What are Ecommerce Chatbots? Types, Examples, Benefits, Use Cases [2024]

According to a survey, around one-third of clients agreed that chatbots are incredibly useful and successful at fixing their problems. Moreover, chatbots are recognised as the communication channel with the quickest rate of growth. 

Customers may benefit from chatbots just as much as enterprises can. Available round the clock, they serve and engage with customers anytime, anywhere, thus resolving their queries. Furthermore, they also provide a customer support team to attend to more important tasks and queries. 

But how can chatbots revolutionise the Ecommerce industry? What are Ecommerce AI chatbots? What are its benefits and use cases for the Ecommerce industry? This detailed guide on Ecommerce chatbots will help you explore all these questions.  

What Are Ecommerce Chatbots? 

AI-powered computer programmes called e-commerce chatbots are made to interact with customers at every stage of the purchasing process. They interact with website visitors in real time as automated programmes, improving the entire buying experience. 

These chatbots are essential to the$1.25 billion Ecommerce chatbot  market since they can do everything from provide product recommendations and answer questions to gather customer feedback. 

Chatbots for e-commerce websites that function in real-time save money, improve customer support, and enable multi-channel communication at large scale. Their ability to offer self-service alternatives, enhance user experience, and make product recommendations has contributed to their appeal. 

By 2027, 25% of businesses will use chatbots as their main customer support tool, predicts Gartner. These chatbots provide seamless, customised buying experiences while saving merchants money and time. Ecommerce chatbots, which make consumer involvement efficient and successful, are the future of online shopping. They work by using a set of established conditions, triggers, and events.

7 Benefits of Ecommerce Chatbots 

Chatbots for Ecommerce websites offer a plethora of advantages that not only enhance customer experience but also contribute significantly to the efficiency and success of Ecommerce ventures. Let us delve into the 7 key advantages that highlight the transformative impact of chatbots for Ecommerce websites:

1. 24/7 Support

Ecommerce chatbots guarantee that customers can get help day or night with their round-the-clock customer service. Being accessible around-the-clock improves client happiness and loyalty by quickly responding to questions, concerns, or problems. The chatbot for an e-commerce website is always available to offer prompt assistance, enhancing the consumer experience regardless of the time of day or night the user is buying.

2. Product Guidance

As virtual assistants, e-commerce AI chatbots provide individualised product recommendations based on customer preferences, actions, and queries. Chatbots can provide comprehensive information, provide product recommendations, and assist users in making decisions by getting to know their requirements and preferences.

Because they will receive timely and appropriate product recommendations, customers will experience a better overall browsing experience and are more likely to convert.

3. Save Time and Resources

By automating repetitive operations and questions, organisations can save significant time and resources by implementing Ecommerce chatbots. Chatbots can handle frequently asked questions. Chatbots have the capability to address approximately 80% of the commonly encountered queries.

It can also assist with order tracking and facilitate the checkout process, allowing human staff to focus on more complex and strategic aspects of Ecommerce customer service The automation of repetitive tasks not only streamlines operations but also contributes to cost-efficiency, ultimately benefiting the bottom line of Ecommerce businesses.

4. Cost Reduction

Chatbots for Ecommerce websites can help in cutting operational costs by automating routine tasks. Task such as handling inquiries, processing orders, and providing basic customer support, can be automated and businesses can significantly reduce the need for human intervention. As a result, labour expenses are reduced and human resources may concentrate on more difficult and valuable activities. This eventually boosts productivity and reduces costs. A new analysis claims that chatbots are currently saving  $20 million in company costs worldwide.

5. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

Ecommerce chatbots contribute to improved customer satisfaction by providing instant and round-the-clock assistance. Consumers value prompt answers to their questions, and chatbots are excellent at providing precise and fast information. Research findings indicate that 69% of consumers express a positive perception regarding the utility of chatbots in their interactions. 

Chatbots consistently exhibit a friendly, courteous, and supportive nature. They possess the patience to attentively listen to customers, comprehend their inquiries, and progressively enhance their capabilities with each interaction. These inherent qualities render chatbots highly proficient communicators and invaluable assistants to customers.

6. Integration with Multiple Platforms and Social Media

Ecommerce AI chatbots can seamlessly integrate with various platforms and social media channels. Companies can interact with clients on the platforms where they are most active. Interactions and personalisation will expanding the brand's overall audience and visibility.  

Integration with social media also facilitates personalised marketing and communication. It will create a more connected and interactive shopping experience for users across different channels. Popular social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, and Ecommerce sites like Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce, are all easily integrated with the chatbot.

7. Personalisation

Ecommerce chatbots enable personalised interactions with customers by leveraging data and artificial intelligence. Through analysing customer preferences, purchase history, and behaviour, chatbots can tailor recommendations and responses to individual users. 

This tailored method increases consumer satisfaction, conversion rates, and brand loyalty. 

Businesses may create a more engaging and satisfying online purchase experience by identifying and responding to each customer's particular needs.

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Types of Ecommerce Chatbots

Within the realm of Ecommerce chatbots, three distinct types stand out, each designed to cater to specific aspects. Understanding these variations—Simple Chatbots, Smart Chatbots, and Hybrid Chatbots—can empower businesses to deploy more targeted and effective solutions tailored to their unique requirements. Let's explore the different types of chatbots for Ecommerce websites.

1. Simple Chatbots

Simple Ecommerce chatbots are rule-based and operate within predefined parameters. They follow a set of predefined rules and can respond to specific keywords or commands. They are suitable for basic customer queries, order tracking, and providing general information. However, they may struggle with complex or ambiguous queries.

2. Smart Chatbots

Smart Ecommerce chatbots, also known as AI-powered chatbots, leverage machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. They can understand context, learn from interactions, and improve over time. 

These Ecommerce chatbots excel in handling more complex queries, personalising user interactions, and providing a more natural conversational experience. They are often employed for tasks like product recommendations, personalised marketing, and resolving more intricate customer issues.

3. Hybrid Chatbots

Simple and intelligent chatbot components are combined in hybrid e-commerce chatbots. They use machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for more dynamic and adaptable interactions, while still using predetermined rules for specific activities. 

A balance is achieved between simplicity and intelligence by hybrid chatbots. They are appropriate for a variety of Ecommerce settings due to their versatility and ability to accomplish a wide range of jobs. They can help with order processing, frequently asked questions, and changing to meet the demands of the user.

5 Use Cases of Ecommerce Chatbots in 2024

In Ecommerce, chatbots have emerged as invaluable tools for transforming customer interactions and enhancing the overall shopping experience. As of right now, around 80 per cent of companies worldwide are using chatbots. Let us explore 5 compelling use cases of chatbots for Ecommerce websites, their diverse applications and the significant impact they have on optimising user engagement and fostering customer satisfaction.

1. Answer FAQs

Ecommerce AI chatbots are very useful for answering frequently asked questions. Not only do they efficiently provide the answers, but they also omit the chances of any delay or human error. A customer gets 24/7 assistance through chatbots. On top of that, chatbots are designed to speak multiple languages. This enhances smooth communication. 

Customers also get quick, on-demand responses to their queries through these chatbots. Instant gratification is what chatbots offer easily. In fact, by providing fast and accurate answers, chatbots can reduce the rate of customer service interactions by up to 80 per cent. 

2. Engage With Customers

The two-way informative communication between a customer and an Ecommerce chatbot is comparatively more effective than the one-way push of updates. Interaction of a customer with a chatbot improves product understanding, and hence, chances of sale increase. Chatbots also send notifications after a conversation so that a customer gets gentle reminders at regular intervals. 

Using Natural Language Processing (NLP), chatbots can interpret anything in human language and present a customer with engaging images and videos accordingly to make understanding easier. They also send emails to customers as follow-ups to keep them hooked. Not only notifications and emails but chatbots also send broadcast messages to customers regarding new launches, offers, etc. 

3. Collect Customer Information and Feedback

Through surveys, polls, and rating systems, Ecommerce chatbots can easily bring together customers' opinions about a product during or after the purchase. A company can further collect these data to have a clear idea about a customer's experience and satisfaction level. 

The feedback collected by the Ecommerce AI chatbots also highlights the potential areas of improvement that a company must look after. To benefit a company's reputation, chatbots also allow negative comments to be gauged before they are posted online. This way, a company can resolve an issue before it comes into the spotlight. 

4. Assist Customers in Shopping

Ecommerce AI Chatbots make shopping easier for customers by providing quick and personalised assistance across different aspects of the buying process. Ecommerce Chatbots keep a record of a customer's order history, field of interest and other preferences to recommend products that the customer may like. They are not limited to operating hours and can assist a customer 24/7 regarding any purchase interest.

Chatbots offer real-time tracking of products so that the customers have a clear idea about their orders' whereabouts. A customer can get help with size guides, pricing, and product variants quite easily through chatbots. Chatbots can easily synchronise with many other support channels to maintain a consistent quality of services.

5. Help Customers with Order Tracking and Other Updates

Ecommerce chatbots excel in providing real-time updates to customers regarding their orders. Clients may seek information regarding the progress of their orders, anticipated delivery schedules, and any pertinent updates. A notable 71% of consumers express a preference for utilising chatbots as a means of verifying their order statuses. 

Chatbots may retrieve and transmit precise information by integrating with order management systems and tracking tools, providing customers with an easy-to-use means of remaining updated about their purchases. By keeping consumers informed and involved throughout the purchasing process, this not only lessens the effort for customer care teams but also improves the entire customer experience.

5 Examples of Ecommerce Chatbots

Here are the top 5 examples of how Ecommerce AI Chatbots are used in the industry.

1. Sephora  

The leader of international beauty retail, Sephora, became the first beauty brand to adopt and integrate Ecommerce chatbots in 2017. Currently, Sephora has three Ecommerce chatbots, namely, Kik bot, Sephora Virtual Assist and Sephora Reservation Assistant. 

Together, these chatbots assist the users throughout their buying journey on the platform. The Virtual Assist scans the customer's face and helps them choose the perfect product according to their skin type and needs. The Reservation Assistant helps customers to book their appointments hassle-free without having to visit the store physically. Furthermore, Kik is the perfect virtual beauty assistant thus guiding and assisting customers in their offline shopping journey at Sephora.

This technological integration of chatbots was successful. The number of orders placed increased by 11% for the US. Furthermore, users who booked their appointments via chatbot spent at least $50 during their in-store appointments.

2. Gymshark 

The workout and fitness apparel and products brand on Shopify, Gymshark, has launched a website chatbot which assists users post their purchases. It helps users by answering their queries about their order status, shipping, delivery, and refunds. Moreover, it also has a help centre wherein users can resolve complex queries. 

3. H&M 

The global clothing retailer H&M has also introduced a chatbot that acts as a digital stylist for customers. To understand the customer's needs, it presents a short quiz with pictures to the users to comprehend the user's taste. 

Then, it helps them with suggestions based on their preferences. It not only assists the customers in finding the perfect outfit within minutes but also saves them from having to browse thousands of outfits. 

The best part is that it remembers the users' preferences for their future shopping experience and retargets them with better recommendations.

4. Louis Vuitton 

The luxury brand Louis Vuitton launched a chatbot on Facebook Messenger named the LV Virtual Advisor chatbot. This AI-based chatbot, powered by mode.ai, provides a more conversational and personalised experience to its users. 

The key function of this chatbot is to converse and communicate with the user to help them navigate the full range of products. Furthermore, it uses natural language processing to personalise its suggestions based on the user's specific preferences.

Besides this, users can directly share their favourite or wishlist products with their friends via chatbots. The chatbot also provides the users with other useful information related to the brand and its product, such as product care, nearby store locations, brand history and craftsmanship. 

5. DeSerres 

The famous Canadian art and leisure supply chain DeSerres integrated an Ecommerce AI chatbot to engage with their increasing number of customers across various channels. The key function of this chatbot revolved around offering personalised product suggestions to its users. 

The chatbot guides users to express their preferences, recommends available products, and offers an option to explore further details. If interested, users can proceed to purchase the selected item on the subsequent page.

Conclusion 

With brands such as Sephora and Louis Vuitton leading the AI in Ecommerce revolution, chatbots are gaining popularity due to their benefits for both retailers and customers. They are available 24/7, versatile and automate the monotonous jobs of customer support. They also help in providing a better and personalised user experience anytime, anywhere. 

If you're looking forward to incorporating Ecommerce chatbots in your business, then look no further than App0. App0 brings you an AI shopping concierge, which serves as a customer support representative for customers at your Ecommerce store. This AI concierge is a market expert well-trained to understand your business, customers and product portfolio and customers. Besides understanding and adapting just to your customers, it also learns your business processes, integrating them to boost customer acquisition and retention marketing. 

The best part is your customers can literally start their conversation anywhere- from text, SMS, web chat or directly from the website. Integrating seamlessly, our AI concierge can handle all types of customer requests right, from offering personalised product recommendations to queries related to order management and post-sales support. 

Here's why leading Ecommerce giants trust App0 when it comes to conversational commerce. With App0, you can guide your customers to order their favourite products anytime, hassle-free, with just a simple text—no downloads, accounts, or logins required! Moreover, it also has a chat-driven Seamless Checkout feature, which facilitates checkout for customers without having them exit the conversation thread. Getting started is a breeze; connect your data for tailored AI training. Let App0 transform your business by improving your customer service—request a demo now and witness the impact firsthand!

Ecommerce Chatbots: FAQs