To have a successful e-commerce business you cannot just rely on product assortment, interesting prices and a good marketing strategy. You have to know how to communicate with customers in your channels in a convenient way.
We are increasingly diving deep into a new form of commerce, where consumers consider convenience, agility, and simplicity fundamental requirements for making purchases.
This way, conversational commerce is gaining prominence and is a reality in many countries, becoming a trend that in the next 3 to 5 years will become common among retailers and e-commerce manufacturers.
In this article, you will learn a little more about conversational commerce, a trend that is changing online retail and positively impacting the consumer's shopping experience.
What is Conversational Commerce?
The term conversational commerce was first used by Chris Messina and refers to any kind of real-time conversation between brands and customers, whether by messaging apps, chatbots, artificial intelligence, or people, with the goal of selling or buying.
The concept of conversational commerce goes beyond the use of messaging apps to sell products, it is a combination of consultation services, order updates, payment information, and more.
In this way, the customer has much more agility in finding exactly what he or she is looking for, without having to waste time navigating the site in search of specific information. Conversational commerce can provide more convenience in the consumer's buying journey by enabling conversations with the brand.
What are the advantages of using conversational commerce in your strategy?
It's not new that people have shown they value social interaction, which leads many online retailers to use artificial intelligence, social media tools, and personalized fulfillment strategies to improve the shopping experience on their channels.
A survey conducted by Facebook shows that about 66% of consumers are more confident in making a purchase when the company is active in messaging applications. Thus, conversational commerce has a positive impact on online business strategy, such as:
- Personalization of servicePersonalization of customer service, since the focus of this strategy is that the experience in digital channels is as unique as what happens in a physical store.
- Reduces customer waiting time Reduces customer waiting time, due to the use of artificial intelligence as a way to provide convenience to the customer and the online retailer.
- Focus on customer trust and loyaltyFocus on customer trust and loyalty, as conversational commerce is used as a tool to redefine purchases and expand personalization of the sales process.
- Personalization in post-salesFocus on customer trust and loyalty, as conversational commerce is used as a tool to redefine purchases and expand the personalization of the sales process
- Enhanced shopping experience in all channels, since it is an excellent tool for omnichannel operations that work with physical stores.
If well done, conversational commerce can be a strong ally for customer satisfaction and conversion gains. The whole process provides more security for the consumer, as well as convenience and ease of service, sale, and post-sale.
Did you like to learn about conversational commerce? If you want to know more about e-commerce trends, read our e-book "E-commerce Trends 2022".
