Genie – WhatsApp first “shop by appointment” platform for Africa

‘Genie’ – a first of its kind, omnichannel “shop by appointment chatbot” for business continuity during the pandemic crisis.

Johannesburg, 07 Jul 2020

Genie.bot is an AI-based chatbot service launched for consumers to book a slot for a safe and comfortable shopping experience. It helps brands and businesses to introduce and implement the compliant regulatory procedures to conduct commercial activities in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the national lockdown, The McKinsey May 2020 survey showed: "Eighty-one percent of South Africans are either uncertain or pessimistic about the country’s economic recovery after COVID-19. This service comes to rescue this dip in business and consumer confidence by implementing the right systems and procedures."

We will have to get back on our feet with the right set of tools which allow us to maintain social distance, avoid hurry, avoid panic and conduct our daily activities in more organised ways.

Shopping or business by appointment is a need of the hour for businesses who are concerned about their staff and customers entering their premises. CXOs are looking to resolve this issue and are implementing various practical solutions for business continuity, customer experience, staff safety and to sustain business activities.

Genie.bot users can utilise WhatsApp to book their favourite shopping outlets. This implies a large number of users can start utilising this app by essentially the adding Genie.bot contact: (+27) 61 061 2020 to their mobile contacts and saying "Hi" on WhatsApp.

Genie’s powerful AI-driven natural language chat interface, coupled with geo-location search, makes it effortless for customers to discover nearby businesses and book an appointment. They also get instant booking confirmation with a QR code on their WhatsApp and a reminder an hour before their scheduled appointment.

Utilising Genie.bot, a versatile application, security personnel at the business outlets can examine the QR code to approve the booking and allow their customers to check in and manage the inflow of customers efficiently and effectively to protect their own staff as well.

Through a Web panel and dashboard, businesses can see day-by-day footfalls at every outlet and gather other insights.

Manali Sheth, Managing Director eSoft, states: “Exceptional times of this pandemic require us to look into things differently. Business continuity is very important and Genie lays out the foundation for the new way of conducting our business activities."

This app is the first of its kind on the WhatsApp platform, an unquestionable requirement of these times. Also essential for business continuity and to control economic decline and boost consumer confidence and comfort. This service can also be used to regulate traffic in hospital outpatient departments, religious places and government offices.

Genie is not just limited to WhatsApp, but is also available on Android and iOS and is a mobile-friendly link.

Genie is now available for business registrations. Please visit genie.bot/business for registering your business today.

For more details, visit www.esoft.co.za and genie.bot.

Share

eSoft

eSoft offers innovative digital solutions in the African market. To deal with the COVID-19 situation we have various smart contactless solutions to ensure business continuity. Some of such initiatives are Helpify, iVital Health Smart Thermometer, COVID Bands, and humanoid robots. Our RPA and Robotic Workforce offerings are always available to protect your employees and customers through these times and implement various business cases.

Editorial contacts

Caryn Naidoo
admin@esoft.co.za