No more will you hear about Chatbots being the next big thing. They’re already here and here to stay! Top domains where Chatbots are proving beneficial are:

1.      Ecommerce and Online Marketing: Messenger Chatbots have higher open rates and click through rates than Email, as a result of which many online marketers have begun using Chatbots as a way of getting website visitors’ information. Redirecting the customer to the correct sales channel, content gamification and relationship marketing are additional benefits it brings to this domain.

2.      Customer Service: The best use of technology right now is in automating the easy questions that get asked over and over again with a live agent takeover whenever the bot cannot answer a question. When the bot is stumped, it automatically sends the questions to a live agent, listens to the answer and then learn how to answer such questions in future.

3.      Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: Bots in this space are being successful on a number of critical fronts- they increase revenue, increase customer satisfaction, increase engagement and brand loyalty and lower costs via automation.

4.      Banking, Financial Services and Fintech: First and foremost, bots can help warn you about issues and dangers with your bank account. Bots can give you suggestions on what to do with your money- it can give you a cost breakdown of where you are spending or how can you move money around in order to save more money. Banks are also using chatbots internally to help automate tasks.

5.      HR and Recruiting: Chatbots can engage applicants and pre-screen them and make sure they’re qualified by asking a few questions. They also help in easing the process of on boarding new employees.

What other uses could be coming next? Read more at:

Retail stores has thousands of choices for fashion and the salesperson may influence you in your decision but with the help of AI and Machine learning your experience is going to more simpler and engaging.AI monitors the browsing patterns of any customer and give product recommendation according to that.AI powered chatbots can work more smarter and intuitively than humans. Machine learning in AI is improving product search capabilities on e-commerce sites.With the tremendous potential of AI, it can revolutionize the retail and e-commerce sector.Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/296657

India’s retail market is predicted to double from $600 billion in 2015 to $1 trillion by 2020 as per IBEF. The growth in e-commerce influences development in the retail sector. Faster internet speed, reliable telecom operators, increased adoption of online services plays a key role in gaining that tremendous growth. In upcoming years, we will witness advanced technologies and innovations to revolutionize the customer’s shopping experience and collect more online sales.AI based chatbots will be the future of customer service. As consumers are gaining digital prominence mobile wallet will be crucial for cashless transaction. Read more at:https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293462

The logistics industry in India is growing rapidly because of the growth in retail, e-commerce and manufacturing sectors. Though it has been underperforming over the years, it has received importance recently and is expected to reach a worth of $2 billion by 2019. Lack of facilities, technology and manpower have been reasons for the loss in the perishables sector. Better infrastructure, better storage, better network and warehouse facilities are the way forward. The sector is currently using IT solutions and the hub-and-spoke model for freight movement. It provides end-to-end supply chains to the consumers and being a key player in the economy, it is expected to grow by 10-15% annually in years to come.Read more at: http://www.iamwire.com/2017/04/indian-logistics-industry-scenario/151331  

Nowadays we can start an e-commerce online retail business a lot easier than ever. Thanks to the internet which helps us to start our business with very little overhead or fixed cost and if we go with the trend that is creating something that people want then we can make much out of it. Here are some tips for starting a successful online retail business: We should create a business plan that should clearly show the route to achieve goal or success.

• Choose a creative business structure which includes tax benefits, requirements and how to legalize with government.

• Start a self-storage which will lower your cost of rent.

• Make a catchy website and make sure it includes all the information like store name, location and contact information for the betterment of customers.

• You should provide a convenient price chart and description of all products.

• Make your ordering process easy.

• Last but not the least show your policies of return, refund and warranties so that customers don’t jump to some other site.

Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/ecommerce/7-tips-starting-successful-online-retail-business-01798247#OCvXfd1Det8hkZMy.97

This is the era of e-commerce. Everything you desire is just a click away. People can shop, read reviews, compare prices of the products and take better-informed decisions sitting in their homes. Sounds like online shopping is a blessing. But then why retailers like Disney, Under Armour and Nike have said that they don’t focus on online sales anymore? Today, retailers are focused on creating a friendly customer experience that crosses channel borders. Leading brands understand that they need to be leaders in both online and offline means. The changes in marketing trend are due to things like artificial intelligence, 3D printing and advance analytics. Merging the two modes is the solution. So to attract more and more customers, we need their engagement in both online and offline modes which will eventually result in better sales. Read more here: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3024262/retail-it/for-retailers-e-commerce-alone-wont-make-the-sale.html

Nowadays, many people buy goods online. Due to this growth in e-commerce, consumption by consumers has increased and this increased competition among the merchants. Nick Campbell (a valued contributor to Business 2 Community), writes about eight e-commerce design trends in 2016 which will optimize user experience, bring products into the spotlight, and convert casual visitors into loyal customers. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/ecommerce/8-ecommerce-design-trends-2016-ignite-selling-potential-store-01390953#MFE1EzOH3EwT1kEl.97

Integration of e-commerce and ERP are gaining importance. But, some organizations are not giving importance as integrating ERP and e-commerce can be time-consuming and expensive. However, the benefits of the integration are much greater than the cost and time investment. When approached properly, an ERP and e-commerce integration can go well and end with excellent results. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/2-strategies-for-integrating-erp-and-ecommerce-70221

2015 is the year of e-commerce. The landscape of e-commerce is always changing. In e-commerce industry, we are seeing not only new technologies but also the improvement of existing technologies. We will also see that e-commerce will play a huge role in customer experience in future. Read more about the future of e-commerce at:  http://www.business2community.com/infographics/future-ecommerce-infographic-01340604

The concept of brand loyalty is becoming less important due to the advancement of e-commerce. So, brands must stay competitive by collecting data to build a more in-depth analysis of visitors to their website. Researchers found that 82% of consumers want personalized shopping experience. So, how to get perceptive data on customers and use it to improve conversion rates? The simple answer is by creating buyer personas. Read more on why buyer personas are important by following: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/ljones/2015-09-17/using-personas-connect-your-buyers

Sometimes, marketers find it difficult to attract new customers. But, it is found that there are several ways to attract new customers with the help of CRM software. It is predicted that e-Commerce and CRM will be the fastest growing business applications in the next few years. The key is to maintain a balance between your budget and the need to reach to new customers. But as customer expectations rise, proper investments in CRM systems will help any business. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/updating-your-crm-system-to-maintain-and-gain-customers-69604

The rapid growth of e commerce has been a hot topic in recent years. With e- commerce flourishing, digital marketing has also become popular. New technologies are emerging and helping companies to sell their product and find new customers through web marketing. Marketers have found a way to boost digital marketing. They are using behavioral triggers. This is a way to find out the customer’s internet search history, particularly window shopping details and detects the customer`s potential demand for a particular product and links them with the seller through pop up ads or banners.  To know more, read: http://www.cio.com/article/2941358/marketing/digital-marketers-look-for-behavioral-triggers.html

Companies can use data scientists to prepare data sets, business analysts to develop models using both statistical and machine learning algorithms, application developers can be used to deploy and manage predictive analytics life-cycles, and tools. There are many vendors in the categories of customer analytics, cross-selling, smarter logistics, e-commerce etc. Open source software community is driving predictive analytics into the mainstream. Many Business Intelligence platforms also offer “some predictive analytics capabilities."  Rapid Miner’s predictive analytics platform can also be integrated into the cloud. Read more about this article at: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/big-data/3-vendors-lead-the-wave-for-big-data-predictive-analytics-028684.php?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRomrfCcI63Em2iQPJWpsrB0B/DC18kX3RUnJb6Wfkz6htBZF5s8TM3DVlJGXqlI4UEKTLE%3D 

With mobile usage growing at a tremendous rate for apps and social media, e-commerce companies have realized the importance of collaborating with the mobile platform rather than using just website interface. Social Collaboration has become the new trend. Retailers are now creating experiences for mobiles that add to the website experience.

Consumers are also getting the benefit of convenience. The concept of digital shopping is now becoming their habit. With m-commerce continuing to grow, retail businesses are now seeing a vision of golden age of e-commerce, where convenience and collaboration will play the key role.

To know more, please read this interesting article by Jack Lowinger, Founder and CEO of Cartonomy, at entrepreneur.com:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244208

In the period of 1997-2000, Internet companies had become the favorites of investors. Despite incurring losses, they were highly valued because of their wide scope. This was the dot-com bubble and it burst on 6 April, 2000 with NASDAQ suffering an over $1 trillion loss in market value.

Now, 15 years later, a similar scenario is forming again. This time, it is not just in US, but also in Asia’s third largest economy, India. Tech investors, all over the world are queuing up to invest in Indian e-commerce firms. At the same time, NASDAQ also climbed above 5000 points for the first time since the Dot-Com boom. Rising valuations, massive losses and ambitious promises of future growth are some of the other similarities that can be drawn.

The following article by Shrutika Verma and Mihir Dalar at livemint.com, talks about the e-commerce frenzy in India today and draws its parallels with the Dot-Com Bubble. This article also cautions that this e-commerce boom should not meet the same fate.

Read more at:

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/PKYPXSiOwle8hOkgUi8mpL/Indias-ecommerce-frenzy.html

According to a survey, the Indian fashion industry is likely to touch $77 billion in a next five year. To understand the changing customer behavior and have a competitive advantage, e-commerce firms and retailers can use analytics. In a research from Technopak, the share of apparels and lifestyle in e-commerce is likely to increase by 30% and e-commerce will contribute about 6% of apparel sales. Fashion industry faces a challenge of understanding customers want and require quick access to market dynamics.  E-Commerce in retail is increasing, and all channels, firms are looking for advanced analytics to understand consumer behavior. Read more at: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/data-analytics-can-help-retailers-know-consumer-behaviour-115042000358_1.html

According to Saritha Rai (Contributor), e-commerce companies like Amazon, Snapdeal, ShopClues, Flipkart etc. find innovative solutions to timely delivery of their products by collaborating with Kirana stores, Dabbawallas in Mumbai, post office for reaching especially in rural areas and gas stations in Delhi and Mumbai. In a Morgan Stanley Report, Indian e-commerce market is expected to boom up to $100 billion in revenue by 2020. Timely delivery in the cities of India is a big challenge for e-commerce firms as roads are congested, streets are not numbered sequentially and customers many times don’t write zip codes or landmarks.  Finding these innovative solutions will not only benefit the e-commerce firms but it will also benefit local sources. To know more about these innovative solution read at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/saritharai/2015/04/15/from-dabbawallas-to-kirana-stores-five-unique-ecommerce-delivery-innovations-in-india/

On 8^th April, 2015, Snapdeal announced that it has acquired FreeCharge, an online recharge platform, for an estimated $400 million. This is one of the biggest acquisitions in the history of the internet industry in India and sets up Snapdeal to build the most impactful digital commerce ecosystem in India. According to Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl, “The joint entity would create the country's largest mobile commerce platform with over 40 million customers.”

To know more about this deal, read the following Times of India article:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Snapdeal-buys-Freecharge-for-400m/articleshow/46857876.cms

 E-Commerce is important for any business and customers are their greatest asset. In a recent report, it was found that some consumers follow retailers on social media channels to get their latest deals and offers, 34% said they would like to find products on retailer websites, and 76% say they want to know about retailer offers and promotions via email. Marko Luhtala (CEO of RapidCampaign), writes in his article link about the promotions that a company can undertake which customers will love and in turn will increase sales. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/e-commerce-digital-marketing/five-steps-to-creating-promotions-your-customers-will-love/1701

Mobile commerce has outpaced desktop e-commerce in 2014. According to a report by Mobile Marketing Magazine, it was found that mobile advertising grew at a rate six times faster than that of global desktop marketing. Business Insider also forecasted that mobile payment volume in the United States will increase to $818 billion by the year 2019. So, according to Brett Relander (Founder, Launch & Hustle)’s article link now it has become important to look at the mobile marketing trends for 2015:  http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/mobile-marketing-trends-2015-0