Johannesburg, 24 Jan 2022
Picture this scenario. A customer is buying groceries. However, they notice a confusing price difference between two similar products that they buy frequently. What happens next?
They step up to the nearest merchandiser and engage in a quick chat that clears up the confusion. The problem is resolved and your customer carries on shopping.
But, what if a customer encounters an unexpected problem when shopping online? Without an immediate solution, most online shoppers are likely to abandon a purchase.
How can you, as a retailer, offer consistent customer service across online and physical shopping platforms?
The answer is chatbots in retail.
These days, when it comes to shopping, convenience is king. Did you know that smartphone shopping is at a historic high? (source)
In fact, 97% of consumers have backed out of a purchase for the sake of convenience. Additionally, one-third of shoppers feel they have less free time now than they did five years ago. Smart retailers are stepping up to save their customers time and effort. (source)
Not only are more customers going online to shop, but most of the younger generation of shoppers tend to shy away from making phone calls. This is an interesting paradox considering that most shoppers also want instant gratification.
Here’s the point: messaging is a far more powerful tool than a customer service call centre.
The function of chatbots is not to minimise face-to-face interactions. Instead, the aim is to accommodate the current lifestyle needs of your customers. Chatbots engage customers in live chats to improve the service of online shopping.
Plus, online shopping doesn't necessarily happen during business hours. Chatbots provide instant service, at any time of the day or night.
Chatbot advantages
Chatbots boost your customer service. They’re always online to present support and promote customer engagement.
They also gather important customer data. This means you can make special offers more personalised, plus you have a broader base of recorded information.
All these factors have a significant influence on customer satisfaction, and in turn, customer loyalty.
Let’s look at the advantages of ‘employing’ chatbots in a little more detail.
You can configure chatbots to meet the needs of your particular market niche. They can be programmed to answer basic questions. Or, in a self-help situation, chatbots can answer common questions with standard responses. So, live chats are customisable according to what you want out of the communication.
Another great feature is that chatbots can speed up the resolution process. They do this by directing your customer to the right department. This also saves time for your real-life customer service agents.
Plus, customers don’t need to navigate a call centre or be put on hold. Nobody wants that!
There is another less obvious way that chatbots can support customer service agents. If a customer is on the line, the agent can use the chatbot to quickly pull up information linked to the retail database. This ensures information accuracy when it comes to products, features and general FAQs.
Additionally, chatbots can be used to prompt customer feedback. Rather than completing a survey, a customer can respond to a couple of quick messages within a chat. This provides information on product ranking, service and delivery, among other details. It also creates a good picture of customer behaviour and improves their retail experience.
The same applies to retailers that offer loyalty points. Your customers receive notifications on their points balance. They also get details on current promotions, store events and product launches.
We can sum up a few of the benefits of live chat in these four points:
- Communication with customers is instant;
- Customer queries are fast-tracked;
- Retailers acquire an accurate conversation record; and
- Live chats are available as an integrated solution across a variety of channels.
We've all become accustomed to smartphone apps and web-based interactions, plus SMS and USSD responses and, of course, WhatsApp.
E-commerce is no longer just a convenient option. It’s relied on. Since COVID-19, online shopping has become a necessary part of life.
With the rise of e-commerce, we're seeing a variety of online innovations come to the fore. Employing chatbots in retail is one of the most significant emerging trends.
If you'd like to set up Live Chat for your business, talk to us. We're more than happy to help you boost your customer engagement and gear up for the new year.
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