TOPICS: Chatbot for Ecommerce   Chatbot for Service    Chatbot Optimization   

Ecommerce Chatbot – How Chatbots Leverage Shopping Cart Integrations

Ecommerce chatbots are well on their way to becoming permanent fixtures on online stores, and their global success may be attributed to the myriad of benefits that they entail for their users. In this context, the term ‘users’ encompasses both the customers who shop on the ecommerce websites, and the ecommerce businesses themselves. The sections that follow will outline the reasons why building chat bots for ecommerce websites, and integrating them with shopping carts, is a logical step for all modern ecommerce ventures.

Conventional marketing methods need an overhaul.

Conventional marketing methods largely relied on overcoming the challenge of bringing traffic to a website. Tools such as search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertisements, and social media campaigns, were all geared towards achieving this objective. Today, however, the microclimate of ecommerce is marked with unprecedented levels of competition. Due to this, the primary task at hand for modern ecommerce websites involves converting visitors into paying customers. Building chat bots is an effective step in that direction. But a lot more can be achieved by integrating the chatbots with shopping carts.

Shopping cart integrations allow ecommerce chat bots to live up to their full potential. Not only do they remain accessible to shoppers round the clock, they can now assist buyers with specific queries and complaints related to their orders, products they are interested in, and the policies of the ecommerce website. In other words, shopping cart integration upgrades an ecommerce chatbot into a fully-functional virtual customer support representative.

Customers base their purchase decisions on highly specific criteria.

Online shopping has evolved into an exercise that involves searching for the same product on multiple ecommerce websites, and purchasing it from the online store that is offering it at the lowest price. There are some other variables that may change a buyer’s decision, such as their prior experience with a particular ecommerce website, or the return or exchange policies that another offers. While deciding upon the product itself, though, the average shopper’s criteria are not that generic.

The modern online shopper uses multiple parameters to judge the quality or suitability of a product listed on an ecommerce site. Shopping for apparel, for example, entails careful considerations of sizing, material, wash care, and color and pairing options, among others. Similarly, shopping for electronics involves deep research into technical specifications, compatibility with other devices, warranty terms, service center availability, and so on. Shopping cart integrations allow ecommerce chatbots to assist potential buyers with this kind of information.
When ecommerce websites create a chatbot with shopping cart integration, they are able to provide each potential customer with their very own virtual shop assistant. The online chatbot can inform the customer about available sizes, colors, tech specs, or warranty terms, as the case may be. Additionally, it can also assist them with their queries about the website’s refund policies, shipping terms and charges, and matters pertaining to a specific order.

Timely follow-ups are important in ecommerce.

Not all conversations between ecommerce chatbots and online shoppers end with a purchase. Despite customer-centric chatbot development, even the best chatbots for ecommerce websites might not be able to counter issues such as product unavailability, or specific customer requirements that a product is unable to meet. In such situations, online stores can leverage chatbots with shopping cart integrations, to follow up with those customers at a later date. Shopping cart integrations allow chatbots to collect the customers’ contact details, and send them notifications or promotional offers once the product they were looking for is back in stock. This approach plays its part in retaining more customers and gaining their trust.

Learn more about ecommerce chatbot development and other advantages of building chatbots for websites, by reading our blog posts or contacting us.