How Can OCR Help You in Ecommerce Business?
In the rapidly progressing environment of eCommerce, efficiency is not just a goal; it’s become a necessity. For businesses that are continuously looking for ways to make their operations efficient and want to increase productivity, technology plays an important role in developing traditional workflows.
WooCommerce POS (Point of Sale) systems are a prime example of such technology, seamlessly bridging online and offline sales operations.
The development of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology is one factor in this change. OCR is a game-changer technology in eCommerce. This technology processes, stores, and retrieves information.
Now! Let us discuss the role of OCR technology in the field of eCommerce.
Table of Contents
What is Ecommerce?
Ecommerce means buying or selling a product through an online service by using the internet. People are doing eCommerce through computers, tablets, smartphones, and other electronic devices.
You can buy every imaginable service or product through eCommerce transactions.
What is the Role of OCR in Ecommerce Businesses?
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It scans documents like images, PDF files, scanned files, screenshots, etc., and converts them into machine-readable text. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software takes letters, turns them into words, and then sentences.
This allows us to change the original text trapped in the scanned files and images Also, we don’t have to enter information by hand anymore.
OCR systems use both hardware and software to convert an image to text. Hardware, such as an optical scanner, reads the text, and software handles the advanced processing. The software can also use AI for smarter ways to recognize characters, like telling the difference between languages and handwriting styles.
OCR provides a wide range of applications. These applications not only improve user’s work accuracy but also save them a lot of time. For people who can’t see, OCR software can read aloud the content of scanned documents after extracting the text.
OCR also helps individuals with learning disabilities like dyslexia. Teachers use OCR technology to help students who have developmental disabilities communicate in virtual classrooms. The function of OCR makes it useful globally in the education sector.
How Does OCR Work?
The OCR works in a 4 steps process as follows:
1. Capture images
A scanner scans the uploaded documents and turns them into binary data. Then, OCR software interprets the scanned image by classifying the light areas as background and the dark areas as text.
2. Preprocessing
The OCR software improves the readability of images by fixing mistakes and lining them up. Techniques include deskewing, detecting digital image spots, smoothing text edges, cleaning up boxes and lines, and script recognition for multi-language OCR technology. These steps help ensure accurate and efficient reading.
3. Text recognition
OCR software uses two types of OCR algorithms for text recognition. These are called pattern matching and feature extraction.
1. Pattern matching
Pattern matching finds a character image (called a “glyph”) and compares it to a stored glyph that is similar to it. The stored glyph must have the same font and size as the input glyph for pattern recognition to work. This method is effective when applied to scanned images of documents that have been typed in a font that is already familiar to the user.
2. Feature extraction
Glyphs are broken down into features like lines, closed loops, line direction, and line intersections during the feature extraction process. So, it uses these traits to match with the many glyphs it has stored and find the best match or the closest neighbor.
4. Postprocessing
The extracted text data is then converted into a computerized file by the system after it has been analyzed. Some OCR systems can make PDF files with notes that have both the scanned document before and after it was scanned.
How is OCR Technology used in Ecommerce?
In eCommerce, OCR technology is used to automate the process of data entry. When a client purchases anything, OCR is used to input their data into the system. The data may be the ID, address, or email of the client.
Without OCR, employees have to do this process by hand. Manual writing takes a lot of time, and there is a risk of making errors. As businesses cannot afford to make mistakes, they need to hire specialists in data entry. OCR makes this process much faster and more accurate.
With OCR, you do not have to enter data by hand. It saves businesses a significant amount of money and time. By using OCR technology, businesses gain customer satisfaction by increasing accuracy and decreasing errors.
Benefits of OCR in Ecommerce
There are several benefits to OCR in eCommerce. Some of them are listed below.
1. Making Documents Editable
In the digital workspace, editing scanned documents is very necessary. OCR technology makes this simpler by converting data into editable formats like Microsoft Word.
Through this, we can make changes and edit the content easier. This feature is especially helpful for content that needs to be changed regularly. OCR is a very useful solution; otherwise, this work takes a lot of time and effort.
2. Accurate Data Entry
Data input accuracy is crucial, and OCR technology reduces the mistakes that come with traditional procedures.
Businesses may significantly lower their risk of data loss and errors by automating data collection and input. This ensures accurate information management.
3. Data Verification and Customer Identification
Data validation has become crucial in the digital age, particularly in industries like banking and finance. By comparing data to public information, OCR technology speeds up this process and improves the security and precision of consumer identification.
When compared to human data entry, this significantly reduces the margin for error and, at the same time, speeds up the verification process.
4. Enhanced Customer Service
Good customer service is built on having quick access to information. Customer wait times are decreased by using OCR technology.
OCR technology makes it possible to retrieve documents very quickly. OCR is helpful in improving the customer experience in eCommerce where having quick access to customer information is very critical.
5. Reduced cost
Businesses can save money by using advanced OCR solutions instead of paying a professional to enter data. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system extracts data from every reception point and combines it into the entire system. You do not need to input data manually because of an automated system.
For example, when someone wants to pay their utility bill online, they just need to upload a picture of the bill they already paid, and the system will immediately get the information from it. With the help of OCR technology, staff do not have to get up from their seats to look for each request.
Shipping, copying, and printing costs will be saved for the companies when they store all their data digitally instead of in paper files that take up too much space.
6. Digital Identity Verification
In order to maintain a trustworthy client base, online businesses must either verify customers’ identities to ensure the security of their operations or follow the rules set by authorities.
Checking digital documents against identity documents provided by the government is a method by which online businesses can identify suspicious people.
OCR technology is used to check the authenticity of documents. To do this, a person must send an ID card, passport, driver’s license, credit or debit card, etc. With the help of OCR technology, the data is taken out very quickly and checked in a matter of seconds.
7. Data Entry Automation
Entering data by hand takes a lot of time and also increases the chances of making mistakes. OCR automates this process by turning scanned papers like purchase orders, invoices, and packing slips into text that is editable and searchable.
This technology saves a lot of time for eCommerce companies because they don’t have to type the text by hand, and it also reduces the chance of errors.
For example, after entering a customer’s bill into their computer system, online stores scan the paper bill. In order to check the correctness and reliability of the extracted data, it must be checked immediately. The slip can be put into the right category and sent to the financial system.
That way, the system works itself after looking at the material and moving it to the right set.
8. Greater security with cloud storage
Preserving the security of paper records is challenging when it comes to preventing an unauthorized person from gaining access to them. They are at risk of loss, theft, or damage. With the help of cloud storage, businesses can easily and quickly protect their data.
They protect the data in such a way that only authorized people can view it. They also protect the data from hackers. OCR helps get information out of documents and store it in the cloud.
Cloud storage is better for small, medium, and even large businesses than a physical storage room. Smart devices and businesses can easily access the data stored in the cloud from anywhere on any smart device.
OCR technology makes it easy for businesses to store extracted data in the cloud, where users can quickly read, access, and change the data.
9. Streamlined Inventory Management
An important part of running an eCommerce business is keeping track of and putting things away correctly. OCR takes care of a lot of work automatically, which counts supplies, restocks, and fills orders.
Companies can quickly and accurately get the information they need from documents like packing slips, invoices, and purchase orders by using OCR technology. Through OCR, inventory management systems can be easily integrated, enabling real-time updates and synchronization across various channels.
OCR helps eCommerce companies run their businesses more efficiently by automating tasks. It decreases the amount of manual labor required.
It reduces the chances of errors and increases the accuracy of tracking goods. With OCR, businesses can also respond more quickly to changes in demand. This makes it easier to sell stock and decreases the cost of maintaining it.
10. Information Retrieval
PDF files and paper documents that can only be seen as images are turned into searchable files by business systems that use OCR software. You can search these digitally searchable files differently from regular PDF files because they have a transparent layer on top that has searchable text.
OCR technology is used for this, which turns the files into a format that can find the keywords, phrases, names, and other data that is needed.
In addition to eCommerce, OCR is also very important for getting information in fields like healthcare, banking, and education. It is easy to quickly find important information by digitizing and indexing papers through OCR. As a result, it improves decision-making, productivity, and customer service.
OCR Issues in Ecommerce
OCR can be challenging in eCommerce for a variety of reasons. The first problem is that there is a lot of information that needs to be processed. For example, a store might need to scan and read tens of thousands of barcodes daily. So, if the OCR tool is slow or inefficient, it cannot meet the required speed and slow down the process.
The second problem is the variety of items that need to be scanned. This can be used for everything, such as clothes, food, and electronics. The reader needs to be able to read all of the different barcodes for the different types of products. So, OCR tools with limited scanner capabilities can cause problems.
Another problem is the picture quality, including blurriness, distortion, and lighting. The OCR system might not be able to read the text properly, and it might be difficult for the OCR technology to read handwritten text. That could be a big issue for some uses.
Conclusion
Ecommerce businesses have been completely transformed by the introduction of OCR technology and WooCommerce POS systems. OCR provides a wide range of benefits to businesses of all sizes, including the automation of data entry, the streamlining of workflows, and the improvement of accuracy with regard to data entry.
It is one of the most powerful tools for eCommerce success. It can be used to make documents editable, verify customer information, improve customer service, and streamline inventory management.
Although there are some limitations associated with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), such as slow processing speeds, limited item variety, and failure to convert images with poor quality, the benefits of OCR are significantly greater than these limitations.
As Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology continues to advance, its influence on online commerce will only grow more significant. This will make the future of eCommerce more efficient, accurate, and customer-focused.
Integrating these advancements with tools like WooCommerce POS will further enhance business operations, ensuring seamless and efficient workflows both online and offline.
