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The bridesmaid dress retailer revamped its blog in Q2 2023 with a strategy, plan and one goal in mind: to have Azazie.com show up higher in search engine results, says marketing manager Keily Hernandez. 

Azazie has had a blog on its site since 2019, with search engine optimization as one of its goals as well as using it to promote giveaways and promotions without significant financial investment. But SEO wasn’t the primary focus, and the merchant didn’t have a team dedicated to managing it. As a result, Azazie did not rank highly in search results for its targeted keywords, Hernandez says. 

Now, Azazie updates the blog one to two times a week. Each month, Azazie picks a keyword to focus on, such as “bridesmaid” or “bridal gown,” and focuses all its marketing content, including social media posts, influencer content, content across the website and its blog, on that keyword.  

“We have everything point back to us as the leader of that keyword,” Hernandez says.  

This focused and integrated effort has led to a 24% increase in sales revenue attributed to organic search (which includes blog content) from April until September 2023, compared with that same period in 2022, Hernandez says. And the content is resonating with shoppers, as sales from shoppers who viewed Azazie’s blog content increased 50% from January through September 2023, compared with the year-ago period.  

Azazie is among the roughly half or so retailers that offer a blog or editorial content on their site, according to Gartner data. A Gartner analysis of 300 U.S. retailers (75 luxury retailers, 105 multi-brand retailers and 120 monobrands) in March 2023 finds that 47% of retailers have a blog or editorial content on their site, such as articles related to the products they sell, content about that category’s trends, company history or policies.  

Merchants cite several reasons why investing in editorial content can help their bottom lines, including more traffic from search engines, higher conversion rates and low return rates. But execution is key, as retailers will not see any return on their investments if they are not thoughtful and thorough with their strategies. And investments can be significant, as merchants may have to invest in internal employees to generate the content or hire outside agencies. 

Only 6% of online shoppers say blog content is an important feature for a well-designed and functional online shopping experience, according to a Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights survey of 999 online shoppers in October 2023. But shoppers put a higher value on similar content, which retailers could publish on a blog, such as how-to guides, at 19%, and an About Us page, at 12%. 

Data from research firm Forrester Research Inc. also finds that only a small subset of consumers consult a blog before a purchase. 3% of U.S. online adults who purchased clothing or footwear (online or in person), and 5% who purchased furniture or home improvement products in the past six months visited the retailer’s blog in the past month, according to data fielded between November 2022-March 2023. 

Yet, only 17% of shoppers say online retailers have met or exceeded their expectations with providing detailed product information such as origin story, history, business policies and sustainability. And only 12% said online retailers have met or exceeded their expectations with additional content such as how-to guides and blogs.  

Retail blogs boost SEO value, organic search traffic

While shoppers may not rely on blog content to make a purchase, retailers and analysts still believe it can be an important component in the online shopping journey. In fact, shoppers may not realize that a blog post was how they landed on that retailer’s site to begin with. If brands write their blogs and editorial content with search engine optimization in mind, it can have a large impact on bringing in organic traffic, says Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner.  

And organic traffic is important for Azazie. The wedding apparel retailer says about 10% of its site traffic and sales come from organic search, which includes shoppers finding its site from the blog articles. 

“I would think and I would hope that every company and every brand in every industry has a blog,” Hernandez says. “It’s kind of like the low-hanging fruit of organic content.” 

Chip Malt, CEO and co-founder of cookware brand Made In, says that roughly 25% of its site traffic comes from organic search, which includes shoppers who come to Made In’s robust blog. On average per month, its blog receives 2 million page views, and each reader views about six pages in the blog, Malt says. This shows good engagement, Malt says. On average, this is about 20% of the site’s overall page views, he says.  

What’s more, when Made In sends content-focused emails, the click-through rates are three times higher than its selling-focused emails, Malt says. Similarly, its content-focused ads on Google produce click-through rates at four to 10 times higher than selling-focused ads, he says. 

Education through content has been a part of cookware brand Made In’s strategy since Day 1, Malt says. Made In launched a blog six months prior to launching products on its cookware site and the fourth employee the brand hired was a part-time content contributor, he says.  

“Education is a part of the brand’s story,” Malt says.  

Made In sells high-end cookware that’s designed for cooking enthusiasts and is popular among professional chefs. For example, its 10-inch blue carbon steel frying pan is $109, and the brand’s average order value is $330, according to Digital Commerce 360 estimates. The blog helps to explain the value of its cookware.  

Today, the brand has 10 full-time employees on its content team, it publishes roughly 50 blogs per month and the blog ranks for 56,000 keywords within Google Search, Malt says. About 50% of these keywords are in the top 20 search terms on Google, with 25% of those on the first page of search results, he says.  

One of the top navigation tabs on MadeinCookware.com is “Learn,” where the brand publishes its founding story, recipes, care for its products and cooking techniques. As Made In has expanded its product lines to include bakeware and wine glasses, it also has added content to support these products as well.  

“If we are offering this line of cookware, we also want to keep up the pace of content. …. It’s something we wanted to do for our community,” Malt says.  

Retail blog content connects to shoppers post-purchase 

This large breadth of content distinguishes the brand from its competitors, such as All-Clad, Malt says. 

“Long term, we believe if you are shown All-Clad or Made In, and you walk out the door and you are on your own, and you went with Made In, you have all this helpful content behind you. And that makes the consumer go with us overall, because they see us as a value-add,” Malt says.  

All-Clad has a blog on its site with recipes and other product content. All-Clad did not provide a comment as of press time.  

Top online floral merchant 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. also invests in editorial content as a way to engage with shoppers, says chief marketing officer Jason John.  

It operates six blogs across its 17 brands, which include a variety of giftable products such as cookies and chocolates as well as flowers. The goal is to deepen the relationship with shoppers, so they don’t just view the e-retailer’s ecommerce sites as shopping destinations, John says. It updates each blog multiple times per month.  

“It takes us beyond one transaction and helps solidify us as a part of the customer relationship,” John says.   

1800Flowers.com addresses themes within each brand’s product assortment and customer base to appeal to shoppers. For example, topics that have resonated with consumers are about how to write sympathy cards, including pet sympathy cards, for its 1800Flowers.com blog, and articles about hosting holiday dinners for its food and gifting brand HarryandDavid.com.  

Results from retail blogs 

Web visits to its blog have increased 70% year over year, John says. Even more telling is that shoppers who view a brand’s blog content convert at a 3%-5% higher rate than shoppers who don’t. This speaks to the quality of its blogs, John says.  

“You need a North Star with content,” John says. “A lot of companies, you can tell they are putting out content to put out content, and they are putting out content for a commerce outcome. We don’t believe there is authenticity in that type of content.”  

While conversion metrics are a clear performance indicator, Made In says privacy regulations can make it difficult to track a direct conversion to a blog post, because many shoppers don’t accept cookies and may visit the site several times before deciding to make a purchase. The path to purchase becomes more muddled especially with products that are high-ticket and more considered, like Made In’s relatively pricey skillets and knife sets. Instead, Malt describes its investment in content as a “brand tax that we absorb,” meaning a cost of doing business for higher-end products.   

Besides increasing site traffic, results from investing in a blog shows up in other ways, Malt says, such as aiding in the customer journey, helping its customer service team and low return rates. If shoppers are more informed about the products they buy from reading the blog, they are more likely to purchase the right product for their needs and not return it. He points to its stainless-steel products, which have a less than 2% return rate, without sharing more. 

Roughly a third of the visits to Made In’s blog come from shoppers already on the website, and the rest from outside the site, such as search results, emails and ads. If Made In was only doing the blog for SEO purposes or completely focused on that as the goal, Malt would expect 99% of the traffic to come from outside sources. But that’s not Made In’s primary goal.  

The fact that a third is internal traffic shows that the content is providing value to shoppers as they consider the brand’s products. Instead of having an article only live in the blog section, Made In peppers relevant content throughout the site to aid in the shopper journey, Malt says. For example, on the search results page, it may surface a post about the difference between nonstick and stainless-steel cookware.  

“We believe content should be intertwined in the customer journey and are happy to have internal traffic get there,” Malt says. 

Using blog content in multiple ways is smart, Gartner’s Jashinsky says.  

“If you are going the extra mile to make great content, you need to make sure it’s discoverable, across social, across search, and product pages and search pages,” Jashinsky says.  

How retailers know what to feature in blog content

Made In surveys its shoppers via email and uses that feedback to inform its content strategy. Based on 20,000 comments, Made In determined it needed more blogs about how to care for its products post-purchase, and now publishes such articles regularly.  

“The nice part of being a direct brand is that people tell you exactly what they think,” Malt says. 

Made In’s editorial team plans the focus of its blog posts for each month. Each of the brand’s departments, such as its product, customer service and marketing teams, give input on their teams’ current priorities. For example, the product team may say that it is launching a bird beak’s paring knife that month and request at least two articles featuring the product. The customer service team might say it’s had an influx of shoppers calling in about how to season their carbon skillet and propose a video blog and step-by-step instructions on how to do this.  

“Customer service acts as a very direct line to our actual customer. So our customer service team has direct input into the content calendar,” Malt says. 

The customer service team’s input gets particularly high priority when planning the blog’s editorial calendar, as the articles they suggest can help them assist customers much faster, Malt says. For example, with the “how to season the carbon skillet?” question, instead of taking 10 minutes to write out tailored instructions for each shopper, agents can direct shoppers to a video or blog that addresses their need.  

“It’s an efficiency play,” Malt says. While Malt doesn’t have a direct KPI figure to tie to its retail blog, he knows speeding up solving customer service issues keeps agents and shoppers satisfied.  

Azazie also taps its customer service team for input on what it should include in its blogs.  

“If they have a question about a trend, we can respond and create a content strategy to that, that tying into what’s trending, and what we are also offering,” Hernandez says. 

For example, a common question shoppers call in about is sizing for a bridesmaid dress while pregnant. Azazie has a blog that provides examples and tips on this topic, but it was first published in 2016. So, the content team refreshed the blog with examples of Azazie’s current maternity dresses and relevant links to its products. The customer service team refers to this blog while helping shoppers and directs shoppers to read it.   

Azazie also looks to any interactions it’s gotten on social media and trends in the bridal industry to inform its content strategy.  

The blog is under the purview of its digital marketing team, and Azazie also employs an SEO consultant to help determine its content and execution. Overall, the blogs that gain the most traffic and lead to the most sales are the ones that are integrated into its overall marketing strategy and are tied to press releases and influencers, she says.  

“It’s a lot of moving pieces and work, in order to put a campaign behind a keyword, but those are the most successful, the ones with a content strategy,” Hernandez says.  

Involving multiple departments in content creation will serve retailers well, Gartner’s Jashinsky says. Retailers would also be wise to track which types of content shoppers click on, and use that information to personalize product recommendations and for ad targeting. This is a way to gather first-party data directly from the consumer, which is especially valuable now that cookies that track shopper behavior across the web are increasingly being phased out, and can greatly benefit retailers in the long term, he says.  

If retailers do decide to make a focused effort on improving SEO through blog content or guided selling tools like a quiz to match shoppers with suitable products, they should expect it could take a year or two to see results, not months, Jashinsky says.  

“We always tell clients, this is not something you can get up and running in a week or month,” Jashinsky says. “This takes many months to get up and running, and takes a year or two to start to see significant payout. So you really need to make sure you have a long-term strategy and you are ensuring you reallocate this content as many places as possible to make sure that investment pays off.” 

For something like a quiz that guides shoppers through a series of questions and links to relevant product pages, retailers should expect to pay thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to a vendor to build it, Jashinsky says. But to do an editorial program at scale — which may take a team of writers to publish content daily and collaborate with different teams, plus the technology to plug into personalization software — that could take hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions, he says. 

For Made In, these marketing costs show up as the salaries for 10 employees dedicated to digital content instead of spending these dollars on ads. Similarly, the cost of the blog for Azazie shows up in its marketing staff resources. 1-800-Flowers also has an editorial staff that “fluctuates” depending on the time of year, John says without revealing more. 

Retailers that do strategically invest in content often see an increase in traffic from organic search, and small increases in basket size and conversion rates for shoppers that engage with this content, Jashinsky says. This, of course, varies by how well the content strategy is executed and product category.  

“Whether you are selling online or in-store, it is a pretty cost-effective way to increase SEO and increase conversion rates, and typically almost every retailer is already creating content and already has a lot of these pieces in other parts of ecosystem,” he says.  

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The OpenAI consortium released its generative AI bot ChatGPT for public use during Q4 2022, and it quickly became the hottest topic around. Months later, everyone in the online retail industry is still buzzing about generative AI, but how many businesses are actually using the technology today? And how many would want to talk to us about it?

Turns out, quite a few.

While many merchants we talked to are still just piloting and exploring how best to use the burgeoning technology, many brands have live generative AI programs up today. This Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce,” showcases examples of many large retail brands (and a few smaller ones) and how they are using generative AI right now.

Below is just a sampling of examples you’ll find in the rest of this report. Download the entire Strategy Insights here.

1.) Stitch Fix taps generative AI to write  ad headlines and product descriptions

Apparel retailer Stitch Fix uses generative AI to write headlines for Facebook and Instagram ads. In the past, it would take about two weeks to develop a creative campaign and draft copy. But now, human copywriters can evaluate a headline created by the generative AI system in less than one minute — and they approve the machine-created content 77% of the time, Stitch Fix says.

2.) Babylist uses generative AI to write email subject lines

Baby products marketplace and registry says its marketers are expected to use generative AI to help create ideas, content and copy, says Lee Anne Grant, chief growth officer. Babylist finds that ChatGPT-generated subject lines increased open rates for marketing email in half of their tests. It concluded that ChatGPT is a “great resource for when the team needs subject line inspiration or help writing one,” Grant says.

3.) J’evar uses generative AI to create product models

Online-only jewelry merchant J’evar has its product designers use generative AI to speed up how it creates custom jewelry pieces. Instead of going through dozens of product mockups over the course of weeks, genAI can help its designers produce product samples in minutes, says J’evar founder and CEO Amish Shah.

4.) Newegg uses generative AI to summarize customer reviews

Online electronics retailer Newegg built a generative AI tool in house that creates one product summary for a product based on all of the published customer reviews. This review is published at the top of all the reviews. Reviews are an important feature for Newegg, as 20% of Newegg.com shoppers read reviews, and these shoppers spend 40% more money on the site than non-review reading shoppers, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg.

5.) UrbanStems creates images with genAI

Online flower merchant UrbanStems is using generative AI in multiple ways, including having it create images of potential products it wants to sell. For example, the brand can tell its generative AI software to create an image of a 10-stem red and white arrangement of peonies in a glass vase and white background — and send that image to its merchandising team to create the product in real life. This helps the brand quickly experiment with new designs, without having to purchase flowers and conduct a photo shoot just for a design mock up, says Katie Hudson, content director for UrbanStems.

6.) EBay enables its marketplace sellers to use genAI to write product descriptions

Marketplace giant eBay built a tool based on Open AI’s ChatGPT that creates a product description based on data sellers provide about a product’s category, condition, color, brand and more. Roughly 20% of sellers shown the generative AI tool use it, and of those, 90% accept at least part of the description, says Xiaodi Zhang, vice president of seller experience at eBay.  

Download the free Digital Commerce 360 October Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce” here.

—April Berthene, Editor, Strategy Insights

Additional reporting from Digital Commerce 360 editors Don Davis, Gretchen Salois and Abbas Haleem.

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The marketplace’s new tools are meant to help small businesses more easily sell and source products online.

With 33 million entities, small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. And that fact is hardly lost on Alibaba.com, the international wholesale e-commerce part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, launched in 1999 as a B2B marketplace for Asia-based suppliers.

Today, Alibaba.com has more than 40 million active wholesale buyers, 5,900 product categories, and it sells to more than 200 countries with content displayed in 17 languages.

But in recent years, U.S. small businesses have been a prime market of opportunity for Alibaba.com, particularly as small businesses look to continue to bring new products to market but face increasing supply chain and logistics pressures.

According to recent data collected by Alibaba.com, in partnership with Harris Poll,, 83% of small business owners are confident in their ability to create new products. Despite this optimism, 46% of small business owners have challenges with their supply chain and sourcing systems and 38% think the global supply chain outlook will have a negative impact on their business. The data also found that the biggest challenges preventing small businesses from creating new products, building brands, or doing brand upgrades include finding the right supplier for the product; research, development, and design of new products; and financing orders of the product.

In response to these concerns outlined by small business owners Alibaba.com rolled out a suite of new digital tools in Las Vegas at Co-Create, its inaugural U.S.-based conference bringing together buyers and sellers from all over.

The aim of developing the new tool set is straightforward: make it easy, convenient, and transparent for U.S. small business sellers to source products online and then use Alibaba.com to sell across the nation and worldwide.

“We have entered a transformative era of B2B sourcing and business innovation, and two keywords we use to define the new generation of B2B sourcing are efficient and inspirational,” says Alibaba.com North America president Stephen Kuo. “We are making the sourcing journey more intuitive and visualizable by helping enterprises of all sizes better utilize today’s leading ecommerce technologies.”

The new suite of tools, which are available free to sellers on Alibaba.com include:

• Upgraded image, which allows buyers to search for products by image and text simultaneously, with additional image generation capabilities helping to streamline complex sourcing requirements.
• Smart enhancements to request for quotation (RFQ), which uses predictive sentence completion and image generation to help small-business owners connect quickly and efficiently with qualified suppliers.
• Real-time translation in 17 languages for live video chats with suppliers, designed to enhance and streamline the process of visually verifying potential partners’ capabilities and facilities.
• The Alibaba.com logistics marketplace, which offers continual live customer service and enables more detailed tracking of B2B shipments.

These tools will come together in Alibaba.com’s all-encompassing Smart Assistant. Once fully launched, this intuitive personal guide to sourcing will help small-business owners discover new opportunities, stay up to date on trends, and seamlessly track orders through a single and upgraded image search.

For Alibaba.com, the biggest driver of developing innovative digital tools for small-business owners is saving them time and money to help them create their dream product. Unveiling these upgrades at Co-Create – with hundreds of small business owners and suppliers present – provided the perfect opportunity to showcase them and directly connect these groups with each other.

“Co-Create is not just an event; it’s a way of thinking. It is about working together because we can achieve more together than alone,” Kuo says, “At Alibaba.com, we are not just a link in the supply chain — we are dreamers and creators as well. We’re reinventing ourselves to become a link in the ‘creation chain’ for entrepreneurs.”

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Early in 2023, the marketplace built a tool based on Open AI’s ChatGPT that creates a product description based on data that sellers provide about a product’s category, condition, color, brand and more. It took about a month to develop the feature, Zhang says.

EBay calls this its magical listing tool, and it rolled it out for all of its marketplaces sellers listing items in its app in August.

EBay marketplace sellers give AI product description generator positive feedback

The marketplace has been “pleasantly surprised” by the overwhelmingly positive seller feedback, Zhang says. As of late July, sellers have given the tool a customer satisfaction score of 80%, which is among eBay’s highest CSAT scores for recent, new feature launches, according to the marketplace.

“We are so excited about what generative AI can ultimately unlock for our customers,” Zhang says.

EBay’s new generative AI tool writes product descriptions.

Zhang says roughly 30% of sellers shown the generative AI tool use it, and of those, 95% accept at least part of the description. Sellers can tweak the description, edit and delete as they like, Zhang says.

The AI bot tends to add adjectives and can be “a little flowery in the way it describes things,” Zhang says. It’s up to the seller to edit the wording and ensure it’s accurate.

EBay does not label AI descriptions as such

Because the marketplace seller edits and approves the listing, eBay does not label to shoppers which reviews the artificial intelligence wrote. Although, eBay does notify sellers when the tools they use are generative AI.

Kassi Socha, director analyst, retail, at research firm Gartner, cautions brands to be transparent to shoppers when they are using generative artificial intelligence. According to Gartner’s recent surveys, many consumers distrust generative AI, so retailers should be upfront and label content that uses the technology, Socha says.

In a July 2023 Gartner survey of 303 consumers, 34% of consumers rated their comfort level with generative AI in retail as “very or somewhat troubled,” 53% said they think it will strongly or somewhat negatively impact society, and 66% said they are concerned about discrimination or bias in generative AI.

Xiaodi Zhang, vice president of seller experience at eBay.

“I applaud retailers that are adopting the technology with confidence and testing the use of generative AI, but the continued guidance at Gartner would be to approach with caution and be prepared to adapt quickly if a weakness is exposed,” Socha says.

EBay piloted the tool internally before slowly rolling it out to a randomized group, representing 5% of sellers in May 2023.

“What’s amazing with generative AI is how quickly it works. We had a proof of concept in a matter of weeks,” Zhang says.

The tool’s goal is to address “the cold start problem” that eBay marketplace sellers face when trying to describe products, Zhang says.

“When you find something to sell at home, and you are going through the listing, and you are asked to describe the item, a lot of people face writer’s block of, ‘How do I describe this dress I bought last year that I never wore?’” Zhang says.

Further generative AI tools

To further help sellers list items faster, eBay is developing more generative AI tools. One tool allows a marketplace seller to upload an image in the iOS app, and the generative AI will write in the details, such as category, subcategory, product title and a description.

EBay marketplace sellers can upload a photo in the app and generative AI will write a description.

EBay also is piloting an AI tool that will remove the background of a seller’s image and replace it with a white image so the product stands out. While a number of eBay sellers have a professional setup to merchandise their product and have robust images, many do not, Zhang says. The tool’s goal is to remove clutter from a home seller’s photo, and help those sellers have a clean photo listing, Zhang says.

“Sellers tell us the background removal tool can make a huge impact on conversion by creating a clearer image of their product,” eBay wrote in a release announcing this tool.

EBay is No. 6 in the ranking of Digital Commerce 360 Top 100 Online Marketplaces.

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But with the new generative artificial intelligence tools available to brands, it could be “10 to 100 times faster than the manual process for image creation,” Perino says.

“That’s a great opportunity to do something quickly versus having to wait for a photoshoot or having to use stock images,” Perino says.

But right now, Perino is not confident generative AI is ready to create images from scratch for its brand. For example, if the brand were to say, “create a Ghirardelli logo,” Perino is doubtful the AI would get the logo exactly right.

And getting it exactly right is critical.

“We have very high expectations for how our images to look,” she says.

Where Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. is currently using generative AI is for editing images on its product detail pages. On a recent photo shoot for its new no-sugar-added baking chips, the brand used generative AI to remove part of a napkin in the image and fill in the background with a part of the product’s bag.

Ghirardelli uses AI to decide how to tweak product images

But editing is as far as Ghirardelli will let the generative AI create. The brand will, however, use artificial intelligence to help guide its decisions about what images should look like.

Since Q2 2023, the brand has used image-scoring software Vizit to evaluate its images. Vizit uses artificial intelligence to analyze how impactful an image is and to catalog the attributes of the image. Based on publicly available metrics, such as likes or shares on a social media website, Vizit can analyze and score an image, and suggest tweaks.

The technology is helpful when deciding which images to use on product detail pages and the changes Ghirardelli might make so the images perform better, Perino says. For example, Vizit’s technology scored many of its closely cropped baking images higher than those that were zoomed out, and so those are the ones Ghirardelli will use on its page, Perino says.

Instead of having a 2D static image of its chocolate chip bag, another tweak Vizit suggested was to have the image on the package “burst” off the package for more of a 3D look. In the same image, Vizit also suggested to make the text larger for “12 oz.” With these tweaks, Vizit scored the image at a 95, meaning it has a high likelihood of converting shoppers, compared with the image without these changes, which it scored at a 6.

Vizit’s AI technology scores Ghirardelli’s package image above lower compared to the one below with the chocolate chips bursting off the package and the 12 oz. bag size in a larger text size.

Perino did not share any data about increases in conversion since using Vizit’s technology. Vizit says its clients typically have a 15%-25% increase in conversion rate when using the images it suggests, says CEO and founder Jehan Hamedi. Hamedi did not share how many clients it has, but in 2021, he told Digital Commerce 360 that Vizit has less than 100 brands that use its technology, including padlock products MasterLock, shoe brand Reebok, and food brands OceanSpray, Tyson, Cliff Bars and Mars Petcare.

Brands jump on using AI technology

While Vizit’s technology doesn’t use generative AI, it uses artificial intelligence to help brands more effectively and more efficiently increase sales, Hamedi says.

“Where the rubber really meets the road for these businesses is how AI and these tool sets actually help drive sales,” Hamedi says. “Because at the end of the day, every brand is in business and exists to sell products and create positive outcomes.”

With the popularization of OpenAI’s ChatGPT generative AI chatbot, Hamedi says many in the ecommerce industry are talking about AI and becoming more educated on how AI can be practical for businesses.

“It’s created urgency among our customers about how to adopt AI because it’s a new arms race,” Hamedi says.

Ghirardelli’s future applications of generative AI

Ghirardelli has plans to use generative AI in other ways in the future, such as  creating product copy on the product detail page and updating product copy with relevant search engine optimization (SEO) words and for creating images, Perino says.

“We are excited about artificial intelligence as a digital technology and how can it help us be faster and more nimble, and how do we update, create and improve our content,” Perino says.

For example, Ghirardelli wants its product detail pages to be updated with seasonal SEO words, such as chocolate for Halloween, Christmas, Mother’s Day and graduation. Today, the brand manually updates this copy to ensure the detail pages can show up high in search results.

Ghirardelli, however, finds that generative AI is not yet refined enough to have mastered brand voice and tone, and it is waiting until it improves before having a tool write copy to go live on its site.

“We’re excited,” Perino says. “It’s such an interesting time with AI right now, but it needs to be tempered with a bit of caution and guardrails.”

Brands should use caution with generative AI right now

That’s particularly true for a food manufacturer like Ghirardelli, given strict government regulations about food and beverages. For example, Ghirardelli can’t call some of its products that might be commonly referred to as “white chocolate,” because they do not contain cocoa and are not technically chocolate. Instead, it labels products as “white baking chips” or “vanilla flavored.” Perino isn’t confident that generative AI would understand this distinction.  

At this early stage of generative AI, brands should have a cautious approach to using the technology, says Kassi Socha, director analyst, retail, at research firm Gartner. If brands are using generative AI today in their business to create content, she suggests still having manual oversight before anything is published.

“Generative AI can suggest copy and suggest opportunities, but there still needs to be a team in place to validate some of the outputs,” Socha says. “With any machine learning or artificial intelligence, it’s only as good as the inputs, and it take time to optimize and learn.” 

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The goal of the tool is to save shoppers time in finding the right product, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg. The AI generates a few product review features. Beneath the product image, Newegg shows “Review Bytes,” which highlight a few positive keywords that frequently appear in reviews, such as “battery life” or “sound quality.”

Newegg’s new generative AI review tool highlights positive keywords from customer reviews immediately beneath the product image, called Review Bytes.

At the top of product preview section, the AI tool paraphrases the sentiment of all the customer reviews into a few sentences. This is posted as a summary review displayed at the top of all the reviews, aptly named “Summary AI.” The AI also lists out “Pros” and “Cons” for each product, again taken from the reviews. The Pros are typically the same words that appeared in the Review Bytes section underneath the product image.

At the top of the customer review section on a PDP, Newegg displays the SummaryAI review.

“We feel that this would be helpful for many customers that are looking for a quicker analysis,” Choi says.

At Newegg, 20% of its shoppers read reviews. And shoppers who read reviews spend 40% more than shoppers who don’t read reviews. So any way to enhance this section of the website is important to Newegg.

“We ultimately want the customer to get the right product for their needs,” Choi says.

Customer reviews can help with conversion rate

Customer reviews are an important part to any ecommerce site. 39% of online shoppers say quality and quantity of product reviews is a website attribute that is mostly likely to place an online order, according to a 2023 conversion rate survey of 1,060 online shoppers in January 2023 by Digital Commerce 360/Bizrate Insights. An April 2023 Gartner survey of 2,025 U.S. adults also finds that 51% of consumers look to user reviews when shaping their opinions of a new brand or considering a new purchase.

The effectiveness of reviews is likely why the large majority of retailers show shopper ratings and reviews online, with nearly 79% of Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 offering this feature, according to Digital Commerce 360 research data.

Reviews are especially important in the consumer electronics category, Choi says. Shoppers are spending more money and time to find the exact product they need. Newegg’s average order value is $511, according to Digital Commerce 360 research data, compared with the median AOV for the entire Top 1000 at $179. Newegg ranks No. 58 in the Top 1000.

Kassi Socha, director analyst, retail, at research firm Gartner, says AI generated review summaries are a great application of the technology.

“Ratings and reviews have become even more important to the consumer today than they were a couple of years ago, with one of the reasons being the general expansion of the retail catalog,” Socha says. “It’s harder to search and comb and find the right product and consumers rely on reviews to make the decision on what is the best product.”

“Retailers who take this approach may find conversion is quicker because the consumer is able to consume information at a faster pace and make a purchase faster,” she adds.

After Newegg debuted its AI generated review feature, Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1 in the Top 1000) also announced a generative AI review feature. Amazon’s generative AI product reviews, available to a subset of its mobile shoppers, also summarizes the sentiment of customers’ reviews with a few sentences at the top of the review section on the product detail page.

Newegg immediately publishes the AI generated review

It took Newegg about two months to develop its AI review feature in house, and about 20% of Newegg’s active SKUs with reviews have an AI summary review. The feature is only available to desktop shoppers, which is where the majority of its sales and shoppers are, Choi says. Overall, Newegg has 20.2 million SKUs on its website and marketplace, although not all of these SKUs are considered active.

Once a product hits an undisclosed number of text reviews — meaning more than just a star or “egg” rating on Newegg.com — the AI technology automatically creates the review. A product needs to have a certain number of reviews, fewer than 100, to qualify for the generative AI summary review, Choi says without revealing the number. The review is generated from only the reviews that have already been published on Newegg.com.

The AI summary is immediately published on the site and there is no manual review period.

Choi says shoppers can submit feedback on a Summary AI review or give it a thumbs up or down. If a product review receives feedback that warrants attention, Newegg can adjust if needed.

Socha suggests, however, that retailers have a human touch all content created by generative AI before it is made consumer facing.

“Generative AI can suggest copy and suggest opportunities, but there still needs to be a team in place to validate some of the outputs,” Socha says. “With any machine learning or artificial intelligence, it’s only as good as the inputs, and it take time to optimize learn.”

“I applaud retailers that are adopting the technology with confidence and testing the use of generative AI, but the continued guidance at Gartner would be to approach with caution and be prepared to adapt quickly if a weakness is exposed,” she adds.

Newegg will measure the success of the tool based on clicks, views and shopper behavior after engaging with the feature. In the two weeks since Newegg launched the feature, many shoppers have engaged with the tool, and the brand is happy with the results, Choi says, without sharing any data.

New customer features typically launch on desktop first at Newegg, Choi says, as the development work for its mobile site and app gets “heavy.” Newegg doesn’t have a date it’s sharing for launching the generative AI review feature on mobile.

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Sunil Nair

Running online operations as a small and medium enterprise comes with its own set of challenges. While obstacles may vary based on factors such as market dynamics, regulatory environments, and infrastructure, there are some common and specific problems that SMEs face when operating an online business in the United States.

The landscape in the U.S. is highly competitive, with a multitude of established players and new entrants. SMEs often struggle to differentiate themselves and capture market share in a crowded environment. Acquiring customers can be a significant challenge due to the high cost of digital marketing, advertising, and search engine optimization. In addition to this, building brand awareness and driving traffic to their online platforms can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Going beyond standard content management

The only way SMEs can stand out is by being authentic about who they are and what their products stand for. Videos and live commerce speak a thousand times louder than the text and image-driven web presence that SMEs are forced to adopt while using the standard CMS platforms in the market.

Authentic content, whether in the form of live videos or short videos, plays a crucial role in the success of SMEs on their websites and apps. In today’s digital landscape, where buyers seek genuine connections with brands, authenticity has become a key driver of engagement and conversion.

Original and unique content allows SMEs to showcase their brand values, personality, and expertise. By presenting real people, real experiences, and real stories, businesses can establish trust and credibility with their audience. When customers perceive a brand as authentic, they are more likely to engage with the content, believe in the value of the products or services offered, and develop long-term loyalty.

An artisanal bakery could share behind-the-scenes footage of their bakers handcrafting each pastry, demonstrating their commitment to quality and craftsmanship. This unique content helps customers trust the brand and feel confident in their purchases. The head baker going live every weekend and taking questions from his customers forms a bond that ensures retention.

Building bonds with viewers

Genuine online material has the capacity to arouse feelings and create bonds with viewers. By sharing relatable and compelling stories, SMEs can tap into the emotions of their audience, resonating with their experiences, aspirations, and values. This emotional connection strengthens the bond between the brand and its customers, leading to increased engagement, brand advocacy, and repeat business. A sustainable fashion brand could feature real customers sharing their stories about why they choose ethically made clothing. These original videos create an emotional connection with potential customers who share similar values and are passionate about supporting sustainable fashion.

Producing original content enables SMEs to showcase transparency in their operations, thereby instilling confidence in their customers. By offering a glimpse into their processes, sourcing methods, and company culture, businesses can address any concerns or doubts customers may have. Transparency builds trust and reassures customers that they are dealing with an honest and accountable brand. An eco-friendly skincare brand could create videos highlighting its sustainable packaging, natural ingredient sourcing, and ethical production practices. By sharing these true stories, they demonstrate their commitment to transparency and environmental responsibility, appealing to conscious consumers.

Digital strategies can also involve leveraging user-generated content, which adds a layer of credibility and authenticity to a brand’s online presence. Encouraging customers to share their experiences, testimonials, and reviews through videos or other forms of content not only increases engagement but also showcases genuine interactions with the brand. A boutique hotel could invite guests to share their vacation experiences through short video clips, capturing their genuine excitement and satisfaction. These user-generated videos serve as powerful testimonials, influencing potential customers’ decisions to book a stay at the hotel.

AI in live streaming unlocks possibilities

Live streaming and short vertical videos on a brand’s website or apps have emerged as powerful tools that hold immense potential for SMEs to put out their stories and make lasting connections. This cutting-edge trend has revolutionized the marketing landscape, offering businesses unprecedented opportunities for growth and success.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into live streaming has unlocked a new era of possibilities for SMEs. Through AI-powered features such as real-time data analysis, personalized product recommendations, and chatbot interactions, businesses can elevate their live commerce experiences. AI algorithms provide valuable insights into consumer behavior, enabling small businesses to tailor their content and product offerings to meet individual preferences. This personalization fosters a stronger connection between businesses and consumers, enhancing engagement and increasing conversion rates. Furthermore, AI-based technologies have simplified and automated various aspects of live streaming, making it more accessible and cost-effective for SMEs to implement.

Consumers crave personalized shopping experiences that go beyond the traditional e-commerce model. Live streaming offers a unique platform where SMEs can engage with their audience in real-time, customized product demonstrations, Q&A sessions, and interactive discussions. By offering personalized content, businesses can build trust and loyalty, as consumers feel more connected to the brand. Live streaming allows SMEs to showcase the uniqueness and human side of their operations, creating a sense of community that resonates with customers. Furthermore, by leveraging customer data and insights, businesses can curate personalized product recommendations during live streams, boosting sales and customer satisfaction.

Live streaming enables businesses to reach wider audiences by leveraging the power of their content on their own websites and apps and enhancing it with social media platforms. It encourages real-time interactions, comments, and shares, fostering a sense of community and virality. The live nature of streaming builds a sense of urgency and excitement among viewers, resulting in higher conversion rates and a rise in purchases. It allows businesses to showcase product features and benefits while addressing customer concerns in real time.

Real-time and cost-effective content

Compared to traditional advertising methods, live streaming provides a cost-effective marketing solution for SMEs. It eliminates the need for elaborate production setups and allows businesses to deliver real-time content without the high production costs associated with other forms of media. Live streaming platforms provide valuable data and analytics that allow businesses to track viewer engagement, preferences, and purchasing patterns. This data-driven approach enables SMEs to make informed marketing decisions and optimize their strategies for better results.

To thrive in the online business landscape, SMEs must differentiate themselves through authenticity, personalized experiences, and transparency. Leveraging authentic content, such as live videos and short videos, on their websites and apps allows SMEs to build trust, forge emotional connections, and demonstrate transparency. By showcasing the human side of their operations, small businesses can create meaningful relationships with customers, drive engagement, and foster loyalty.

By adopting technology, understanding local market dynamics, and investing in customer-centric solutions, SMEs can carve out their place in the competitive online business environment. Through resilience, adaptability, and a deep understanding of their target markets, small businesses can overcome the hurdles they face and thrive in the digital age.

Ultimately, the success of SMEs in running online businesses lies in their ability to embrace authenticity, leverage technology, and adapt to the unique challenges of their respective regions. By doing so, they can seize the tremendous opportunities that online business offers and build a strong foundation for sustained growth and success in the dynamic global marketplace.

About the author

Sunil Nair is the president of BeLive Technology, a provider of live commerce and shoppable short video solutions. Previously, he was managing director for the APAC Region and CEO of Firework India, and chief operating officer of ALT Digital Media Entertainment Ltd, a digital media and entertainment conglomerate in India.

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