The holidays are right around the corner! Across the country, Americans are gathering with family and friends, stuffing faces while wearing their “fat pants”, and gearing up for the greatest priority: holiday shopping!
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Black Friday is great news for consumers and businesses alike, so much so that some companies have extended what was traditionally a one-day shopping fest into an entire week (or more) of savings. Once Thanksgiving hits, stores offer deals for Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and tons of other savings to kickoff the holiday's season of giving.
Black Friday is serious business that requires research, planning, and a lot of endurance--that is, unless you're doing your shopping online. Luckily, retailers have begun employing chatbots to help consumers prep for the big day. Here are a few great use cases where bots can help e-commerce businesses and customers survive and thrive this holiday shopping season.
Customer Service-
With especially heightened online traffic, bots can have conversations to address FAQs about topics like shipping and delivery. By anticipating these issues, bots can lead consumers to the right information. These conversations will help remove burden by reducing the number of calls escalated to customer service reps. They can speed up the shopping process for consumers who don’t want to be kept on hold, and help convert visitors to check-out at a quicker rate.
Shopping Recommendations-
Sometimes shoppers can be indecisive, not know what they want, or just not know where to look. A bot can ask visitors question to gather gathering user information on what they're looking for and their preferences, which can be used to offer recommendations and make the shopping experience most efficient. The North Face has a bot, powered by IBM Watson, that asks users a series of questions and offers suggestions from the store’s selection. No need to go into a crowded store to ask a sales rep when a bot can help narrow down your options in a matter of seconds!
Finding Deals-
Similarly, bots can chat with consumers to see what they’re shopping for and direct them to points on a site with great deals, tailored to their interests and needs. Bots can deliver targeted messaging to specific audience segments, so once you've gotten a feel for a user's taste, you can tailor the conversation to send them deals they would love, and take advantage of.
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For those that need help to kickstart your holiday shopping, here are a few more bots for the job:
Black Friday Survival Guide bot (Kik)
Saks Fifth Avenue bot (Facebook)
ASOS gift assistant bot (Facebook)
LEGO gift bot (Facebook)
To try a bot on your site, mobile app, or email for free, just contact us at [email protected]!
Happy hunting, and Happy Holidays!