AI bots driving 47% faster checkouts

🛠 Tools Actually Worth Your Time
Underoutfit Had a Sizing Problem. AI Fixed It.

Here's the thing about intimates: customers ask "will this fit?" then vanish into the ether. Underoutfit was bleeding conversions until they deployed an AI concierge that handles sizing questions and chases abandoned carts. The damage? 8% conversion jump, 7% higher AOV.

The real insight: Most operators obsess over traffic. Smart ones fix the leaks first.

Your move: Set up AI chat specifically for your biggest conversion killers — sizing, shipping times, return policies. Stop the bleeding before you chase new visitors.

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📈 What's Working Right Now

The 25% Spending Bump Nobody's Talking About

Rep AI analyzed 17 million shopping sessions and found something wild: returning customers who chat with AI during their visit spend 25% more than those who don't. Even wilder? When AI greets shoppers proactively instead of waiting for them to ask, 45% actually engage.

Here's the kicker: proactive AI conversations recover 35% of abandoned carts.

The play: Stop playing defense with reactive chat. Set AI to greet your repeat visitors with personalized suggestions based on their history. They're already primed to buy — AI just removes the friction.

Why this works: Repeat customers have buying intent. AI doesn't create demand; it accelerates decisions.

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🔢 Numbers That'll Make You Think

91% of SMBs Using AI See Revenue Growth

Salesforce surveyed 3,350 SMB leaders and found something that should wake you up: 91% of those using AI report revenue growth, 86% see better margins. Meanwhile, 89% say AI frees them from repetitive tasks to focus on actual growth work.

Translation: While you're manually answering "where's my order?" for the 50th time this week, your AI-enabled competitors are scaling operations and banking the difference.
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🔥 Store That Cracked the Code

Luxury Footwear Store Prints Money with AI Chat

Peter Sheppard Footwear had a problem: their online experience sucked compared to their white-glove in-store service. So they added AI chatbots to match that service level online. Result? 30% revenue jump.

The setup: AI handles the boring stuff (sizing, availability, shipping), provides smart recommendations, then kicks complex issues to humans who can focus on actual selling instead of order tracking.

Why this worked: They didn't replace human touch — they extended it. Every online visitor now gets the same attention as someone walking into their flagship store.
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👀 Weird Stuff That Matters

Mastercard Just Built Payment Rails for Robot Shoppers

Mastercard launched "Agent Pay" — payment infrastructure designed for AI agents, not humans. Think bigger than chat widgets.

What this actually means: Customer tells ChatGPT "I need running shoes for flat feet under $150" — the AI searches stores, checks your size history, applies payment via Mastercard's new system, and ships to your usual address. No clicking between sites.

When Mastercard builds payment rails for AI agents, they're betting customers will shop through AI assistants (ChatGPT, Google, Alexa) instead of visiting your store directly.

Watch for: The shift from "customers visit stores" to "AI agents visit stores on behalf of customers."

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Action Items

1. Test proactive AI chat — Set up greeting messages for returning visitors with personalized product recommendations

2. Audit your repetitive tasks — List everything you do manually that could be automated (customer inquiries, inventory alerts, content creation)

3. Try Etsy's approach — Use AI to optimize your product titles and compare performance against current versions

4. Calculate your AI ROI — Track time saved on manual tasks and measure against AI tool costs

Your move: Reply with results from testing any of these AI implementations — time saved, revenue gained, or margin impact. The best operator stories get featured next week.

BeyondTheCart delivers tactical AI intelligence for eCommerce operators doing $500k-$15M revenue. Forward this to another operator who needs to see these numbers.

There’s no shortage of AI newsletters out there — but I couldn’t find one made for small and mid-sized eCom operators. So I built the kind of thing I’d want to read. Hope you get something useful out of it.

Thanks for reading.
Catch you next week!

Nicholas Hoddevik
CEO, apparel brand Kattnakken
Editor, BeyondTheCart