{"id":15094,"date":"2021-02-16T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=15094"},"modified":"2021-03-11T08:59:55","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T08:59:55","slug":"a-complete-guide-to-using-an-ecommerce-chatbot-examples-benefits-and-how-they-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/a-complete-guide-to-using-an-ecommerce-chatbot-examples-benefits-and-how-they-work\/","title":{"rendered":"A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed how we use the internet, both from a consumer and a digital marketing point of view. And <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-rise-of-chatbots\/#ring-uk\">chatbots<\/a><\/strong>,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in particular, have taken the world of eCommerce by storm. Some experts predict the eCommerce chatbot market will grow to $9.4 billion by 2024 &#8211; an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/chatbot-market-stats-trends?r=US&amp;IR=T\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">annual growth of 29.7%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> -with chatbots in the customer service sector expected to grow the fastest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15095 size-full\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-5-1.png\" alt=\"current-underlying-chatbot-technology\" width=\"683\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-5-1.png 683w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-5-1-300x196.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-5-1-640x419.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/chatbot-market-stats-trends?r=US&amp;IR=T\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The availability of developer tools and services is enabling e-commerce companies to develop their own chatbots. This has accelerated their adoption and led to a race to create better, more intuitive bots, that are easy to implement. Not to mention being capable of having more successful interactions with consumers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Successful chatbots have the ability to drive conversations &#8211; and drive customers along the sales funnel &#8211;\u00a0 by replicating, as closely as possible, real human interaction.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is a Chatbot?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><b>\u201cChatbots are artificial intelligence systems that interact with users via messaging, text, or speech.\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/chatbot-market-stats-trends?r=US&amp;IR=T\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business Insider<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbots are computer programs that stimulate conversation with online users for them to complete a service. Chatbot widgets and windows pop up everywhere from social media\u2014e.g. Facebook and WhatsApp\u2014to eCommerce websites, enabling brands and eCommerce businesses to reach their target audiences through different APIs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbots can be deployed for all kinds of purposes. They can be useful in marketing strategy or used for payments and processing. Where they really come into their own in adding efficiencies, though, is in customer service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbots offer ways to instantly communicate with customers on multiple platforms or online eCommerce stores. They use AI to infer customer preferences and offer visitors personalised experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ecommerce chatbots can be designed to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help complete a buyer\u2019s purchase<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offer product recommendations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide customer support<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Chatbot Examples in Ecommerce<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The future for eCommerce chatbots is immense &#8211; especially considering that the technology is still relatively new, and some online retailers are starting to use them more creatively than others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few ways e-commerce chatbots are currently helping companies connect with customers:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Staples.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Staples is an online retailer that sells office equipment. They use Facebook Messenger to deliver product suggestions to customers, based on their previous brand behaviours. Staples\u2019 Facebook chatbot also enables customers to complete purchases direct from the chat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15101 size-full\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1.png\" alt=\"dashbot-chatbot-analytics\" width=\"657\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1.png 657w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1-300x172.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1-640x367.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 657px) 100vw, 657px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sellbrite.com\/blog\/ecommerce-chatbots\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. H&amp;M.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">H&amp;M is a well-known clothing retailer. They created a chatbot on Kik to ask customers questions around their style and offer them photo options to select from. Based on this input, the bot can create individual fashion profiles and make suggestions for suitable outfits and direct the user to the checkout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customers can create outfits from the chatbot\u2019s suggestions, and browse and vote on other H&amp;M customers&#8217; fashion creations\u2014enabling them to have a fully interactive online shopping experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3.\u00a0 eBay.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The eBay chatbot is a popular and advanced example. Built for the Google Assistant, eBay\u2019s chatbot can be used with Google Home or on the phone. The bot will answer customer queries about products and drive the sales process. For example, it can answer users queries around the lowest price options or the best new products &#8211; across all eBay\u2019s worldwide sites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The interface is designed to help users navigate many product categories and can be accessed by saying \u201cOK Google, let me talk with eBay\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15097\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-7-1.png\" alt=\"A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work-164\" width=\"685\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-7-1.png 685w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-7-1-300x148.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-7-1-640x315.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/botsociety.io\/blog\/2018\/03\/chatbot-examples\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Benefits of Using Chatbots in Ecommerce<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>1. Immediacy.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customers expect immediate feedback and <\/span><strong><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/stop-losing-money-poor-customer-service\/\">customer service<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 24\/7. Chatbots can provide an \u2018always on\u2019 service and answer queries at any time of day from anywhere\u2014even during holidays and weekends when there\u2019s no one in the office. Even if a chatbot isn\u2019t advanced enough to solve tough questions, it\u2019s there to give customers a personalised response to their concerns, thus adding layers of brand awareness and loyalty optimisations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Neutrality.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/interview-thomas-sabatier-evolution-of-chatbots\/\">Chatbots<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can interact with customers on an emotion-free basis. In some ways, this makes them the perfect \u2018employees\u2019 as they can\u2019t get angry or frustrated with customers. This lack of emotion could, in theory, backfire since customers want to know real human beings are hearing them. There are more positive applications, though, and the more advanced a bot, the more positive side to this interaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Personalisation.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of AI\u2019s chief benefits is it\u2019s the ability to synthesise data to personalise customer experiences. For example, chatbots can offer optimised product recommendations based on previous customer interactions with the online store. A good example of that comes in the shape of Amazon, which brings up tailored product recommendations when you\u2019re on the site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Reduction in costs.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbot services reduce costs and speed up response times, enabling customer service agents to take on more challenging core business-related activities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>People Want to Shop With Messenger Apps<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most customers are already familiar with SMS and instant messaging apps in social networks. They are now also becoming accustomed to interacting with chatbots in retail and customer service environments. And many appreciate the fact that chatbots are a level above email when it comes to getting an immediate response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And recent research indicates that many consumers enjoy communicating with AI in an online retail situation. Not only do they like the fact they get a response in real-time, but they can also often find the answer to their common questions without needing to involve anyone else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-1536x1536 wp-image-16336\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-1536x1536.jpg\" alt=\"Messaging concept. Hand holding smartphone with chatting people. Chat text bubbles on phone screen\" width=\"840\" height=\"840\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-300x300.jpg 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-640x640.jpg 640w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-150x150.jpg 150w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-768x768.jpg 768w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-scaled.jpg 2048w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-100x100.jpg 100w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-250x250.jpg 250w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-40x40.jpg 40w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/messaging-concept-hand-holding-smartphone-with-chatting-people-chat-text-bubbles-on-phone-screen-24x24.jpg 24w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rewards for eCommerce businesses, however, lie in the fact that not only are customers happy to have their questions answered by messenger bots, but they\u2019re also increasingly willing to purchase items this way. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/stories\/chatbot-marketing-future\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">47% of users<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> said they\u2019re open to purchasing items via a bot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>More businesses are using bots.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the numerous applications out there using AI, chatbots are the most popular and are widely considered the future of customer service. A recent survey revealed that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smallbizgenius.net\/by-the-numbers\/chatbot-statistics\/#gref\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50% of businesses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> plan to spend more on chatbots than mobile messaging platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More and more companies, including LinkedIn, Starbucks, British Airways, and eBay, to name a few, have been investing time and money into the development of chatbot technology. And lots of SMEs and startups have followed in their wake.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbots aren\u2019t just for cutting edge tech companies like IBM. Many brands and online retailers are using them to communicate with their customers and boost sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How do Chatbots Work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbots are basically categorised in two ways: bots with pre-decided functions and bots that keep learning with certain algorithms. Learning bots have differing levels of complexity, depending on the algorithms used. Simpler ones are fed specific information and have particular options available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbot building companies are generally third-party companies that use AI tech to help businesses deploy their own chatbot across a platform. Native chatbots are built by the platform or app they operate\u2014e.g., Apple\u2019s Siri or Google Assistant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Rule-based chatbots.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rule-based chatbots are also known as \u2018decision tree bots\u2019. As the name suggests, they use defined rules as the bases of problem-solving, for problems the chatbot is familiar with and can deliver solutions to. As with a flowchart, rule-based chatbots map out conversations in anticipation of what customers might ask.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can use simple or complex rules, but they cannot answer questions outside of these rules, and they don\u2019t learn via subsequent interactions. They just work for the rules for which they\u2019ve been trained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15100 size-full\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-10.png\" alt=\"working-of-rule-based-chatbot\" width=\"710\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-10.png 710w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-10-300x114.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-10-640x243.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/figure\/Working-of-Rule-Based-Chatbot_fig2_338659152\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chatbots that function based on sets of rules can be quite restrictive. That\u2019s because they can only respond to specific commands, rather than interpreting a user\u2019s natural language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can be a good idea for eCommerce businesses that only expect to generate a set of simple queries referring to limited types of information. Also, rule-based chatbots have guard rails that guarantee they\u2019ll react predictably in every situation. Rule-based chatbots are also:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faster to train and less expensive than <a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-rise-of-chatbots\/\">AI chatbots<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Easy to integrate with legacy systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Able to streamline handover to a live agent.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accountable and secure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Able to incorporate interactive elements and media.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not restricted to text interactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rule-based chatbots are similar to an <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/office\/features\/multi-level-auto-attendant\/overview.html\">IVR<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> menu that narrows the process as you proceed through a phone call. For example, when the robot asks you to \u2018press one for English\u2019, etc. Options are narrowed down until the user receives the service they\u2019re looking for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. AI chatbots.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI chatbots use machine learning to understand the context and intent of a question before answering. These bots generate their own answers to more complex questions and use more natural language responses. The more AI chatbots are used and trained, the more they learn and interact with customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-16311 size-1536x1536\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ai-chatbot-smart-digital-customer-service-application-concept-1536x1024.jpg\" alt=\"AI Chatbot smart digital customer service application concept.\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ai-chatbot-smart-digital-customer-service-application-concept-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ai-chatbot-smart-digital-customer-service-application-concept-300x200.jpg 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ai-chatbot-smart-digital-customer-service-application-concept-640x427.jpg 640w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ai-chatbot-smart-digital-customer-service-application-concept-768x512.jpg 768w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ai-chatbot-smart-digital-customer-service-application-concept-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI chatbots work well for eCommerce companies that have lots of data. Even though they take longer to train initially, they should save money in the long run. <\/span><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/let-ai-lead-the-way-reshaping-cx-to-improve-customer-retention\/#ring-uk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> chatbots are also capable of:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Continuous improvement as more data is collected<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding patterns of behaviour<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making more decisions based on prior experience<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding many languages<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>How do I Build an eCommerce Chatbot?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are two ways to create a bot; either use a service provider or build one yourself. If your eCommerce business is developer-focused, creating a native chatbot could be for you. However, for most organisations, it will make more sense to call on the services of an eCommerce chatbot provider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s relatively easy to create a customised bot without coding, using one of the many chatbot builders on the market. You can build a chatbot with any number of automation possibilities, including a bot to answer your FAQs, bots that can provide order and shipping statuses, and\u2014for eCommerce stores\u2014a bot to engage with website visitors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A provider like Collect. chat can create a bot that can run 24\/7, and once set up it\u2019s all good. Simply follow the tutorials to get started, and then no further configurations or maintenance are required. It can also integrate with third-party apps, including Gmail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HubSpot also has a Chatbot Builder that allows you to have unlimited conversations with customers and <\/span><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/customer-service-automation-remote-work\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>automate<\/strong> <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">common questions and problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No coding knowledge is required; you simply select an appropriate template and add elements to match your individual requirements. It\u2019s also possible to start from scratch and build a totally custom eCommerce <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chatbot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15102 size-full\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-2-1.png\" alt=\"hubspot-chatbot\" width=\"657\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-2-1.png 657w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-2-1-300x180.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-2-1-640x385.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 657px) 100vw, 657px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/crm\/chatbot-builder\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to Measure Your Chatbot\u2019s ROI<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important reasons to use eCommerce chatbots are improved customer service quality and cost savings. Chatbots don\u2019t lose productivity, no matter how much you use them, so they promise to provide high long-term ROI in eCommerce companies. Some estimates reveal that businesses could see savings of up to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.comm100.com\/resources\/infographic\/chatbot-roi\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$20 million globally<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> after implementing eCommerce chatbots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When measuring the ROI of chatbots, you need to weigh the time it takes to converse and resolve issues, and the total time to exit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some steps to take when calculating the ROI of a chatbot:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Identify eligible queries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Pin down which queries your eCommerce business currently receives via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/engage\/channels\/live-chat.html\">live chat<\/a>. Then, identify the top simple queries a chatbot could resolve.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Calculate how many chats deal with eligible queries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. What percentage of chats are simple (the questions bots could answer) vs complex questions (those requiring agent input).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Calculate how long agents spend on eligible chats<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. What is the estimated handle time for simple (chatbot-ready) enquiries?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Estimate the annual cost of handling eligible chat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s. Multiply an agent\u2019s hourly pay by hours spent on these types of interactions. To get an annual cost to multiply monthly costs by 12.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Compare costs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Compare your annual costs with your quoted eCommerce chatbot cost to see how chatbots stack up.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15104\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-4-1.png\" alt=\"A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work-446\" width=\"590\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-4-1.png 590w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-4-1-300x125.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.comm100.com\/resources\/infographic\/chatbot-roi\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Bot-building platform analytics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s essential to be able to access analytics for chatbots. Otherwise, you won\u2019t know how potential customers are behaving with your bot. Or whether things need to be changed or tweaked to make them more effective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most successful bots are constantly adapting and revising their <\/span><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/11-best-practices-to-improve-team-communication\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">conversation flows<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in response to how users interact with them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Some key metrics to build into your bot platform<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><b>User metrics:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> For example, how many repeat users are using chatbot alongside new customers? How many active users and engaged users (users who communicate with the bot) send and receive messages? User sentiment can also be captured by performing sentiment analysis to categorise messages as positive, neutral, or negative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Message metrics:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> These can measure, for example, the number of times the bot initiates interactions, the number of messages a bot sends in an interaction, the number of messages sent by users (this will tell you if a user is engaged with a chatbot), and missed messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Outside platform analytics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are quite a few chatbot analytics platforms to choose from. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, depending on each eCommerce company\u2019s use case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When selecting a provider, it\u2019s important to choose one that measures what you want to measure; retention, lead generation, or conversion rates, for example. That\u2019s rather than just bombarding you with excess data. Many of these platforms offer free options so you can trial them and see which you prefer. Here are a few to consider:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>1. Dashbot.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dashbot.io\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dashbot <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has several useful features, including being able to provide an intent mapping to help see how bots are matching messages to intent categories:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15101\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1.png\" alt=\"dashbot-chatbot-analytics\" width=\"657\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1.png 657w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1-300x172.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-1-640x367.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 657px) 100vw, 657px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/research.aimultiple.com\/chatbot-analytics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dashbot is one of the largest chatbot analytics platforms. Using bot-specific metrics, you can gain a deep understanding of the conversations your users are having and the type of questions they\u2019re asking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>2. Botanalytics.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Botanalytics is good for tracking individual user lifecycles, charting the length and date of conversations, and the number of conversations per user. This can be helpful when trying to identify your top eCommerce chatbot users. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/botanalytics.co\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Botanalytics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also provides transcripts of conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>3. Facebook analytics.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Facebook\u2019s analytics platform, you can be up and running with no coding knowledge at all. This only applies to bots on Facebook (as you would imagine). The analytics are not too sophisticated, but this is a fast and easy way to get started with chatbot analytics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers are demanding. Today, they want around the clock service for assistance. In every sector, from banking and insurance to <\/span><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/6-ways-mobile-technology-is-impacting-healthcare\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>health and wellness<\/strong>,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> companies are rushing to develop chatbots and virtual assistants to answer their questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re proving especially useful to companies in the eCommerce sector, to allow customers to interact with a brand on their own terms, thereby reducing abandoned carts&#8217; incidences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15096\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-6-1.png\" alt=\"A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work-111\" width=\"667\" height=\"437\" srcset=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-6-1.png 667w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-6-1-300x197.png 300w, \/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/complete-guide-to-ecomm-chatbot-6-1-640x419.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/customer-relationship-management\/6-chatbot-best-practices-for-e-commerce-sites\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While chatbots are incredibly helpful to companies, they can never be a complete replacement for human support. They can\u2019t be trusted to deal with sensitive issues, for example. When assessing the type of eCommerce chatbot that\u2019s right for you, take some time to understand your goals. I.e., what are you leading people to do? Maybe you want a chatbot to act as a conduit for FAQs or a bot to funnel users to human agents?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You could start with a simple rule-based chatbot that answers basic customer service inquiries and then expands to more complex tasks such as helping customers find the right products based on their preferences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When adopting chatbots for your <\/span><strong><a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/customer-satisfaction-ecommerce-business\/\">eCommerce operation<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, make sure you also incorporate a way to collect feedback about them. This will determine whether your customers like or loathe your eCommerce chatbot and, based on this information, you can make the requisite changes required for optimisation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed how we use the internet, both from a consumer and a digital marketing point of view. And chatbots, in particular, have taken the world of &hellip; <a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/a-complete-guide-to-using-an-ecommerce-chatbot-examples-benefits-and-how-they-work\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":16334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-content-hub.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work | RingCentral UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The future for eCommerce chatbot is immense - especially considering that the technology is still relatively new, and some online retailers are starting to use them more creatively than others.\u00a0Here are a few ways e-commerce chatbots are currently helping companies connect with customers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/a-complete-guide-to-using-an-ecommerce-chatbot-examples-benefits-and-how-they-work\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tyler Dickey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Complete Guide to Using an eCommerce Chatbot: Examples, Benefits and How They Work | RingCentral UK Blog","description":"The future for eCommerce chatbot is immense - 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He is responsible for maintaining world-class cloud communications solutions for RingCentral Enterprise and partner accounts. Tyler is interested in the intersection of technology and culture and believes that the tools we use should support rather than inadvertently subvert our professional lives. Outside of work Tyler enjoys reading creative nonfiction, taking pictures, and riding bicycles.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tylerdickey\/"],"url":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/author\/tyler-dickey\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15094"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}