The increasingly widespread access to the internet has made it easier for everyone to do their business – from researching the information they need to shopping online. As more and more people turn to the internet for their needs, with many preferring online shopping over traditional brick-and-mortar stores, shopping assistant websites are also becoming a vital part of the e-commerce industry.
Shopping assistants cater to both the needs of businesses and their customers. With shopping assistants, businesses can connect with their customers at any point in the process on any device – whether it’s mobile or otherwise.
Furthermore, they also allow building the customer’s trust in the company’s brand by providing constant availability – something which traditional stores are often unable to provide.
Ready to integrate one into your business? Check out the top 5 shopping assistants below that can help your business reach its full potential.
1. Shopify Messenger
Top of the list is Shopify Messenger who helps businesses everywhere flourish by helping their customers with their purchases. This shopping assistant creates a comprehensive experience for shoppers on Facebook Messenger by allowing them to do things like browsing the product catalogue, receive recommendations, receive their order and shipping information, as well as pay for their items, and make requests.
This channel incorporates the merchant’s existing database for product descriptions, sizes, images, etc.
2. WeChat
Next is WeChat whose convenient features allow merchants to easily communicate with their customers and allow all of their customers to browse their catalogues with ease. WeChat helps establish a solid merchant-customer relationship by allowing said merchants to add their customers as friends within the platform and directly market their products to them. It also features convenient payment methods which allow for easier transactions between merchants and their customers. There are some companies such as HelloDiya, Inspora ,which are trying to replicate the same model in India.
3. BotCommerce
This particular shopping assistant integrates with two of the biggest e-Commerce software solutions in the industry, Magento and Shopify.
“BotCommerce allows merchants to answer their clients’ questions about their products and communicate with them regarding order returns or changes through chat. Aside from this, it also features the ability to place a customized welcome message and allow users to receive updates regarding their order status, requests for tracking numbers, as well as their searches for the FAQs and personalized discounts.”says Christine Brown, a business consultant at Gomontana. Many startups such as Join Honey and Gomontana are trying to leverage users’ need for coupons to get into customer’s mobile phone.
4. Kik Bot Shop
Compared to the other shopping assistants, Kik Bot Shop places more emphasis on communication with their clients over the other aspects of eCommerce. This particular assistant has around 300 million registered users, with many being prominent brands such as Sephora and H&M.
With this, merchants can make their own chatbot via a combination of the mobile app and some coding knowledge. They can configure it via an API Key using JavaScript, Python, or cURL. For those who are less knowledgeable about technology, this assistant guides them through the set-up process.
It also gives you a recommendation of agencies who can help implement your projects, turning them from mere ideas into reality. Another easier alternative is its app, GiftGuru, which allows merchants to upload their product catalogue directly onto the platform.
5. Letsclap
If you’re after for more authenticity, then Letsclap should be your top choice. This shopping assistant allows brands to give more to their bots in terms of personality by giving them the option to add images, chat, audio, videos, as well as one’s location.
It also tracks the statistics of your conversations with customers which relieves the painstaking task of data entry. This shopping assistant offers versatility and convenience to those who want a unique and detailed bot but don’t have the time to create one.
Letsclap is operational on Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and WeChat.
Closing Thoughts
The eCommerce industry has shown a steady increase in terms of growth rate in recent years and shows no signs of stopping which is why it’s vital that businesses find ways to keep up. Integrating a shopping assistant to your store’s site will not only help you manage it but doing so will also help it flourish by building a more solid merchant-customer relationship.