Chatbots or interactive agents continue to impact the e-commerce industry tremendously. The bots transform how enterprises interact with their customers to resolve concerns.
Many businesses embrace chatbots in their e-commerce domain because of the highly personalized customer experience.
The bots also give faster and more accurate customer feedback. Statistics show that by 2019, the interactive agents would, on average, handle 68.9% of customer-agent chats from start to finish.
Now, chatbots are becoming even more advanced. For instance, you can benefit from chatbots integrated with cloud-based contact center software for an all-around contact center software solution.
The contact center software deploys chatbots on different platforms like:
- Facebook Messenger
- Website
- Instant messaging, etc.
Before we discuss the benefits of implementing chatbots in eCommerce, let’s find out what these bots are.
What Are E-Commerce Chatbots?
They are artificially intelligent (AI) virtual assistant solutions. The computer software employs special algorithms to handle conversations with people through text messages and voice inputs.
Most of these platforms offer tools for creating and customizing the bots to suit a particular customer base.
Thus, online merchants can implement the software to engage customers appropriately at different stages of their customer-engagement journey. The bots are programmed to handle all customer queries regarding your business niche.
Presently, the rise of AI chatbots in the e-commerce world is enormous. Based on Global Market Insights, chatbots’ overall global market size is projected to be more than $1.3 billion by 2024.
This forms part of the broader digital transition to automate business processes and systems. It aims at enhancing customer service in the e-commerce industry to drive businesses forward.
What Are the Top Benefits of Implementing Chatbots in E-Commerce?
Enhanced Customer Engagement Through Contact Center Solution Platforms
Today’s cloud contact center prefers sending messages instead of making phone calls to clients. Usually, customers value immediate feedback.
In addition to sending personalized messages, the best contact center software will also keep your customer engaged, across all channels, and provide quick and efficient customer support. The software supports your customer service teams and equips them with the best contact center tools and the right features.
As a result, you get to deliver excellent and timely customer support. On the other hand, customers benefit from outstanding customer engagement and a fulfilling experience. For instance, it helps to know how late deliveries affect customer retention.
Moreover, all customer insights, data, and functionality are stored in safe data centers. This keeps data secure from human error and helps in disaster recovery.
Saves Time and Makes Customer Service Interactions Easier
Most businesses engage customers from a wide variety of age groups and backgrounds. With technological upgrades, companies are looking into software that makes customer services and interactions easier. This helps save customer service agents’ time to focus on other essential activities.
You can use effective techniques like the sounding board to capture customer views and feedback, and also assess them. The sound board works uniquely to collect all the varying sounds, hence gaining insights from users.
In this case, you don’t have to spend time explaining things for customers to understand. On the other hand, customers interact with the software almost effortlessly. And, they get to receive the feedback they want or make purchases.
The bots allow the customers to get answers to their concerns at their own pace. They can revisit the site over and again to understand what they want. This makes them happier, and they’ll, later on, enjoy using the software. And most of them end up comfortable purchasing your products or services.
Boosts Revenue for Business Success
Chatbots through cloud contact center software are the present-day alternative to on-premise contact centers. They boost revenue growth by maintaining high reliability and availability. This is needed in e-commerce to deliver a top-notch customer experience.
Using bots makes electronic commerce establishments more visible. The software helps offer clients more purchase opportunities. Because of how conversational bots convince customers, they are willing to shop online. Thus, more customers join the cycle and become interested in shopping with retailer bots.
Gather the Right Data to Improve Your Service Offers
Customer data is fundamental, as long as you collect it ethically with the client’s consent. The chatbot is an excellent medium to motivate your clients to share essential personal data, including:
- Personal needs and preferences
- Likes and dislikes
- Interests
- Contact details (phone number, e-mail addresses) to offer a better customer experience.
That way, the bots can, in return, offer you marketing services. By gathering the customers’ data, messages are channeled to them through e-mails and instant messages. Most of these notifications offer customers special personalized product and service offers and discounts.
Helps Lower Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) measures how much you spend to attract individual customers. Lower the CAC, the better.
E-commerce chatbots help reduce CAC. They offer an immediate and engaging conversation with your clients on the online store. As a result, customers will hardly leave your site.
Also, the bots can give personalized product recommendations based on the customer’s previous orders. As a result, visitors are more likely to convert into customers.
Boosts Customer Retention Rate (CRR)
Customer retention refers to the percentage rate of visitors your company manages to convert into customers over a particular period. The higher the customer retention rate, the better your business would be. This is similar to customer loyalty.
Chatbots can boost the CRR by staying in constant touch with your visitors. This helps provide better customer service. With product suggestions, you get to understand customer needs better. Thus, you can use the bots to increase customer retention rate by:
- Communicating better,
- Providing personalized customer service,
- Handling order status queries,
- Recommending products, and
- Driving sales.
Key Takeaways
In the world of e-commerce, chatbots have attained a significant position. They have brought about a remarkable transformation such that online retailers can now foster enhanced shopping experiences.
From big to small-scale e-commerce stores, all seem to actively engage chatbot use for their business operations.
Whether it concerns customer support or team communication, the bots can handle everything. This is beneficial in saving customer agents’ time and also makes customer service interactions easier.
And with chatbots integrated with contact centers on cloud, you can also protect your customer data and access it from anywhere when needed.
