What Happened
AI adoption in eCommerce and marketing automation surges as the year-end shopping season concludes. On December 7, 2023, Zoovu launched Advisor Studio, Baresquare released its eCom Product Analyst, and EKOM AI rolled out EKOM 3.0 — each aimed at boosting eCommerce personalization, product discovery, and storefront optimization. MarTech’s coverage highlights how these releases deliver daily performance insights, multi-model personalization, and optimized product listings. McKinsey’s December 5 analysis, featuring case studies like Michaels, reveals measurable performance gains from generative AI-powered personalization and customer support automation. Together, these developments mark a shift where AI tools are no longer experimental but deeply integrated into commerce operations.
Who’s Impacted
B2B – Retailers, marketing agencies, and martech providers gain from faster deployment cycles, reduced manual segmentation, and AI-driven merchandising that aligns with seasonal trends. Agencies can expand service offerings around AI-enabled optimization, from multi-model personalization to automated catalog management.
B2C – Shoppers receive more relevant product recommendations, personalized promotions, and faster customer service responses. AI-driven product discovery improves navigation and conversion paths, while personalized merchandising increases basket value.
Nonprofits – Mission-driven organizations with eCommerce storefronts can adapt these same AI tools for donation drives, membership campaigns, and cause-related merchandising. The automation minimizes operational lift while improving supporter engagement.
Why It Matters Now
Fact: McKinsey reports Michaels increased email personalization rates from ~20% to ~95% and achieved a 41% lift in SMS click-through rates through generative AI personalization.
Tactic: Audit email and SMS workflows to pinpoint where AI-driven personalization could immediately improve targeting and engagement rates.
Fact: AI-powered storefront optimization from platforms like Zoovu, Baresquare, and EKOM AI reduces the time to update product catalogs and merchandising displays across channels.
Tactic: Use these tools for rapid product assortment tests to capture seasonal or trend-driven revenue spikes before competitors react.
Fact: AI-driven campaign automation tools shorten creative production timelines and enable synchronized multi-channel launches.
Tactic: Integrate automation into campaign calendars to increase launch cadence without sacrificing creative quality.
KPIs Impacted: Email personalization rate, SMS click-through rate, email click-through rate, product recommendation conversion rate, campaign cycle time, daily performance insight adoption rate.
Action Steps
- Conduct a personalization gap analysis across email and SMS marketing workflows.
- Integrate AI-driven product discovery tools like Zoovu Advisor Studio into eCommerce search and recommendation systems.
- Implement storefront optimization solutions such as Baresquare eCom Product Analyst or EKOM 3.0 for rapid merchandising changes.
- Automate campaign workflows to enable frequent, synchronized multi-channel launches.
“When AI aligns with operational workflows, the gains go beyond clicks—they redefine the speed and scale at which brands can act.” – Basil Puglisi
References
MarTech. (2023, December 7). This week in AI-powered martech releases: Dec. 7. Retrieved from https://martech.org/this-week-in-ai-powered-martech-releases-dec-7/
McKinsey & Company. (2023, December 5). How generative AI can boost consumer marketing. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/how-generative-ai-can-boost-consumer-marketing
Disclosure:
This article is #AIgenerated with minimal human assistance. Sources are provided as found by AI systems and have not undergone full human fact-checking. Original articles by Basil Puglisi undergo comprehensive source verification.