Sales In A Chatbot: Is The Future Of eCommerce Transaction Automation Through A Conversational Interface?

As chatbots become more sophisticated and prevalent in our lives, it’s no surprise they are making their way into the eCommerce world.

What is transaction automation?

Transaction automation is a process for completing a purchase without human interaction. Credit card payments through a point-of-sale system are a form of transaction automation; the customer doesn’t hand cash to the cashier for them to know you’ve paid.

While credit cards were a game-changer, they didn’t make it possible for a cashier to take countless transactions simultaneously.

Enter automation.

Automating the transaction process allows businesses to remove cashiers from the equation altogether. Many companies will then implement a broader service team like marketing, customer success, or customer support that help guide more challenging sales experiences at various stages of the funnel.

Many fast-food conglomerates have now added transaction automation to their physical locations, allowing customers to place orders on a touch screen and only interact with a human when they need support or pick up their order.

Some brick-and-mortar stores allow customers to complete transactions directly within an application before arriving, making for an efficient in-store experience and keeping their brand easily accessible to their customers.

Most modern supermarkets now have self-checkout areas where a single cashier manages four or six stations. If the customer doesn’t require assistance, they might not have to interact with a human being the entire time they are in the store.

The same is true for eCommerce. 



Once customers decide to buy, there’s no need for human interaction, and how many online shops have you been to where you needed to check out with a human being?

The future has arrived.

Chatbots are enhancing the world of eCommerce.

As chatbots become more prevalent in society, it’s only logical that they would begin to evolve the ability to drive even greater value for businesses.

And what better way to do that than by completing purchases?

Just as chatbots have changed the customer service landscape, they are beginning to change how we shop online. 

How chatbots have already transformed eCommerce.

We are quickly moving toward a future where chatbots play a serious role in online sales. 

Here’s how chatbots have changed online sales already:

• Providing personalised experiences by engaging users in natural conversations.
• Managing customer service inquiries by answering common questions and concerns.
• Always available, providing users with a 24/7 customer support touchpoint.
• Providing product recommendations based on data points, including past purchases, search history, and freely given preferences.
• Collecting customer data and feedback gives businesses valuable insights into their users.

And now, chatbots are changing the game again by becoming the final step in the transactional customer experience.

What do eCommerce chatbots offer?

What does an eCommerce chatbot offer businesses and brands?

As automation technology evolves, businesses are exploring the value of eCommerce chatbots. Moving the transaction process into a chat environment allows brands to offer a highly personalised customer experience.

In addition, a bot automates many of the tasks involved in online sales, from customer service to order processing.

If you’re reading this, you may already know some of the value chatbots bring by automating several typically time-consuming services for sales, marketing, and customer success teams.

Infographic: The value of eCommerce Chatbots for Businesses & Brands.

*Click or tap the infographic to download it.

eCommerce chatbots take an entirely different approach from traditional web shop methods, focusing heavily on the nuance of each customer.

Moreover, bots automate tasks that brands might not normally have the resources to operate. For example, a bot automates follow-up tasks with a user providing shipping information, order details or triggering a sales-reinforcement automation workflow.

Sequencing automation

A bot can integrate with external services to trigger email marketing sequences, notify sales teams, and record interaction data in your CRM.

Data-driven optimisation

A chatbot can efficiently conduct A/B testing, alternating various aspects of the customer journey to help a business identify what works best.

The best salesperson

Chatbots are exceptional at recommendations, upselling, and asking critical questions that often make humans feel uncomfortable.

And that's just the beginning...

Natural and convenient

We often have a conversation with friends or family to get personal experiences to validate a buying decision.

Bots reinforce this approach by completing transactions conversationally and facilitating the validation conversation. 

Faster & more efficient

We interact with a bot in real-time to get the information we need without clicking through pages of a website. 

Imagine telling a bot what you need; the bot understands your intent and responds with appropriate product recommendations.

No distractions, just an experience with your brand that pleases the customer.

Personalised

Chatbots make product recommendations that cater to our individual needs by understanding our preferences and habits. 



A well-designed bot might know your customers better than they know themselves! (okay, that’s a stretch, but it’s interesting to think about)

Everyone saves money

Chatbots can recommend deals and discounts by understanding customers’ budgets and preferences.

Visitor: “Hi bot, I have €6,000 and need a reliable used car.”

Bot: “Hi human, we have several vehicles under €6,000 that have completed our 128-point inspection process.”

What does an eCommerce chatbot offer customers?

Chatbot technology is developing fast. It’s only a matter of time before they become as ubiquitous in our lives as smartphones.



Just as smartphones have changed how we connect and communicate, bots will change how we shop, and there are several advantages they'll have over traditional eCommerce websites.

eCommerce chatbots have a lot to offer.

Businesses and customers alike will benefit from conversational eCommerce.

The efficiency created by a chatbot saves time and money, while the convenience and personalisation offered by chatbots enable customers to make better buying decisions.

Benefits of chatbot-based sales.

As chatbots evolve in their sophistication, completing transactions on behalf of users will improve.

The notion that we need to talk to a human before purchasing will fade.

Soon we won’t want or need humans to interfere with our shopping experience.

Data collection is valuable beyond the initial transaction.

A chatbot submits and processes information before a sale is complete.

We can add a user to a rewards program or a mailing list directly in a chat, then use that recorded data again at checkout.

A bot can ask for a customer’s shipping information and preferences upfront, so when it comes time to purchase, all the customer has to do is confirm their order. (It’s not that crazy to think a user might want to know shipping costs while browsing.)

Chatbots can take care of all the menial details that often slow down a human conversation or make a checkout feel clunky.

We can personalise the experience up to and through the conversion by gathering information in shorter, well-timed increments.



Faster checkout means fewer abandoned carts and happier customers.

A chatbot remembers user preferences.

Remembering user preferences creates convenience, builds long-term relationships, and personalises the experience for each customer.

I find it very annoying that I have to specify my shoe size every time I go to a new product page.

A bot can remember my shoe size, colour preferences, the styles I like, and much more.

I’d be more likely to do my online shopping on a website that remembers my personal details rather than one with only static product recommendations.



The perception of convenience will boost sales.

Chatbots gather personal information naturally.

A chatbot doesn’t collect information through forms and checkboxes like traditional methods. Instead, bots ask questions and gather personal information through natural conversation.

Chatbots can change their questions based on customers’ answers, allowing a bot to gather detailed and specific information.

For example, if a chatbot asks what a customer’s favourite colour is and they respond with “blue,” the bot can ask the customer what their favourite shade of blue is.

This flexibility makes bots much better at gathering customer information than traditional eCommerce platforms, where you have to make these selections manually.

Chatbots automate abandoned cart workflows.

Abandoned cart recovery is one of the most critical challenges an online store faces.

It’s hard to know why a customer abandons their cart and even harder to get them back.

Bots can instantly reach out to customers via chat or text message and ask why they didn’t complete their transaction.

More importantly, chatbots can automate incentives in the critically small window of time you have to convince a customer to complete an order.

Support chat with a payment option.

Imagine communicating with users about customer support tickets, and instead of directing them to a specific page hoping they convert, you automate or walk them through the entire transaction process.

Customer support bots are the new sales channels!



Of course, support has its mission and goals. But it can be compelling for a user to complete a transaction when you put it directly in the support channel.

What is conversational marketing & how does it benefit eCommerce sales?

Conversational marketing is a new form of engagement through interactive communication touchpoints, like chatbots.

The conversational approach is valuable because it allows brands to build relationships with customers naturally.



Conversational marketing is beneficial for online sales channels because a personalised customer experience results in more profitable transactions.

Will eCommerce chatbots replace traditional online stores?

No. Let's not oversell the idea that a bot is some kind of replacement for online shops.

It's fun to imagine a world where artificial intelligence suggests what I should buy and then charge me when I make a selection, I don't see the superior marketing capabilities of the web shop destination going away any time soon.

It's more likely that in the next few years interactive bots will be used to assist consumers with simpler transactions through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, APIs and your website chatbot.

That said, the potential to extend the web shop experience with automated touchpoints is only limited by our perception of what they can impact.

If you wanted to buy that new pair of shoes but weren't sure about a certain material or color, wouldn't it be nice if there were a way to get an instant response?

What to expect when building an eCommerce chatbot.

So you’re as inspired as I am about eCommerce in a bot, and you want to know what it would take to build one?

Many of the features I’ve mentioned are possible but don’t come out of the box with traditional chatbot solutions. (If they did, I probably wouldn’t be writing an article about how they are the future of online business.)



Nowadays, it has become so much easier to build a chatbot that I often wonder if a business is credible if their website doesn’t have one.

The simple solution for an eCommerce chatbot.

Alpha Alias became a Landbot.io advocate several years ago. Their marketing approach felt natural, the way they educate partners is concise, and the evolution of their feature set shows they understand small business needs.

Depending on their complexity, we can build Landbot chatbots in days, not months, and including new eCommerce features to empower the bot for sales.

Landbot has recently added direct integration with Stripe’s payment gateway. We can drop the technology into any website or API-powered bot.

This feature is groundbreaking for the Landbot platform and the chatbot industry.

If you’re looking to streamline eCommerce functionality in a chatbot, look no further than Landbot.

Honestly, if you’re looking for the fastest and cheapest way to accept one-time payments and didn't think about a bot, you should look into Landbot.

Alpha Alias onboards companies to Landbot’s platform. We design the customer journey, configure bots, and implement them on any eCommerce shop or website.

Are you ready to start selling from a bot?

Bespoke eCommerce chatbot solutions.

Several open-source chatbot systems are available if you’re looking for a bespoke option. Knowledgeable technical teams can work with them.

You’ll need to build eCommerce integrations from scratch, but the result will be a transactional bot that does whatever your wallet allows.

If I build it, will they come?

Will visitors use conversational eCommerce technology to complete purchases?

Will customers use it? That’s the big question.

The chatbot industry is still budding, and there are many examples of chatbots providing value to customer support.

As chatbots become more ubiquitous in their support role, we will naturally progress toward bots becoming sales channels.

Imagine an automated experience where users have questions answered in real-time, and you can purchase instantly in the same experience. It can be a powerful way to engage and convince a user at the right moment.

Will customers MAKE PURCHASES in a bot?

Will customers make purchases directly in the bot? That depends on your product or service and who your users are.

Your bot can be a convenient way to find information for customers who need time to make buying decisions, improving brand perception.

Large-ticket items typically need social proof, testimonials, or a sales call, and a bot can facilitate this activity conversationally. If users want to speak with a human, they may ultimately complete their transaction in a bot.

Software like the Landbot platform offer built-in solutions that integrate with HubSpot or other CRM systems, bringing value to complex sales processes. The bot is supportive in this role.



Now we have bots that automate the no-touch approach.

Conclusion

I love being inspired.

The idea of having eCommerce conversion capabilities within a conversational touchpoint has me very excited.

Sure, we’re pushing Landbot, but it comes from an honest place. We believe in their platform and its ability to drive value for small to medium-sized businesses.

Whether or not you decide to build an eCommerce chatbot with Alpha Alias, it’s good to know what new technology might break the mould.

Chatbots are evolving. eCommerce is evolving. And the future of digital business is looking even more interactive.



If this article inspires you, let’s brainstorm ideas together.

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