What are the advantages of chatbots in e-commerce?
Smart chatbots directly offer e-commerce companies several advantages. Both from a marketing perspective — advising and inspiring users — and from a support perspective — answering questions around the clock — chatbots have numerous features that ultimately help online shops create an excellent user experience.
1. The consulting shopping assistant
Chatbots offer customers the opportunity to provide competent advice around the clock, regardless of the type of product. Instead of clicking through numerous products, a user can engage in a kind of conversation with the chatbot — this is also known as conversational commerce.
If the user gets in touch with the AI chatbot, it can make suitable product suggestions to the user based on the requested preferences. This process doesn't take long and can take place at any time of the day. Because not every user finds it easy to find their way around the plethora of products and navigate their way through an online shop successfully. All the better if a chatbot can prevent such a user from jumping off by helping quickly. Of course, filling out search masks correctly can also lead to the desired product, but an AI chatbot has clear advantages over filtered searches. It is more comfortable and easy for the user, a chatbot widget is usually easier to find than possible search filters and the most important point: A chatbot is interactive and learns. This allows chatbots to learn from every conversation by asking questions to better understand issues or receive feedback on whether the conversation was helpful. This is worth a lot, because it not only makes the chatbot ever smarter, it also makes it easier and faster for the user to find their desired product.
2. Classic customer service
Just like an insurance company or a bank, an online store also needs fast and attentive customer service. In the e-commerce sector, inquiries can arise on various topics. An excerpt of possible customer inquiries can be:
- Dissatisfied with the goods
- Item damaged
- Item too small/large
- Goods look different than presented online
- Product not yet received (e.g. ask for the shipment number)
- Payment
- repayment
- Redeem a voucher (e.g. the voucher code does not work)
moin.ai can be trained on all of these potential use cases. However, it is important that e-commerce companies look at their communication goals in advance and identify use cases so that the chatbot can be trained and specialized in precisely these use cases. However, AI chatbots certainly offer the opportunity to help customers with almost any issue. If it doesn't work, it can also be recognized by the chatbot and redirected to a customer service employee.
Nor should we ignore the advantages that chatbots generally bring to customer service — regardless of the industry: 24/7 availability, answers in a matter of seconds, relieving employees and thus opening up new time windows. You can find out more benefits in the blog post “5 benefits of chatbots in customer service.”
3. Branding
A chatbot offers the opportunity to represent a brand and thus shape the brand and become a little “star” yourself. Chatbots can, if desired, interact humorously, use specific wording or convey messages that are important to the company. All of these things are important in order to shape your own brand and, if desired, to optimize the brand image.
The e-commerce industry is highly competitive. Thanks to search engines, users are able to compare prices and providers within a few seconds. The web makes providers virtually transparent, which means that users often no longer feel that they belong to a brand or an online store, but simply shop where the product is currently the cheapest.
It is therefore important, as already mentioned above, to offer excellent customer service and to prevent frustration and annoyance. Another effective method is to retain the user with the brand. For this to succeed, various conditions must be met. Some of them include gaining the trust and sympathy of users.
A chatbot can support this by acting in an image-compliant manner. This awakens emotions that lead to positive reviews or generally form a positive response to the company. This makes it possible for a company to act using a chatbot instead of just reacting frequently. In other words: to actively address a customer. Be it through a news update, a question about satisfaction or gimmicks such as a quiz (also ideal for promoting competitions). Chatbots can start a conversation on any topic with any customer at any time of day. Such proactive communication can optimize brand perception and loyalty over time.
4. Gain customer insights
What goes on in a user's mind? How satisfied is a customer with their order? Companies rarely find answers to some questions and in some cases it will probably stay that way. Because if a user or customer doesn't want to communicate, this is difficult to change. However, you can make it easier and build a bridge by proactively seeking feedback or analyzing the data from chatbot conversations. With the feedback that chatbots collect, a brand can improve their service or product.
If, for example, the organic traffic of an online shop is very good but the conversion rate is relatively low, the reason must be identified. An AI chatbot can play a decisive role in this by collecting and evaluating customer insights in a targeted manner.
Even with a satisfactory conversion rate, further optimization can be carried out. Chatbots offer great opportunities to track and evaluate consumer behavior. Better conclusions can therefore be drawn regarding the marketing of products.
This is also the case with moinAI. The system automatically generates insights into chatbot users. This makes it easy to see whether customers are currently struggling with certain problems or whether a product is of greater interest than usual — ideal for planning marketing processes or helping customers quickly.
5. Prevent abandoned shopping carts
Abandoned shopping carts or “shopping cart abandonments” are a big problem for many online shops. Since the reasons are different, there are of course also different solutions. One reason why a purchase isn't completed is that the website visitor is distracted and leaves the online shop more or less unintentionally. A chatbot can intervene at this point by actively addressing the user after a defined period of inactivity on the website and, for example, offering support. In addition, a chatbot can quickly provide the user with the information they need to gain more security or trust in order to complete the purchase.
How does a chatbot work in e-commerce?
Of course, there are great practical examples where many companies are already using an AI chatbot. One of them is Velux OSO as an “Online Sales Organization”, OSO for short, responsible for the entire B2C online sale of blinds (blackout blinds, awnings, roller blinds) and roof windows via websites and marketplaces. The “Online Sales Organization” was founded a few years ago by the manufacturing company VELUX, which is primarily known for its skylights.
The challenge: Many user inquiries during seasonal peak phases and high product complexity
As is often the case in e-commerce, the customer service team at VELUX OSO also had to deal with a high number of recurring questions. The special thing about this is seasonal dependence. For example, extreme peak phases occur at certain times of the year, in which a large volume of inquiries occurs that is difficult to handle. However, it is essential to answer the inquiries, as otherwise (potential) customers would be lost. VELUX OSO also sells products, which in almost all cases require individual customer advice
The goal: Reduce manual effort in live chat
With a view to the challenges mentioned above, VELUX OSO set itself the goal of significantly reducing the manual effort in customer communication resulting from live chat. At the same time, reducing manual effort in live chat should not mean that no live chat is available during peak phases, or if then very limited. Despite reducing effort, online availability should be expanded so that users would be able to ask their question even on weekends or evenings. The main focus was therefore on significantly reducing the number of conversations in live chat in order to minimize manual effort.
The solution: A permanently available digital assistant that competently answers inquiries
In view of the limited personnel resources combined with the required customer service presence in all channels (email, telephone and chat), a solution was needed that would reduce the overall support volume, provide users with quick answers and provide preparatory work in the sense of pre-qualification. A task made for moinAI.
The result: A chatbot that reduces manual effort and increases service quality
The implementation of moin.ai resulted in improvements and benefits on several levels. Because from both the user, employee and company perspectives, there have been and are positive results achieved by the digital assistant. The manual response to live chat requests was reduced by around 75%. Chatbots on websites in Germany and the Netherlands can show similar results: For example, the number of manual responses in live chat was reduced by 91% on the German website and by 85% on the Dutch website.
And these are by no means all the results. moinAI has already had over 2000 conversations in just 5 months, with great effects on the conversion rate and user satisfaction:
- 75% CSAT based on user reviews in chat
- 50% conversion rate in the chatbot
If you would like to learn more about the challenges, the goals, the solution and, ultimately, the results of Velux Oso, feel free to download the free case study. There, the points mentioned are discussed in detail, and there are also insights into how the chatbot works and the most important features, such as multilingualism or omni-channel playback.
Chatbots in e-commerce: An outlook
It is obvious that an AI chatbot significantly supports a company in the development of conversational commerce. The right customer communication has the potential to make your brand stand out significantly, leave a lasting impression on users and customers and bind them to the brand. Because in the end, only one thing counts for users and customers: added value.
And the said added value can be ideally transported via an AI chatbot. Be it simple and seasonal topics, for example: Summer is just around the corner, based on a customer's search profile, they know which brands and designs he or she prefers — now the chatbot could proactively suggest a summer outfit of their taste to the customer.
Conclusion: Use innovative and modern technology to adapt to customer needs
E-commerce companies should not only consider integrating AI and automation into customer communication, but should actually implement it successfully. Because things can happen quickly and you're at the bottom — which is particularly disadvantageous in the highly competitive e-commerce industry.
It is better to be one step ahead of the competition. Especially for the younger generation, text-based chatting at any time, even or especially with companies, is more than a plus point; it is a requirement. Give your company the path to ideal customer communication so that it can keep pace with advancing trends.
Chatbots make life easier for many people, whether on the company or customer side. Chatbots are a great way for companies to get in touch with their customers directly and thus directly learn valuable insights and preferences. If you know your user well and can better assess wishes, you can also increase your conversion rate and turn a user into a loyal customer. And smart chatbots also make things easier for users: They can facilitate annoying searches and prevent page by page clicking through, significantly improving the customer experience.
