing a critical role in accelerating the growth of their business by simplifying their selling experience – right from the registration process to listing a product and making a sale on the marketplace,” Kishore Thota, director (shopping experience, India & Emerging Markets) at Amazon said.

Amazon’s ML-powered personalisation approach goes beyond mere product recommendations, delving into a deeper understanding of customer proficiency, and leveraging it to provide customers with an adaptive experience. This sophisticated approach not only enhances the customer experience but also drives business growth.

Myntra, too, is leveraging the power of GenAI to enhance user experience.

“Our conversational AI chatbot, Maya, assists customers in navigating our wide assortment of 2.3 Mn styles on the platform, refining queries, and providing relevant product recommendations, while MyFashionGPT enables users to search for outfits through natural conversation,” the CTO of Myntra, Raghu Krishnananda, said.

These innovations are not only helping the company streamline the shopping experience but also driving customer engagement and satisfaction.

Automating Customer Support

One of the largest application areas of GenAI lies in customer support, benefiting both customers and sellers.

A case in point is Meesho where a significant portion of chat-based inquiries are now handled by AI-powered chatbots. This shift has enabled the ecommerce platform to scale up its response capabilities, leading to noticeable improvements in key customer experience metrics.

Meesho’s Mukherjee said that after implementing AI solutions, the platform has witnessed substantial enhancements in key performance indicators for customer support.

This extends to handling return requests, inquiries, and claims processing efficiently through AI-based chatbots, benefiting sellers as well.

One notable application involves analysing images submitted as part of claims. By comparing these images with catalogue images listed in product listings, ecommerce platforms can verify whether the products match, thereby enhancing accuracy and customer satisfaction.

GenAI Adoption Remains A Concern For Smaller Players

Despite Gen AI’s potential to reshape ecommerce by refining content, personalisation, and streamlining the shopping journey, its adoption poses challenges.

Also, building robust GenAI solutions requires a high cost that smaller ecommerce players may struggle to afford.

Furthermore, GenAI in ecommerce raises privacy concerns due to its utilisation of consumer data for personalised recommendations.

Moreover, implementation demands significant initial investments in infrastructure and skilled personnel, posing hurdles for many businesses. Additionally, the high computational power requirements limit adoption for some organisations.

In conclusion, while Gen AI promises to revolutionise ecommerce by enhancing various aspects, including content generation, user experience, and customer support, overcoming adoption challenges is crucial for its widespread integration across the industry.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]