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Use of chatbots in retail

Chatbots are actively used in the field of trade and demonstrate high performance indicators due to ease of use, availability for business and wide functionality. Research indicates that the size of a company's revenue correlates with its availability to customers in various digital communication channels. 

Having analyzed the rapid pace of development of chatbots over the past years, specialists predict that in 2023 bots will sell goods worth more than $112 billion, and in 2024 – $142 billion.


Advantages of using chatbots in retail

Virtual assistants are quickly taking over the field of sales – the number of retail chatbots is increasing every day. Chat bot for sales in messenger – trend channel of communication with the audience. What opportunities are available to a business using a bot? 

  1. Instant response 24/7

The bot is capable of fully conducting dialogue and selling goods without the presence of a manager. Most customer questions are standard – they have clearly formed answers, according to the business communication policy. The integration of the bot with the CRM system allows it to access the user's purchase history and immediately offer a product that meets the needs. 

51% of customers expect an instant response, so the business is forced to hire additional employees to ensure the company's work at night, on weekends, and on holidays. The chatbot allows you to avoid unnecessary resource costs, as it works 24/7 processing many requests at the same time. 


  1. Loyalty level increase

In addition to fast communication, it is worth noting its quality. A third of customers choose a competitor's company after one unsuccessful communication with the business. The bot works according to pre-written scripts, and it is impossible to deviate from them. However, it is important to understand that virtual assistants are currently not perfect, and some clients require special attention or ask non-standard questions – for these cases, most retail chatbots have additional functions: request to contact an operator or the ability to leave a question for further processing. 

It is worth noting separately the possibility of implementing a loyalty program. The loyalty program exists on the company's websites and applications, but it is not always convenient for the client: the site requires constant authorizations, and the mobile application uses additional resources of the client's smartphone. A chatbot for retail in the messenger saves the client's time and resources, which positively affects his client experience. 


  1. Cutting costs and increasing income

A chatbot for an online store completely eliminates the “human factor” – even the best managers get stressed, tired, and make mistakes from time to time. All of this has a negative impact on conversion and cost per customer for the company, reducing profits. The bot will not be able to enter an incorrect address or other data, because it works completely automatically. According to research, implementing a chatbot for sales can improve business performance by 5-20%. 

Chatbot development costs less than a mobile application, and making any changes to functionality takes less time. 


  1. Optimizing the work of the HR department

Bots are able not only to improve business communication with customers, but also to optimize internal company processes. For example, a supermarket chain faces the need to find and hire staff. HR chatbot can collect questionnaires and resumes, conduct surveys, improve adaptation, help fill out documents correctly, etc. Thanks to the automation of daily repetitive tasks, the HR department receives resources to solve issues that require the presence of a manager. 


  1. Starting sales funnels

The auto-funnel scenario can be implemented through all available business channels, but the chatbot in the messenger has the advantage – the possibility of full implementation of the funnel from warming up the audience to placing an order and selling. The work of the autofunnel consists of at least four basic stages: attracting the attention of the client, issuing a lead magnet, offering a product or service on favorable terms, and transitioning to communication with the manager. The chatbot communicates with the client not only at the last stage of the car registration, but also accompanies him throughout the entire communication. 


  1. Delegation of most tasks

Chat bot for retail was created to optimize and automate routine tasks: consulting customers, selling goods, placing an order, receiving payment, informing about the status of the order, collecting feedback’ binding, etc. 


  1. Structure of customer data

Integration with the CRM system allows the chatbot to automatically collect and save data about the client in the process of communication, and in the next communication to use them to save the client's time. For example, if the bot already knows the delivery address, phone number and name of the customer, has card data for debiting the payment, then the purchase process is much faster. The bot not only uses client data for its own work, but also stores them in the specified location for the convenience of the manager. An employee of the company can get acquainted with the information at any time and does not spend a lot of time searching. 

The formation of the customer card is also used for marketing purposes – formation of triggers, creation of promotions and mailings, implementation of personal offers, etc. 

  1. Obmin, povernennya tovaru ta zbir zvorotnoho zv’yazku

Mozhlyvistʹ povernuty abo obminyaty tovar bez neobkhidnosti spilkuvannya z operatorom pokrashchuye kliyent·sʹkyy dosvid ta ekonomytʹ resursy personalu. Bot provodytʹ opytuvannya shchodo prychyn obminu/povernennya i peredaye zibrani dani menedzheru dlya obrobky. 

Takozh, chat-bot dlya prodazhu tovariv zbyraye zvorotnyy zv’yazok metodom prostykh i shvydkykh opytuvanʹ. Zavdyaky roboti bez uchasti menedzhera – chat-bot mozhna porivnyaty iz tayemnym pokuptsem. Kliyent ne vidchuvaye nezruchnistʹ u besidi z robotom, tomu zalyshaye vidhuk shchyro. 


Yakyy biznes potrebuye vprovadzhennya ryteyl chat-bota u mesendzheri?

Funktsionalʹno virtualʹnyy pomichnyk obmezhenyy lyshe mozhlyvostyamy mesendzhera, tomu tsey instrument stane u nahodi praktychno kozhnomu vydu biznesu u sferi rozdribnoyi torhivli. 

Varto zadumatysʹ pro stvorennya retail chat-bota, yakshcho khocha b odne tverdzhennya mozhna zastosuvaty dlya vashoho biznesu:

  • Operatoram potribno bilʹshe chasu dlya obrobky zamovlenʹ 
  • Kliyenty chasto zalyshayutʹ nehatyvni vidhuky shchodo shvydkosti abo yakosti obsluhovuvannya
  • Zaluchennya novykh kliyentiv u mobilʹnyy zastosunok koshtuye nadto doroho
  • Rozsylannya na email bilʹshe ne pratsyuyutʹ abo mayutʹ nyzʹku konversiyu
  • U kliyentiv vynykayutʹ skladnoshchi z poshukom informatsiyi na sayti abo u zastosunku
  • Kliyenty neokhoche zalyshayutʹ zvorotnyy zv’yazok pid chas spilkuvannya z operatorom

Yak pidvyshchyty efektyvnistʹ chat-bota dlya prodazhiv?

Pry rozrobtsi chat-bota vazhlyvym etapom ye stvorennya dialohu z kliyentom takym chynom, shchob bot vykonuvav holovni zadachi: yakisna konsulʹtatsiya i prodazh tovaru. Varto zvernuty uvahu na kilʹkistʹ stsenariyiv – naybilʹshe nehatyvnykh vidhukiv zbyrayutʹ boty zi skladnoyu systemoyu stsenariyiv, koly korystuvach ne mozhe shvydko zoriyentuvatysya i otrymaty dopomohu. 

Ne varto perenasychuvaty bota velykoyu kilʹkistyu opytuvanʹ – vytrachaty bahato chasu na zvorotnyy zv’yazok mozhe lyshe nayteplisha audytoriya. 

Pry stvorenni tekstiv do chat-bota unykayte shablonnykh zapytanʹ ta vidpovidey. Kontent bota maye buty tsinnym dlya tsilʹovoyi audytoriyi. Yakshcho zh unyknuty banalʹnykh pytanʹ nemozhlyvo, varto vykorystovuvaty tone of voice – osoblyvyy i unikalʹnyy stylʹ spilkuvannya brendu. Tsey metod dopomozhe kliyentu vidriznyaty biznes vid desyatkiv konkurentiv. 

Vazhlyvo zabezpechuvaty chat-bota trafikom, vkazavshy link na nʹoho na sayti, u rozsylannyakh, za dopomohoyu reklamy toshcho.

Yakshcho vsi poperedni porady vzhe bulo zastosovano, vykorystovuyte dodatkovi marketynhovi instrumenty, napryklad, chat-bot dlya prodazhu avtozapchastyn pislya oformlennya zamovlennya mozhe zaproponuvaty prydbaty zi znyzhkoyu aromatyzator dlya avto zi znyzhkoyu po karti loyalʹnosti. 


Yak obraty funktsional chat-bota dlya ryteyla u Viber, Telegram? 

Chitkykh instruktsiy dlya tsʹoho ne isnuye. Pry stvorenni i nalashtuvanni takoho chat-bota neobkhidno vrakhovuvaty osoblyvosti biznesu, tomu komanda Gerabot provodytʹ indyvidualʹne detalʹne analitychne doslidzhennya dlya vyznachennya optymalʹnoho funktsionalu. 

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  1. Exchanging, returning goods and collecting feedback

The ability to return or exchange goods without the need to communicate with the operator improves the customer experience and saves staff resources. The bot conducts a survey on the reasons for the exchange/return and passes the collected data to the manager for processing. 

Also, the chatbot for selling goods collects feedback using simple and quick surveys. Thanks to the work without the participation of the manager – a chatbot can be compared to a mystery shopper. The client does not feel uncomfortable in the conversation with the robot, so he leaves feedback sincerely. 


Which business needs the introduction of a retail chatbot in the messenger?

Functionally, the virtual assistant is limited only to the capabilities of the messenger, so this tool will be useful for almost every type of business in the field of retail trade. 

You should consider creating a retail chatbot if at least one statement can be applied to your business:

  • Operators need more time to process orders 
  • Customers often leave negative feedback about the speed or quality of service
  • Attracting new customers to a mobile application is too expensive
  • Emails no longer work or have low conversion
  • Customers have difficulty finding information on the site or in the application
  • Customers are reluctant to leave feedback when communicating with the operator

How to improve the effectiveness of a chatbot for sales?

When developing a chat bot, an important stage is to create a dialogue with the client in such a way that the bot performs the main tasks: quality consultation and product sales. It is worth paying attention to the number of scenarios – the most negative reviews are collected by bots with a complex script system, when the user cannot quickly navigate and get help. 

Do not overload the bot with a large number of surveys – only the warmest audience can spend a lot of time on feedback. 

When creating texts for the chatbot, avoid template questions and answers. The content of the bot should be valuable to the target audience. If it is impossible to avoid banal questions, it is worth using tone of voice – a special and unique brand communication style. This method will help the client distinguish the business from dozens of competitors. 

It is important to provide the chatbot with traffic by indicating a link to it on the website, in mailings, through advertising, etc.

If all the previous tips have already been applied, use additional marketing tools, for example, a chatbot for selling auto parts after placing an order can offer to buy a discount car air freshener at a discount on the loyalty card. 


How to choose the functionality of a chatbot for retail in Viber, Telegram? 

There are no clear instructions for this. When creating and configuring such a chatbot, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the business, therefore the Gerabot team conducts an individual detailed analytical study to determine the optimal functionality. 

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