The Silicon Review ^Asia

E-commerce companies are focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality with a view to cut logistics costs and identify fraudulent orders, said a report by global auditing and consulting firm PwC. In a population of more than 500 million and approximately 65% of the population aged 35 or below, Asia especially India,represents a highly aspirational consumer market for retailers across the globe.

E-commerce players are revamping their technology strategies to maintain their competitive edge. Most e-commerce platforms are upping their investments in areas such as conversational commerce, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) and analytics technologies.

It observed that to identify fraudulent orders, reduce return rate and also cut down on logistics cost, e-commerce companies are investing in robotics and AI heavily. AI-based voice-based shopping in vernacular language enables deeper customer engagement with the transition from offline to online by overcoming the language barrier.

“Given the recent episodes of data breaches and alleged misuse of customer information, the need for adopting appropriate security measures have escalated significantly," said Sandeep Ladda, PwC India Partner. This move will help the firm to improve fraud detection and enable companies to offer a secure and transparent online medium as it helps in determining authenticity.