Is pre-emptive shopping the next step in personalised eCommerce?

In the age of the customer, personalisation is a more pressing need than ever before. In the age of data, it’s becoming increasingly possible to feed that need. Indeed, data-led personalisation is one of the hottest trends in ecommerce.

But are we getting ahead of ourselves? A new wave of customer-led personalisation known as pre-emptive shopping suggests so.

What is pre-emptive shopping?

Pre-emptive shopping is a customer-led personalisation opportunity powered by...

23 September 2019 | Commerce

The rise of ‘eception’ and the ethical issues arising from humanising AI in customer experience

You land on a website one day and “Jay” sends you a welcome message and an invitation to chat. Jay has a smiley headshot displayed and seems well-spoken enough. But is Jay a human customer service agent, or a bot?

Even a few exchanges might not be enough to identify Jay’s true nature. You may have to say something completely unexpected to detect any indication of whether Jay is really there or running via AI.

The truth is that humans are easily capable...

10 May 2019 | Advertising Technology

The HTTPS deadline and what it means for your website

2018, the year of deadlines. Or, more specifically, the year of internet security deadlines. It turns out that the EU isn’t the only entity setting deadlines for us to up our online security game. Now, Google is throwing its weight around too. 

Google has slowly been encouraging stronger security practices over the past few years. Earlier this year, Google announced a deadline for websites to upgrade from HTTP to HTTPS. That deadline is almost upon us: July 2018.

But...

26 June 2018 | Publishing

Analysing ‘digital body language’ and getting real-time responses from your users

Can you tell whether your website users are engaged? Frustrated? Bored? Your customers’ emotions and mindsets are valuable information for personalising service. In brick-and-mortar stores, this information is readily available through body language.

The digitalisation of retail removes body language from the equation, and makes online service personalisation that bit harder. Ecommerce brands can’t rely on tell-tale hand gestures or eye flickers to gauge customer mindset....

17 May 2018 | Best Practice

Facebook messaging or live chat software?

Facebook has announced a (free) version of Messenger for use by businesses on their websites. Talk goes that this add-on will swallow the live chat market whole and spell the end for all rival web chat solutions.

There are, however, big differences between live chat software and Messenger when it comes to connecting with customers.

Those who are already predicting the demise of traditional chat channels may wish to take these differences into account before ringing the death...

14 February 2018 | Customer Experience