How Chatbots Are Reshaping Online Shopping Experience

With the upcoming months marking the start of the festive season, businesses must consider taking advantage of AI-powered chatbots.

By the end of 2023, retail chatbot interactions via channels like WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, etc., are predicted to reach 22 billion.

By Harsha Solanki

Anyone who loves shopping online knows how challenging it can be to browse through thousands of products on an e-commerce site or the shopping app to find the desired product. Online shopping platforms now have chatbots that act as personal assistants, simplifying the experience by helping you find your preferred product or even offering recommendations per your style. One such example is the chatbot employed by a prominent fashion clothing brand that asks you “either-or” questions to understand an individual’s style and then makes recommendations that fit it. It also provides regular style guides and product pricing, completely revolutionizing the online customer shopping experience.   

With the upcoming months marking the start of the festive season, businesses must consider taking advantage of AI-powered chatbots. Chatbots have gained relevance because people prefer texting as the primary means of communication. When seeking support from a brand, many would rather chat than wait for a customer care executive on a call, which would be beneficial during the festival season because of the higher number of queries. In fact, 73% of customers believe that live chats are the most satisfactory form of communication with a company. It feels like having everyday conversations with friends and family over messaging channels. So far, chatbots enabling online shopping have been limited to brand websites or apps. It is mostly an option in the corner of the screen. But things are changing rapidly. The scope of chat-based shopping is moving beyond brand websites and apps.  

Unleash Conversational Experiences For Festive Sales

By the end of 2023, retail chatbot interactions via channels like WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, etc., are predicted to reach 22 billion because of AI-powered engagements. This customer behaviour has paved the way for the growth of Conversational Everything. It is an opportunity for you as a brand to deploy chatbots for promotion, sales, or support, especially before the festival season. Using chatbots, businesses can reduce customer service costs by 30%. They can leverage the channels' popularity, utilizing them to partake in more meaningful and personalized conversations with customers. By streamlining customer experiences, brands can also cultivate trust and exhibit concern for their experiences. 

This is where Communication Platform-as-a-Service (CpaaS) can be of utmost relevance too. Leveraging CPaaS, brands can incorporate these messaging channels into their communication infrastructure via APIs or access them through a unified platform like an omnichannel customer engagement solution. Chat-based channels can significantly enhance customer satisfaction by providing greater flexibility. There are numerous instances where businesses have recognized WhatsApp as their customers' preferred communication channel. Incorporating it into the contact center solution also enables customers to connect with them using their preferred chat application. It is a tactical approach to customer satisfaction, giving them more choices.

Strategies For Shopping Season 

Chatbots on messaging apps offer a seamless way to stay connected with the customer 24/7. With festivals like Navratri, Deepavali etc., coming up, businesses can use them to effortlessly update their client base about the latest campaigns, promote and sell the products, and send personalized recommendations based on their shopping history. Additionally, they can keep them informed about product upgrades or plans catering to their requirements. For instance, customers spend around 38 minutes daily on WhatsApp. Therefore, it is an excellent opportunity to get visibility for product by sending marketing messaging on the right channel. By keeping the conversation active, businesses can incentivize customers to continue shopping with them while building strong relationships.  

Adopt Conversational Channels To Enhance Sales

About 69.82% of shoppers abandon their carts without completing purchases. E-commerce platforms usually leverage chatbots to address this challenge. For instance, if a user of an online fashion e-commerce company adds a product to their cart and somehow forgets to complete the purchase or requires assistance, the company’s chatbot on WhatsApp sends the customer a reminder to finalize the purchase and offers help during the shopping journey. This integration enables them to convert their leads into successful sales, boosting revenue. The work of a chatbot doesn't end there; it can further enable users to track their orders after finishing the purchase.

Manage Festive Rush With 24/7 Support

Customer support calls are synonymous with phrases like “sorry you had to go through this”, “you’re in queue”, and “all our lines are busy”. But think about conversational support - the ability to chat with customer support instead of calling a helpline number or dropping an email. That’s what chatbots are making a reality. It becomes even better when disgruntled customers can get a quick response on the channels of their preference. Around festivals, people expect their deliveries to be on time and need quicker support. These AI-powered chatbots simulate a human conversation and answer every query the same way a human would, only quicker.

Conclusion

Integrating chatbots into the realm of shopping brings forth many compelling advantages. These virtual assistants are revolutionizing customer interactions by providing real-time assistance, personalized recommendations, and round-the-clock availability. The seamless and efficient nature of chatbots not only enhances the shopping experience but also leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Adopting conversational channels and implementing an omnichannel communication approach is crucial to drive online sales and deliver superior customer experience at the peak of the festive season. 

Moreover, businesses stand to benefit from reduced operational costs, streamlined processes, and valuable insights derived from data analysis. As technology continues to evolve, the potential for chatbots to further refine and elevate the shopping journey appears limitless. So far, we have seen chatbots as a norm but conversational chatbots will transform the e-commerce landscape. Embracing this innovation paves the way for a more dynamic, interactive, and customer-centric future in the world of retail.

(The author is the VP and GM of Asia at Infobip, a Cloud communications platform.)

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