Chatbots are making online shopping as well as payments a breeze. But why are retailers jumping at this growing trend?

As customers now have the option to shop online, many traditional retailers (with solely a large in-store presences) are having a hard time keeping up with customer satisfaction.

Purchasing products and services with the help of voice assistants such as Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Apple’s Siri, are revolutionizing how consumers and brands interact with each other, in ways that have not been seen since the early days of e-commerce.

Conversational commerce represents an opportunity for brands and retailers to interact with their consumers in new and innovative ways. New technological advances, together with increasing consumer appetite for voice devices, is driving investment and innovation. Brands must harness this interaction opportunity to build valuable relationships with consumers, and offer new ways for consumers to engage with them.

Retailers are turning to chatbots to give customer more accessibility to merchants. Customers can, for example, ask for support within chat apps, or take advantage of deals and browse various stores.

What is Conversational Commerce?

With conversational commerce, customers can interact with human representatives, chatbots, or both.

The integration of messaging apps and online shopping allows businesses to utilize applications such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or even voice technology like the Amazon Echo. Customers can chat with an AI robot, ask questions, receive personalized recommendations, or purchase products all within one channel.

It is much more than merely a new interface or an additional channel in an omnichannel world. Instead, it promises to be a curator of services and experiences that intelligently meet needs when needed, and even engage consumers emotionally.

It is still the very beginning of conversational commerce, but the early adoption of the remarkable technology will drive investment and innovation. It will consequently enable an entirely new way for brands to build relationships of value with consumers. These relationships will seamlessly extend across consumers’ relationship lifecycle with brands—from marketing to sales and service—creating an entirely new, more instinctive way for consumers to engage with brands.

Why Voice Assistants are About to Revolutionize Commerce

Users have adopted voice assistants for a variety of functions, with predominant usage, focused on seeking information and playing music. However, this has more recently extended to commerce-related activities: over a third (35%) have bought products like groceries, homecare, and clothes via a voice assistant.

Retailers are already making advances to launch voice shopping via partnerships with tech platforms such as Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa, in response to these behaviors: Wal Mart newly partnered up with Google, the customers can now shop more than two million items through voice.

Voice assistants are becoming popular in the service sector, too, with more and more consumers using voice platforms to order food, book appointments, and beyond.

Although most interactions via a voice assistant take place outside of the brick and mortar store, research suggests that conversational commerce can be used to enhance the in-store experience as well. One-third of consumers would be willing to replace customer support or shop sales support with a personalized voice assistant in exchange for a faster, more convenient experience.

Why Consumers Love Voice Assistants

Consumers who use voice assistants are very positive about the customer experience. According to recent research, 49% of the consumers preferring voice assistants to human interactions or call centers because it is faster. Speed and convenience will be the biggest reasons for preferring voice assistants over apps, websites, or physical stores.

Nevertheless, there is an element of apprehension in the use of voice assistants: safety and security of personal data is the top concern. Research suggests that consumers lack trust that these technologies would make a decision that was in the users’ interests.

Shopping chatbots will, however, continue improving in the years to come. Chatbot architecture and design might evolve to the point that shopping bots will become standard in retail.

Cornfield & Partners can help you with subjects related to retail and its new forms. To find out more about potential business opportunities, contact info@cornfieldpartners.com or you can
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