Retail Chatbot: What are the top 5 use cases?
According to Juniper Research, spending on retail chatbots is expected to rise to over a billion as retailers are increasingly adding them to their websites. The chatbots help online stores dish out promo codes, answer FAQs, and share product recommendations, just to name a few.
If you have an online retail shop then chatbots can help contribute to your sales. Well, sounds easy right. Therefore, it raises the question:
How can I use retail chatbots to grow my revenue and enhance my brand image? Let's explore why they are common among fast-growing businesses.
But don't take our word for it, let's explore retail chatbots in detail.
What is a retail chatbot?
A retail chatbot is an automated software solution that acts as a shopping assistant to consumers and is based on a text or voice interface. What makes these virtual assistants unique is they can be embedded into a web page, mobile app, Facebook Messenger, and other social media applications.
A retail chatbot can either be rule or AI-based. Rule-based chatbots follow a set of guidelines to receive and respond to customer inputs. A rule-based chatbot responds to frequently answered questions by sharing canned responses.
On the other hand, an AI-based chatbot integrates machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to mimic normal human-like conversations. However, the responses from AI-based chatbots aren't your typical canned responses. Artificial intelligence is capable of understanding the context of a customer's question and providing an appropriate response.
How can retail chatbots improve your ecommerce site?
If you are looking for an automated customer service channel that allows you to get closer to your audience, without having to rely on the overwhelmed sales teams, retail chatbots may be the way to go. This channel not only reduces the pressure on your sales reps but it also enhances the user experience for your customers.
Here are three benefits of using retail chatbots for your website.
Offers personalized shopping experience—retail chatbots analyze customer information, preferences, and past conversation history to provide unique experiences to audiences. According to a report by McKinsey, 80% of customers prefer a more personalized shopping experience.
Enhances efficiency in customer service—Research by Gartner shows that businesses that use a chatbot experience a 70% decrease in live chat, call, and email queries. Chatbots can complement the efforts of live agents by screening customer requests, responding to common questions, and directing complex issues to live agents.
Provide instant feedback—Most customers are very impatient and prefer interacting with a chatbot in real-time compared to waiting for responses via email or SMS. A study has shown over 50% of consumers find it frustrating to be put on hold by a service agent or wait too long for a response. Retail chatbots provide 24/7 support and handle customer inquiries, complaints, and product recommendations.
Conduct customer surveys—Businesses can use retail chatbots to run post-survey chats and collect customer feedback. The information gained from these surveys can be analyzed by AI technology and the insights gained shared with CX team members.
Proper handling of returns and exchanges—retail chatbots can streamline the process of handling returns and exchanges by steering consumers and providing shipping labels. This removes bottlenecks associated with customer refunds and improves customer satisfaction.
With that said—Let’s dig in.
Read more: Find out more on AI bots for sales
The best retail chatbot for Ecommerce
lookfor
Lookfor is the new AI sidekick for Shopify stores—think of it as a super helpful, always-on-available employee that’s got your back.
It’s all about making shopping smoother by auto-segmenting people, slashing support tickets with conversational AI chats, grabbing leads through fun little games, and boosting sales with smart product suggestions.
Whether someone’s ditching their cart or hunting for the perfect item, Lookfor’s there to nudge them along and turn browsers into buyers. It’s like having a laid-back, tech-savvy pal who keeps the good vibes flowing while quietly crushing it for your business!
Main features:
Knowledge base
Live chat software
Proactive customer service through quizzes and magic
AI product recommendations
Customer Intent Score mechanism
Customer Journey Tracking
Free version available
Starter ($39/mo)
Growth ($129/mo)
Enterprise ($599/mo)
Read more: Check out our top 6 AI chatbot tools you can use for your online store.
Top 5 retail chatbot use cases—Lookfor
We have seen some of the positive attributes of using chatbots and how artificial intelligence is leveling the playing field. The following are some of the most impactful conversational AI chatbot use cases:
Reduces cart abandonment
In an online jewelry store on Shopify, a customer might add a necklace to their cart but abandon it due to hesitation over price, sizing, or uncertainty about style. Lookfor can intervene with a proactive messaging, such as, “Still interested in your gold necklace? We’ll save your cart—use code JEWEL15 for 15% off now!” or “Need help choosing the perfect chain length? Let’s engage.”
Product expert
Lookfor’s features include displaying product images in chat carousels when customers initiate the shopping assistant on a product detail page. This is because if a customer has a question about a product, they can easily ask, and Lookfor will answer just like a sales associate with 70 years of experience.
Learn more: Acero Padel Sales Up 25% After Installing Lookfor
Increases agent productivity
Your customer service agents are a critical part of your business operations and therefore must work at peak efficiency. Retail chatbots can ease the workload of your agents in several ways. To begin with, retail bots can offer responses to common questions instead of directing them to human agents.
Moreover, they can collect customer information like names or account numbers to share it with a service agent. Chatbots can help agents respond to consumers by offering suggestions to answers, directing agents to relevant help documents, and providing real-time translation via live chat.
Improve lead qualification (customer intent score)
By integrating with Shopify, Lookfor can track visitor behavior (e.g., pages viewed, items added to wishlist) and use that customer data for tailored messaging. For instance, if a visitor abandons a product page for a rowing machine, Lookfor might follow up with, “Love the rowing machine?
Sign up for our newsletter for a coupon and expert workout tips—enter your email here!” This not only generates a lead but also nurtures it for future sales, aligning with Lookfor’s “Increase conversion with AI shopping expert” feature.
Order Tracking
By default, Lookfor enables shoppers to track their orders on its platform. If user is logged in on Shopify, they can easily see all their orders and their status on Lookfor panel. If not they could also track orders manually. Here's an example of logged in customer 👇🏼
Read more: Discover the best AI solutions for your ecommerce website.
Final thoughts
It’s safe to say chatbots are not just a fad but are here to stay. If you want a surge in conversion rates you may have to consider a retail chatbot. From reducing cart abandonment to order tracking and notifications, it has several use cases.
Ultimately choosing the best retail chatbot is necessary for customer satisfaction. If you are looking for agile, customizable software for your online retail store that’s simple to use, then consider Lookfor.
