Do I need to integrate chatbot on my e-commerce website? Will my business benefit from it? These are the kind of questions that we get from our clients. And our answers has always been, YES. Not because we are in this industry. But, because we believe in AI-bot technology.
Increasing e-commerce sales is not easy, and with this type of competition in the marketplace where there are approximately 110,000 e-commerce websites, and not even 50% of them are generating revenue of meaningful scale on the internet. So, in order to separate yourself from the down-going pack, you will have to be exceptional in terms of your products and services.
The e-commerce market is currently banging at the most recent technology “ Chatbots. You want to know why?
Because chatbots are promoting an effortless buying experience for shoppers, and e-commerce websites can effectively leverage the technology to provide a more satisfying shopping experience than ever before.
There are multiple ways of using chatbots for your e-commerce solution “ hereby listing the 6 smartest and efficient ones.
1. Makes Ordering easy
1 out of every 3 smartphone user uses messaging apps. But switching between the apps to place an order while chatting isn’t always convenient. But now this issue has been taken care of.
Taco Bell has introduced its Slack integrated chatbot, called the Tacobot in 2016, where the customers could use the app to order while working.
The bot allows customers to buy from without leaving their favorite app. This saves them time. Meanwhile, the store also becomes more and more accessible.
2. Product Recommendations
Suggesting products to your customers can affect the overall customer experience. Bombarding your clients with a lot of product recommendations can make your website off-putting.
H&M’s Kik bot offers services to avoid this problem. Kik puts together outfits based on the previous purchases of the customers. Rather than working like a pushy salesman, Kik comes out like a personal fashion consultant. It offers customers a personalized experience while introducing them to newer products.
Source: H&M
3. Fetching Deliver and Shipping Messages
Customers on e-stores have numerous questions about delivery and shipping of their products, both before and after the purchase. Queries that come up before a sale cover topics like delivery time, packaging quality, shipping cots, and scheduling options. The failure of not finding answers to these queries may deter a potential buyer from spending money on the site.
Similarly, customers who have purchased products look for tracking information of the shipment and also request for periodic updates on its location and estimated delivery date.
A chatbot allows the online store to provide their potential and existing customers with information and updates on delivery and shipping. FAQs on shipping can easily be fed into the script, and instant answers can be given to the customers who require the information.
4. Upselling & Cross-Selling
Chatbots have the advantage of an around-the-clock communication channel with users. Chatbots can serve multiple uses, from offering assistance with basic queries and complaints, to upselling and cross-selling the products. This is an important way to leverage the power of chatbots to boost a website’s revenue.
When a user is on an e-store site in search of a particular category of product, the bot can up-sell with enhanced features and capabilities.
Bots can also cross-sell products, to influence the customers to make an expensive purchase. These recommendations can be pulled out of pre-setting product matches, based on specifications.
Source: Levis
5. Prevent Shopping Cart-Abandonment
Every e-commerce business deals with a lot of shopping cart abandonment. This is where the customer selects and add products to their cart, but does not buy the product. A variety of factors affect these customers from making a payment – Slow page load, no shipping or delivery information, higher delivery charges, or confusion about the product purchase.
Consider this scenario, let’s say your website has 50.000 monthly visitors and the average transaction cost is $35. Your conversion rate is 1% or 500 customers. If you increase the conversion rate by .25%, your business can earn up to $5000 per month. These numbers can be achieved by simply integrating a chatbot on your website.
It has been seen that reminder messages sent by chatbot recover 13% to 20% and generate 4 times to 10 times more revenue. Overall, a chatbot can
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Get higher open rates than email.
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More people likely to click without leaving Messenger.
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Give customers a personalized communication channel with your brand. Plus, maybe you can find out why they abandoned the cart, and fix it.
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Does not end up in spam or promotion folders.
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Chatbot messages go straight to inbox and are always seen by customers.
Save your business’ HOURS of your time and make online shopping EASIER by letting a chatbot answer most frequently asked question from customers quickly.
6. A Chatbot Offers Product Guides
A chatbot can be excellent product guides. And the best part is, they can learn from several products in a pinch of time and will never get bored with their job.
Customers usually do not know where they should look for when they want detailed information about the product they want to purchase. They give you the chance to strike a conversation with them when they need help. This helps in driving more sales.
More than 83% of online shoppers require help while completing their order. And more than 70% of these expect help within a minute. And if the customers do not get the required help, they simply move to your competitors.
By offering a chatbot – help guide, even if it is explaining the product benefits or describing it, or answering any concerns, you can deliver customers the insight they require instantly. This is bound to drive greater sales, customer loyalty, and satisfaction.
Conclusion
People prefer interacting with chatbots rather than navigating an e-commerce website. Online shoppers are now expecting chatbots on the websites that they like to shop on. Integrating a chatbot on your website that gives your customers a familiar shopping experience, where they can look for product information, make product comparisons and read store policies, without spending hours on research or waiting while a support representative finds them what they need, can significantly increase your sales. Not only will it drive more sales, but it will also increase customer loyalty and experience without any huge investments.
