Chatbots software can be seen on almost every website and mobile app. They have taken over the industry and taken user engagement to a whole new level. As of today, more than 80% of e-Commerce businesses use them or plan to use them. Below, we shall be discussing each and everything related to chatbots in e-commerce from what they are, different types, some examples, to the development cost, ROI, and other things. With this said, get right into it:

But what are chatbots exactly and why are chatbots development services so popular? Well, all of these questions shall be answered in this blog.

e-Commerce chatbots are growing in popularity. But most of the people don’t know how they work or just anything about them. However, we are here to change that.

What Are Chatbots?

People have many questions related to Chatbots, especially when it is related to E-commerce. But the very first thing is what are Chatbots?

Well, Chatbots is a technology that is designed to replicate and simulate human conversation. This can be vocal or text-based communication. Despite what it might seem like from the definition above, Chatbots have a wide range of applications apart from engaging people. As such, they have become quite popular lately, with ever-rising chatbot development services in the market.

Here, we are discussing Chatbots about e-commerce. And here, as most of you might have already experienced, these things are being used almost everywhere. Plus, there are a lot of different types of chatbots, which will be discussed later in the blog.

Now that everyone knows what Chatbots are, let’s see why business owners should consider using them in their e-commerce business.

Why Consider Chatbots in E-commerce: Stats & Voice Commerce

Any business mind person has a habit of questioning everything. Why do we need this, why do we need that? In the same line, a question that might arise is: How does chatbot help eCommerce? In this section, we shall be discussing the very same thing:

1. Messenger Apps Are Growing Popular

From Business Insider it can be seen that people are using more messaging apps than social media. This means apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. have more traffic than large social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And this isn’t something recent, this trend has been going on since 2015.

Thus, It is a good idea to ask your eCommerce mobile app development company, to integrate a chatbot. This will open a lot more opportunities for your business and bring in a lot of customers. Chatbots are also used in messaging applications and chat applications similar to other social media applications as support. You can know more about the usage of chatbots in messaging app development here.

2. People Use Messenger App for Shopping

While it might sound a bit out of the line, people are using messenger applications for shopping. And as a matter of fact, all the big brands have launched their Chatbots on these popular platforms for this very reason.

Let’s look at some stats:

• More than 45% of consumers are willing to make shop through chatbots.
• 71% of users are happy with chatbots’ customer service.
• An average user may spend up to $55 on chatbot purchases.

These stats show how people are willing and even enjoy engaging with eCommerce Chatbots.

3. E-Commerce Mega-Trend

Ecommerce is without a doubt quite a competitive industry. With brands like Amazon becoming the world’s largest organization, e-commerce businesses are making use of every modern technology. One of these widely applied technologies is Chatbots.

• The global chatbot market is forced to hit the 1.2 billion mark by 2025. This means 24% annual growth.
• By the end of 2021, more than 80% of a total e-commerce store is using Chatbots or planning for the same.
• More than 45% of e-commerce businesses are using automation technology in their chatbots

4. Voice Commerce

If you ask “Is Alexa a chatbot?”, yes it is a chatbot. And it has an amount for at least 2% of voice purchases. While this doesn’t sound like much, voice-based e-commerce has the potential to become a future megatrend.

• 11% of e-commerce consumers used Alexa for shopping
• 47% of Smart Speaker owners use voice-based Chatbots for product search
• More than 40% of users create shopping lists through Alexa/Siri

Following this trend, there are more and more businesses getting into voice-based Chatbots in e-commerce. One of the best examples is Walmart’s voice ordering.

Example of Chatbots in E-commerce

Now, Chatbots are being used anywhere and everywhere. But in this section, we shall be answering the question as to What are some famous chatbots? with this being said, these are, as mentioned below:

1. Amazon

Amazon is one of the world’s largest e-commerce stores. It is so large that it is one of the world’s largest organizations and offers its services in almost every country across the globe. However, they aren’t just limited to e-commerce and they are also known for AWS or Amazon web services.

Moving on, many people ask “Does AWS have a chatbot?” yes it does. Amazon’s chatbot is one of the world’s best and goes by the name of Alexa. It is the same voice assistance Alexa. AWS also allows people to develop chatbots.

2. H&M

H&M is yet another one of quite popular clothing brands. Yes, they can be categorized as an e-commerce business. Nevertheless, they have applied Artificial Intelligence in E-commerce with their chatbot. This chatbot was developed on none other than KIK.

This is quite an effective chatbot that also offers amazing clothing recommendations as well as required assistance.

3. Sephora

Sephora is a leading brand in the beauty industry. As such, they offer a best-in-class eCommerce experience to their user. And needless to say, their eCommerce chatbot is a big part of that. They have not one, but two Chatbots. The whole one is built on Facebook Messenger, the other one is based on Kik, these are some of the best eCommerce chatbot examples.

Saying these Chatbots are successful is a big underestimation, as they are known to send 10 messages per day.

How Do Chatbots Works & Different Types

Now that you know what are Chatbots and how beneficial they can be for your e-commerce store, it’s time to look at different types of them. The E-commerce market is wide and deep, different businesses have different needs. To facilitate these different needs, a custom website development company may offer different types and forms of chatbots.

So, let’s see what are some widely used Chatbots and how do they work:

1. Minimum Viable Chatbot

Minimum viable Chatbots are one of the most popular models. They are used to deliver 24/7 assistance. As such, they can answer up to 70% of the questions. While they can also recommend some products, they don’t remove the need for human intervention, though it will be minimal. But this doesn’t change the fact that it is one of the most widely used chatbot models today.

2. Button-Based Chatbots

Button-based are the most basic form of chatbots. For the most part, they are “scripted bots”. Meaning they work based on a decision tree. You can say they work as an automatic phone menu. In simple words, it works based on the button users press.

If the user said “this” then the reply will be “that”. These Chatbots follow a predefined path and can be good for simplifying some basic processes. You can create this chatbot in Python and it is also widely used. However, it is not recommended for advanced stuff.

3. Smart AI Bots

Smart AI Chatbots are the ones everyone is waiting for. These are enabled by strong processing components on the server-side. Thus, they have the big computing power and provide accurate & fast replies to questions & queries.

As far as working is concerned, these Chatbots are Artificial Intelligence Solutions. To be specific they work based on machine learning and evolve as they work. Since it is AI-based, it will only get better with time.  

4. Support Chatbots

Support Chatbots are super-specific. This means they only work on a single domain, it can be providing information or something else. This type of chatbot has characters, multi-turn functionality as well as context knowledge.

This enables them to guide the user through major business processes and answer a range of questions. As such, this is one of the top Chatbot development solutions on offer in the market, and it is also widely used.

5. Voice-Based Chatbot

Now, it is true that any type of chatbot can be voice-enabled, but hear us out. You see, Voice-enabled Chatbots like Siri and Alexa are popular enough to have a category for themselves. The working of these Chatbots is relatively simple, it’s just a simple chatbot with text to speech functionality. However, when done right, this chatbot can be amazing and drive revenue for your e-commerce business.

Essential Chatbots Features For E-commerce

You much choose one of the different types of chatbots. However, there are some essential features that you choose to consider adding to your chatbot. Thus, mentioned below are some essential features that you can ask your chatbot app development company to include:

• Team collaboration
• Voice-enabled
• In-chat payments
• Live chat takeover
• Integration with email, CRM, accounting, analytics, etc
• Ability to train your AI
• devices, systems, and third-party platforms extensibility
• Multi-language support
• Tagging & user segmentation
• Remarketing & SMS notifications
• Drag & drop UI
• Developer support

Chatbot Platforms

If you have decided what kind of platform you want, the next step is selecting a platform. Most of the E-commerce Website Development Services will let you know your options, but it’s always better to be prepaid. That is why, in this section, we shall be discussing the different chatbot platforms.

1. Facebook Messenger

The infamous Facebook Messenger also doubles as a chatbot development platform. this doesn’t only allow you to deploy chatbots, but also build a chatbot for e-commerce stores. In addition, it only requires simple coding skills to develop the chatbot. There are also a lot of design kit options. Drag-and-drop UI makes it even easier.  And the best part is, it is free of cost.

2. Chat Fuel

Facebook messengers are built by Chat fuel itself, so you know, it is a big deal. Now, the upside here is, you don’t need any coding at all, as it is entirely based on a drag-and-drop editor. It is so simple to build a chatbot here, that you can create and deploy a chatbot in under 7 minutes.

While this platform is free for the most part, it also offers a pro plan for $30 per month. This can be a more advanced option if you are looking for something more than simple Facebook messenger chatbots.

3. Kik

Kik is yet another messaging app that allows people to develop and publish chatbots. As such, this platform has more than 15 million monthly users and more than 40% of Teenagers in the United States of America use it on daily basis.

Chatbot software development with Kik is also relatively easy as it offers many ready-to-go templates and easy deployment. Just like Facebook messenger, this too is free of cost. So, this can be a good option for a chatbot in e-commerce. The Sephora chatbot we discussed above is based on Kik.

4. Motion.ai

Motion.AI is the platform that is highly preferred by Magento eCommerce developers. Why? Because it is quite compatible with all the major platforms and offers seamless services.  Motion.AI allows you to build a chatbot for various mediums. This includes an online e-commerce store, Facebook Messenger, Slack, an email-based bot, and an SMS-based bot.

Again, this has more to do with the visual approach than coding one. Just like that fuel, it has both free and subscription-based options.

5. Custom Chatbot

Last but now least is the custom chatbot development. This is the most preferred chatbot app development service. For this, you need to hire chatbot developers who will create the perfect chatbot fulfilling all of your business needs. They can deliver advanced, AI Chatbots, voice-based ones, and whatnot. This is the best option for larger and innovative e-commerce businesses looking to grow. So, all the people asking “How do I create a chatbot for eCommerce?”, this is your answer.

How Chatbots Can Improve Your E-commerce Business: 9 Benefits

Finally, let’s discuss what everything is waiting for, the benefits of Chatbots in e-commerce. Now, python software development has been advocating for use of Chatbots in businesses. However, people don’t believe anything until they see proof. And we shall be looking at proof in this section of the blog.

1. Chatbots Act As Personal Shopping Assistance

Right at the beginning of the blog, we saw how people love shopping with Chatbots. But why? Well, one of the best reasons behind this is that chatbots act as personal shopping assistants. It provides personalized solutions based on the likes and dislikes of the user. It also keeps in mind the size, favorite colors, preferences, and other things like that.

2. Actual 24/7 Customer Assistance

Well, there are a lot of e-commerce stores across the internet that promises 24/7 assistance. While some stand up to their words, others are just making false promises. If you want to be a part of the former one, Chatbots are good options. As they engage customers with little to no human intervention needed. So, if you want a chatbot, this is high time to hire product development services.

3. Less Abandon Carts – More Revenue

It is seen that Chatbots convince customers to come back to their abandoned carts and finish the shopping. This is something that e-commerce stores have been suffering with for a long time, and Chatbots have changed the game. Naturally, this also improves revenue.

4. Chatbots Drives Customer Engagement

Some e-commerce stores can be plain boring, but this can be changed with Chatbots in e-commerce. As they can give customers a real-human conversation feeling. This is plenty good for user engagement and adds to the overall user experience of the store.

5. Better Pre and  Post-Purchase Experience, Better Customer Retention

Chatbots improve customer retention, period. This is because pre & post-purchase experience can be highly improved with help of Chatbots. They provide the needed assistance to the customers and help create more loyal customers.

6. Cheaper and Easier To Build

E-commerce has become a synonym for the word expensive. However, you can hire dedicated developers to create your chatbot at quite an affordable price. In addition to being relatively cheaper, they are also quite easy to build and deploy.

7. Multichannel

When it comes to implementing multichannel marketing strategies, Chatbots are your go-to option. This is because a single chatbot can be used for several tasks. An automated chatbot is quite useful for multichannel strategies.

8. Works Well on Mobile As Well A Website

One of the best advantages you get with Chatbots is that they work well with both web-based applications and mobile applications. This is what makes AI chatbots for eCommerce such a good option.

9. AI Applied

Speaking of AI, it goes without saying that chatbots are some of the best examples of applied AI development services. and because they work based on natural language processing and machine learning, they learn as they grow.

Cost of Chatbot Development

What is the cost of chatbot development for eCommerce? Well, the cost of chatbot development highly depends on various factors. For instance, the specification, type of chatbot, and other things. But if we talk about an average, it is going to be anywhere between, $40,000 and $300,000.

However, the cost to hire a software developer can highly vary based on your project requirements. If you are looking for an advanced chatbot being built from the scratch it is going to be more expansive. On the other hand,  one build of platforms we discussed above is on the cheaper side.

How To Measure ROI of Chatbot

Now, you might be ready to hire a web developer, but something that might be bothering you is, ROI. You see, return of investment is a big concern for businesses looking for the best eCommerce chatbot solution.

After all, just launching and deploying a chatbot won’t do the job. If the bot isn’t helpful, users just won’t engage with it. It is seen that more than 40% of users don’t start chatting with the bot with the first message. And on the flip side, 25% stop after the second message.

So, to make your chatbot effective, it is important to make it interesting. Speaking of measuring ROI, it is recommended that you put in place an analytical system. this will help you improve your chatbot over time and modify it according to customer demand and needs. You can also ask your mobile app developers to do it.

Conclusion

Chatbots are going to be a megatrend in the future. Even today, the majority of chatbots in e-commerce are quite active and kicking. and if you want one for yourself, you can hire a python software development company to create one for you. After all, in this blog, you learned everything you need to know about eCommerce chatbots.

However, it is recommended to consult a leading chatbot development company. As they can guide you better on your project needs and specifications.