In today's digital world, customers are used to getting answers right away. They shop in the evening, on weekends, sometimes even in the middle of the night. If they encounter a problem or question that they don't know how to solve at that moment, they often simply go elsewhere.
It is in these situations that a smart chatbot that can answer questions outside of your working hours plays a crucial role. It is not just a "modern addition", but a tool that really increases conversions, trust and customer loyalty.
Unlike a brick-and-mortar store, which has fixed opening hours, customers can shop at an e-shop at any time. This is confirmed by statistics, according to which more than 60% of orders are placed outside of regular business hours. People simply shop in the evening, at night or on weekends, when they have peace and time to choose goods. However, there is a lack of immediate assistance from staff, which people are used to in brick-and-mortar stores. And this is where a chatbot can replace it.
If we imagine a situation where an e-shop has support available on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm, it is not available to its customers for 25% of the total time. More than 75% of the time, customer service remains completely out of service. In addition, customer support is often available for an even shorter period of time. And it is in this space, when you are offline, that a chatbot comes into play - ready to help customers at any time, 24/7.
It's not just about whether you respond, but how quickly. In the online environment, impatience reigns and competition is always just a few clicks away. If customers don't get an answer, they simply leave.
A chatbot is not just a "virtual assistant". It is a full-fledged member of the customer support team, which, unlike its live colleagues, never sleeps, is not sick and does not take vacation. In addition, it can solve more than 85% of all questions and reduces the rate of returns and complaints. Thanks to real-time answers, the customer can make better choices. The icing on the cake is the ability to recommend additional accessories or alternatives, thus facilitating cross-sell and up-sell and increasing average order values by up to 18%. And all this with minimal costs compared to classic support.
Customers perceive the presence of a chatbot as a sign of professionalism and preparedness. Even though they realize they are communicating with a robot, they appreciate that someone is trying to solve their problem immediately. In addition, the chatbot saves questions and sends them to operators, can collect feedback and acts as a bridge between the e-shop and the customer.
A smart AI bot will immediately answer questions about products, order status, payments, product availability or refunds. Thanks to the connection to the product feed, it will offer exactly what the customer is really looking for. In addition to non-working hours, you can of course use the bot during regular working hours. The bot will solve most customer questions for you, saving you time on more complex problems.
