Ecommerce chatbots are not just a fad or a gimmick. They are a powerful tool that can help you grow your online business in 2023 and beyond.
According to a recent report by Juniper Research, ecommerce chatbots will generate over $112 billion in sales by 2023. That’s a staggering increase of 400% from 2019.
But what exactly are ecommerce chatbots? How do they work? And how can you use them to boost your sales and revenue?
We will respond to all of these queries in this blog. We will show you:
- What is an ecommerce chatbot and what are the types of e-commerce chatbot platforms
- How an ecommerce chatbot can improve your website in terms of answering FAQs, engaging customers, automating sales, offering post-sale support, and gathering feedback and data
- How to use a chatbot for an ecommerce website in terms of choosing a platform, setting goals, designing conversations, integrating with other channels, and measuring results
- Examples of ecommerce chatbot platforms that you can use for your business
- A bonus guide on how to sell more products on social media using ecommerce chatbots
By the end of this blog post, you will have everything you need to know about e-commerce chatbots and how to leverage them for your online success.
Let’s get started!
What is are Ecommerce Chatbots?
E-commerce chatbots are computer programs that interact with your website visitors in real-time using text or voice messages. It can provide customer service, answer questions, recommend products, process orders, collect feedback, and much more.
There are three types of ecommerce chatbot platforms that you can choose from:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) driven chatbots that use natural language processing and conversational AI to mimic human behaviour and speech patterns. They can understand complex queries and provide personalized responses.
- Rules-based chatbots that offer answers to predefined questions that a user may ask. They follow a fixed logic or flowchart to guide the user through a conversation.
- Hybrid chatbots that combine AI and rules-based conversations. They can switch between the two modes depending on the context and user input.
Most ecommerce chatbots integrate with popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Google Business Messenger. This allows you to offer omnichannel shopping experiences for your customers and reach them where they are most active.
How an Ecommerce Chatbot Can Improve Your Website
E-commerce chatbots can improve your website functionality and user experience in many ways. Here are some of the benefits that they can offer:
Answer FAQs
One of the most common uses of ecommerce chatbots is to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) that your customers may have. These could be about your products, services, prices, shipping, returns, policies, or anything else related to your business.
By using ecommerce chatbots to answer FAQs, you can save time and money by reducing the workload of your customer service team. You can also improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by providing instant and accurate answers 24/7.
For example, Neoleads is an ecommerce chatbot platform that helps you generate more leads and sales for your online store. It can answer FAQs such as “How do I track my order?”, “What is your return policy?”, or “Do you offer free shipping?”.
Neoleads can also provide more information about your products, such as features, benefits, reviews, or ratings. It can even upsell or cross-sell related products to increase your average order value.
Engage Customers
Another benefit of ecommerce chatbots is that they can engage your customers and keep them interested in your brand. They can do this by using humour, emojis, gifs, or other creative elements to make the conversation more fun and human.
Ecommerce chatbots can also use personalization and segmentation to tailor the conversation to each customer based on their needs, preferences, behaviours, and characteristics. They can use data such as name, location, purchase history, browsing history, or feedback to customize their messages and offers.
For example, Neoleads can greet your customers by their name and ask them about their interests or preferences. It can then recommend products that match their taste and style.
Neoleads can also send personalized messages to your customers based on their actions or events. For instance, it can send a welcome message to new subscribers, a thank you message to repeat buyers, a birthday message to loyal customers, or a cart abandonment message to potential buyers.
Automate Sales
One of the most powerful benefits of ecommerce chatbots is that they can automate your sales process and increase your conversion rate. They can do this by guiding your customers through the buyer’s journey from awareness to purchase.
E-commerce chatbots can use various techniques to persuade your customers to buy from you, such as:
- Offering discounts, coupons, or freebies
- Creating urgency or scarcity
- Providing social proof or testimonials
- Addressing objections or concerns
- Asking for feedback or reviews
For example, Neoleads can offer discounts or freebies to your customers based on their purchase amount or frequency. It can also create urgency or scarcity by showing how many items are left in stock or how long the offer will last.
Neoleads can also provide social proof or testimonials by showing how many people have bought or liked a product. It can also address objections or concerns by providing guarantees, warranties, or refunds.
Neoleads can also ask for feedback or reviews from your customers after they have made a purchase. It can then use this feedback to improve your products or services or to display it on your website or social media.
Offer Post-Sale Support
Another benefit of ecommerce chatbots is that they can offer post-sale support to your customers and improve your retention rate. They can do this by providing after-sales services such as:
- Order confirmation and tracking
- Delivery notification and confirmation
- Return and exchange requests and processing
- Refund request and processing
- Customer satisfaction survey and rating
By using ecommerce chatbots to offer post-sale support, you can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty by providing timely and convenient services. You can also reduce customer complaints and negative reviews by resolving issues quickly and efficiently.
For example, Neoleads can send order confirmation and tracking information to your customers after they have placed an order. It can also send delivery notifications and confirmation when the order has been shipped and delivered.
Neoleads can also handle return and exchange requests from your customers. It can process the requests automatically or escalate them to a human agent if needed. It can also handle refund requests from your customers. Neoleads can process the refunds automatically or escalate them to a human agent if needed.
Neoleads can also send customer satisfaction surveys and ratings to your customers after they have received their orders. It can collect feedback from your customers on various aspects such as product quality, delivery speed, customer service, etc. It can then use this feedback to improve your business performance and reputation.
Gather Feedback and Data
Another benefit of ecommerce chatbots is that they can gather feedback and data from your customers and use it to improve your business performance and strategy. They can do this by asking questions, conducting surveys, or collecting ratings from your customers.
By using ecommerce chatbots to gather feedback and data, you can gain valuable insights into your customer behaviour, preferences, needs, and satisfaction. You can also identify the strengths and weaknesses of your products, services, or website. You can then use this information to optimize your marketing, sales, or customer service efforts.
For example, Neoleads can ask questions to your customers such as “What are you looking for?”, “What are your pain points?”, or “How did you find us?”. It can then use this data to divide up your consumer base into groups according to their preferences, requirements, or sources. It can also use this information to personalize your offers, recommendations, or messages.
-Conduct Surveys
Neoleads can also conduct surveys to your customers such as “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?”, “How satisfied are you with our product?”, or “How can we improve our service?”. It can then use this information to measure your customer satisfaction, loyalty, or retention. It can also use this information to improve your product quality, delivery speed, or customer support.
Neoleads can also collect ratings from your customers such as “How do you rate our product on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?”, “How do you rate our delivery on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?”, or “How do you rate our customer service on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?”. It can then use this information to display your product ratings, delivery ratings, or customer service ratings on your website or social media. It can also use this information to improve your product features, delivery options, or customer service skills.
How to Use Chatbots for an Ecommerce Website
Now that you know the benefits of ecommerce chatbots, you might be wondering how to use them for your e-commerce website. Here are some of the steps that you need to follow:
Choose a Platform
The first step is to choose an ecommerce chatbot platform that suits your needs and budget. Many platforms are available in the market, each with its own features, pricing, and integrations.
Some of the factors that you need to consider when choosing a platform are:
- The type of chatbot that you want (AI-driven, rules-based, or hybrid)
- The level of customization and control that you want (low-code, no-code, or code)
- The number of users and conversations that you expect (free, paid, or unlimited)
- The channels and platforms that you want to integrate with (website, social media, email, etc.)
- The analytics and reporting tools that you want to use (dashboard, email, webhook, etc.)
One of the best ecommerce chatbot platforms that we recommend is Neoleads. Neoleads is a no-code platform that allows you to create AI-driven chatbots for your ecommerce website in minutes. It has the following features:
- It integrates with popular ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, etc.
- It supports multiple languages such as English, Hindi, Spanish, French, etc.
- It offers pre-built templates and flows for various e-commerce scenarios such as lead generation, product recommendation, order processing, etc.
- It allows you to customize your chatbot’s appearance, personality, tone, and voice
- It provides analytics and reports on your chatbot’s performance such as leads generated, sales made, conversion rate
- It allows you to test and optimize your chatbot’s performance using A/B testing, live chat, and feedback tools
- It offers a free plan for up to 1,000 users and 10,000 conversations per month and a paid plan for unlimited users and conversations
You can sign up for Neoleads for free and start creating your ecommerce chatbot today.
Set Goals
The second step is to set goals for your ecommerce chatbot. You need to define what you want your chatbot to achieve and how you will measure its success.
Some of the common goals that ecommerce chatbots can help you with are:
- Increase website traffic
- Generate more leads
- Increase sales and revenue
- Reduce cart abandonment
- Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Collect feedback and data
You also need to set key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track and evaluate your chatbot’s performance. Some of the common KPIs that ecommerce chatbots can help you with are:
- Number of users and conversations
- Conversion rate and average order value
- Customer satisfaction score and retention rate
- Feedback score and rating
- Revenue and return on investment
You can use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or Neoleads Dashboard to monitor and analyze your chatbot’s KPIs.
Design Conversations
The third step is to design conversations for your e-commerce chatbot. You need to plan and script the dialogues that your chatbot will have with your customers.
Some of the best practices that you need to follow when designing conversations for your ecommerce chatbot are:
- Use language that is precise and easy to understand for your audience
- Use short and concise messages that your customers can read quickly
- Use open-ended questions that encourage your customers to share more information
- Use closed-ended questions that offer choices or options for your customers to select
- Use confirmations that verify or repeat the information that your customers have provided
- Use fallbacks that handle unexpected or invalid inputs from your customers
- Use buttons, menus, or carousels that make it easy for your customers to navigate or choose products
- Use emojis, gifs, or images that make the conversation more fun and human
You can use tools like Botmock, Botsociety, or Neoleads Builder to design and prototype your chatbot’s conversations.
Integrate with Other Channels
The fourth step is to integrate your ecommerce chatbot with other channels and platforms that you use for your online business. This will help you offer omnichannel shopping experiences for your customers and reach them where they are most active.
Some of the channels and platforms that you can integrate your ecommerce chatbot with are:
- Your website: You can embed your chatbot on your website using a widget or a pop-up. This will help you capture the attention of your website visitors and convert them into customers.
- Your social media: You can connect your chatbot with popular social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, or Google Business Messenger. This will help you communicate with your customers on their preferred messaging apps and sell more products on social media.
- Your email: You can link your chatbot with your email marketing platform such as Mailchimp, Sendinblue, or ConvertKit. This will help you send personalized emails to your customers based on their chatbot interactions and drive more traffic to your website.
- Your CRM: You can sync your chatbot with your customer relationship management (CRM) platform such as HubSpot, Salesforce, or Zoho. This will help you store and manage the data and feedback that you collect from your customers through your chatbot.
You can use tools like Zapier, Integromat, or Neoleads Integrations to integrate your chatbot with other channels and platforms.
Measure Results
The fifth step is to measure the results of your ecommerce chatbot. You need to analyze the data and feedback that you collect from your chatbot and evaluate its performance against your goals and KPIs.
Some of the questions that you need to ask when measuring the results of your ecommerce chatbot are:
- How many users and conversations did your chatbot have?
- How many leads, sales, or revenue did your chatbot generate?
- How many carts did your chatbot recover?
- How satisfied were your customers with your chatbot?
- How loyal were your customers to your brand?
- How much feedback or data did your chatbot collect?
- How much revenue or return on investment did your chatbot bring?
You can use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or Neoleads Dashboard to measure the results of your ecommerce chatbot.
Examples of E-commerce Chatbot Platforms
To give you some inspiration and ideas on how to use ecommerce chatbots for your online business, here are some examples of ecommerce chatbot platforms that you can check out:
Neoleads
As we mentioned before, Neoleads is one of the best ecommerce chatbot platforms that you can use for your online store. It helps you generate more leads and sales for your ecommerce website using AI-driven chatbots.
Neoleads offers the following features:
- It integrates with popular ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, etc.
- It supports multiple languages such as English, Hindi, Spanish, French, etc.
- It offers pre-built templates and flows for various ecommerce scenarios such as lead generation, product recommendation, order processing, etc.
- It allows you to customize your chatbot’s appearance, personality, tone, and voice
- It provides analytics and reports on your chatbot’s performance such as leads generated, sales made, conversion rate
- It allows you to test and optimize your chatbot’s performance using A/B testing, live chat, and feedback tools
- It offers a free plan for up to 1,000 users and 10,000 conversations per month and a paid plan for unlimited users and conversations
You can sign up for Neoleads for free and start creating your ecommerce chatbot today.
Shopify Chat
Shopify Chat is an ecommerce chatbot platform that helps you sell more products on your Shopify store. It allows you to chat with your customers in real-time using text or voice messages.
Shopify Chat offers the following features:
- It integrates with Shopify and other messaging apps such as Apple Business Chat, Facebook Messenger, or Shopify Ping
- It allows you to answer FAQs, recommend products, process orders, offer discounts, or collect feedback from your customers
- It allows you to customize your chatbot’s appearance, name, and greeting message
- It provides analytics and reports on your chatbot’s performance such as the number of chats, sales made, conversion rate
- It is free to use for all Shopify merchants
You can install Shopify Chat from the Shopify App Store and start chatting with your customers today.
ManyChat
ManyChat is an ecommerce chatbot platform that helps you sell more products on Facebook Messenger. It allows you to create and manage chatbots for your Facebook page or ads.
ManyChat offers the following features:
- It integrates with Facebook Messenger and other platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, Mailchimp, etc.
- It allows you to create chatbots using a drag-and-drop visual builder or a code editor
- It allows you to design conversations using text, images, videos, buttons, menus, carousels, or quick replies
- It allows you to segment your customers based on their actions or events
- It allows you to send broadcast messages or automated sequences to your customers
- It provides analytics and reports on your chatbot’s performance such as the number of subscribers, open rate, click rate
- It offers a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers and a paid plan for unlimited subscribers
You can sign up for ManyChat for free and start creating your ecommerce chatbot today.
Bonus: How to Sell More Products on Social Media Using Ecommerce Chatbots
One of the best ways to use ecommerce chatbots is to sell more products on social media. Social media is where most of your customers spend their time and attention. By using e-commerce chatbots on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, or Google Business Messenger, you can reach them where they are most active and engaged.
Here are some of the benefits of using ecommerce chatbots on social media:
- You can increase your brand awareness and visibility by reaching more potential customers
- You can increase your customer engagement and loyalty by providing personalized and interactive experiences
- You can increase your sales and revenue by offering convenient and seamless shopping experiences
Here are some of the steps that you need to follow to sell more products on social media using e-commerce chatbots:
Choose a Platform
The first step is to choose a social media platform that suits your business goals and target audience. Consider the following factors:
- The platform’s user base size and demographics
- The type and quality of the platform’s content and features
- The level of competition and saturation of the platform’s market
- The cost and ease of use of the platform’s tools and integrations
Some of the most popular social media platforms that you can use for ecommerce are:
WhatsApp:
WhatsApp is the world’s most widely used messaging app with over 2 billion users. You can use WhatsApp Business API or WhatsApp Business App to create ecommerce chatbots for your business. You can also use tools like Neoleads or ManyChat to integrate WhatsApp with other platforms such as Shopify or Facebook.
Instagram:
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms for ecommerce with over 1 billion users. You can use Instagram Shopping or Instagram Checkout to create ecommerce chatbots for your business. You can also use tools like Neoleads or ManyChat to integrate Instagram with other platforms such as Shopify or Facebook.
Facebook Messenger:
Facebook Messenger is one of the most powerful social media platforms for ecommerce with over 1.3 billion users. You can use Facebook Messenger Platform or Facebook Shops to create ecommerce chatbots for your business. You can also use tools like Neoleads or ManyChat to integrate Facebook Messenger with other platforms such as Shopify or Instagram.
Google Business Messenger:
Google Business Messenger is a new social media platform for e-commerce that allows you to chat with your customers directly from Google Search or Maps. You can use Google Business Messages API or Google My Business App to create ecommerce chatbots for your business. Tools like Neoleads or ManyChat can also be used to integrate Google Business Messenger with other platforms such as Shopify or WhatsApp.
You can choose one or more of these platforms depending on your business goals and target audience.
Create a Chatbot
The second step is to create a chatbot for your chosen social media platform. You need to design and build the chatbot using the tools and integrations that the platform provides.
Some of the best practices that you need to follow when creating a chatbot for social media are:
- Use the platform’s guidelines and policies to ensure that your chatbot complies with its rules and regulations
- Use the platform’s features and functionalities to enhance your chatbot’s capabilities and user experience
- Use the platform’s branding and style to match your chatbot’s appearance and tone with its look and feel
- Use the platform’s analytics and insights to monitor and optimize your chatbot’s performance and results
You can use tools like Neoleads, ManyChat, or the platform’s native tools to create and manage your chatbot for social media.
Promote Your Chatbot
The third step is to promote your chatbot on your chosen social media platform. You must market and advertise your chatbot to attract and acquire more customers.
Some of the ways that you can promote your chatbot on social media are:
- Create a landing page or a website for your chatbot that showcases its features, benefits, and testimonials
- Create a QR code or a short link for your chatbot that makes it easy for your customers to scan or click
- Create a social media profile or a page for your chatbot that displays its name, logo, description, and contact information
- Create social media posts or stories that highlight your chatbot’s value proposition, offers, or discounts
- Create social media ads or campaigns that target your ideal customers based on their demographics, interests, or behaviours
- Create social media contests or giveaways that incentivize your customers to try or share your chatbot
You can use tools like Neoleads, ManyChat, or the platform’s native tools to promote your chatbot on social media.
Conclusion
Ecommerce chatbots are a game-changer for online businesses in 2023 and beyond. They can help you improve your website functionality and user experience, increase your customer engagement and loyalty, automate your sales process and post-sale support, gather feedback and data from your customers, and sell more products on social media.
To use ecommerce chatbots for your online business, you need to follow these steps:
- Choose an ecommerce chatbot platform that suits your needs and budget
- Set goals for your ecommerce chatbot and define how you will measure its success
- Design conversations for your ecommerce chatbot that are clear, concise, and engaging
- Integrate your ecommerce chatbot with other channels and platforms that you use for your online business
- Measure the results of your ecommerce chatbot and optimize its performance based on data and feedback
To get started with ecommerce chatbots, we recommend using Neoleads. Neoleads is a no-code platform that allows you to create AI-driven chatbots for your e-commerce website in minutes. It has all the features, integrations, and analytics you need to create and manage successful ecommerce chatbots.
You can sign up for Neoleads for free and start creating your e-commerce chatbot today.
We hope this blog post has helped you understand everything you need to know about ecommerce chatbots in 2023. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. We would love to hear from you.
Happy chatting!
