Chatbots for Ecommerce: What Are They and How Retailers Can Use Them to Drive Sales

Technology is forever moving so fast that it’s difficult for businesses to stay on top of tech that could boost their bottom line. And as there seems to be new tech developed every day, it can be hard to figure out what your retail business should embrace and what might just be a fad.

Implementing new tech also requires cash and resources, so you need to be certain it’s worth your investment. And this is the situation  ecommerce retailers may find themselves in when considering chatbots. With all the chatter in the industry about conversational commerce, some peeps are wondering if they should invest in these automated bots to answer customer FAQ's, give customer service a hand, and potentially upsell to buyers.

Yes, there’s a lot of talk recently about chatbots. So, let’s dig deeper into what chatbots are, how they tick, and if they’re right for your business.

What are Chatbots?

In short, chatbots are specially programmed robots that interact with customers and simulate human conversation through artificial intelligence (AI).​

Chatbots Magazine describes them as: “A chance to get in contact with your clients is a significant way for your business to grow. Chatbots help to handle interactions with customers for e-commerce companies and simulate the shopping that buyers get in a retail store.”

Instead of having your customers fill out forms to get help, or select from a drop-down menu when choosing merchandise, chatbots can assist customers and give them the sense that they’re interacting with a helpful retail associate.

"Realistically, these bots give a level of personalisation to automation, allowing you to deliver controlled, high-quality customer service."

Many messaging bots can already be found in proprietary retail apps (like Subway, H&M or FreshDirect) and when you message branded Facebook Business Pages. Facebook recently confirmed that customers have already created 33,000 chatbots for its Messenger app so far.

Chatbot Benefits

Consistent Customer Service

Chatbots are a great way to build your brand reputation they’re tailored to provide the same kind of customer service that shoppers expect from your brand either in-store or online. And bots allow brands to provide cohesive, consistent customer service because the chatbot responses are controlled.

Quick Responses

Keeping your customers on your facebook page by answering their questions immediately lowers the chance that those users will leave your site for a competitors to find an answer to their query, or snooze on their decision — increasing the speed and amount of sales on site.

Chatbot Examples

If you’re looking for inspiration, there are already plenty of companies using chatbots to better serve their customers. Ecommerce retail business can build their their custom chatbot, or use one of companies offering bot technologies to help brands connect with their customers.

If you’re looking for inspiration, there are already plenty of companies using chatbots to better serve their customers. Your retail business can build your own custom chatbot, or use one of companies offering bot technologies to help brands connect with their customers.

Alexa

One of the ultimate bot personalities is Alexa on the Amazon Echo. The Amazon Echo uses the chatbot technology and voice recognition to create a seamless user experience anywhere in the user’s home.The flexibility of this chatbot makes it possible for shoppers to use Alexa right from their homes to complete many otherwise-mundane daily tasks.

“While the most common use of the device include playing music, making informational queries, and controlling home devices, Alexa (the device’s default addressable name) can also tap into Amazon’s full product catalog as well as your order history and intelligently carry out commands on all kinds of stuff". 

Facebook messenger also launched a chatbot API to make it easier for customers to connect with their favourite pages and even make purchases from their favorite brands.

Setting up a fbmeChat

Be Realistic

So, how should you use chatbot technology for your retail business? While chatbot technology is rapidly evolving to make many things easier for merchants, retailers must be realistic about their limitations.

In the Forbes article “Why Chatbots Are Dangerous Territory For Retailers,” Nikki Baird recommends being honest with your customers when you’re using bot technology: “If a retailer passes off a chatbot as a real person, and the consumer figures out that it’s not, it could easily lead to either the chatbot equivalent of rage clicking, or where consumers deliberately mess with the chatbot in order to get responses that could potentially be embarrassing to the brand.”

Artificial intelligence goes a long way for simple interactions, but customers need to be able to escalate more complex discussions to well-trained employees if needed.

Do a Soft Launch

To implement chatbots on your fan page, I’d suggest starting with fbme.Chat for all unsolicited interactions with customers and continue to use it on all ongoing/future posts and ads to boost conversations, engagement and ultimately sales. From that point, you can determine if this chatbot would be beneficial to your business.

Where to Get A Chatbots for Your Business?

While some brands are opting to create their own bots to implement in their apps or on their sites, there’s no need to go to the hassle or expense of building your own. 

Try fbmeChat free for 7 days

How about you run an experiment on your facebook page today? 

​