Discover the benefits and best practices of conversational commerce to enhance customer engagement and drive sales. Read the article to learn more!
Imagine this: You’re scrolling Instagram and see a jacket that’s so your style. You click “Message” ask if it comes in your size, and within seconds, someone (or something) replies, helps you check out, and tells you when it’ll arrive.
That’s conversational commerce - the intersection of messaging apps and online shopping, where customer service meets instant gratification.
In a world where consumers expect fast, seamless, and personalized experiences, conversational commerce isn’t just a trend - it’s the new standard.
Let’s see what it really means, how it works, why it matters for e-commerce brands of all sizes, and what great examples can teach us.
Conversational commerce refers to the use of messaging platforms, chatbots, voice assistants, and live chat to interact with customers throughout their shopping journey. By augmenting the traditional online shopping experience, conversational commerce uses real-time interactions to provide personalised recommendations and seamless purchasing processes.
This can happen on:
At its core, conversational commerce brings back the idea of the friendly shopkeeper - but now they live in your pocket and are online 24/7.
Let’s face it - most e-commerce experiences are functional but cold. You search, you click, you pay, and maybe you never hear from the brand again.
Consumers today want more. They want human interaction, instant answers, and shopping experiences that feel personal.
Here’s why conversational commerce is taking off:
Tracking customer satisfaction scores can give you insights into the effectiveness of conversational commerce.
And the numbers back it up:
70% of people feel more confident to make a purchase when they can message a business directly.
Implementing conversational commerce strategies can increase sales by a lot by creating seamless shopping experiences.
Let’s see how big and small brands are making messaging magic happen:
Fashion retailer Abof launched a full-fledged WhatsApp storefront, using the power of social messaging apps for conversational commerce. Customers could browse products, get styling suggestions and even track deliveries - all within the app. This simplified the buying process and increased customer engagement and loyalty by a lot.
Through the Starbucks app and voice-enabled devices, customers can order by simply saying or typing things like, “I’ll have a grande caramel macchiato, light on the syrup.” It’s fast, intuitive and removes friction from daily routines. The Starbucks Barista Bot uses AI to enhance customer interactions by facilitating natural conversations and automating responses. This is conversational commerce through voice - and it’s getting better.
Sephora’s chatbot on Facebook Messenger provides makeup tips, product matches, tutorials and even books in-store appointments. It’s like having a beauty consultant in your pocket - an excellent use of AI-powered personalised shopping via chat. By mimicking the natural flow of a human conversation, the chatbot offers personalised interactions that make users feel like they’re talking to a real human agent, improving the overall customer experience.
Whether it’s a bakery confirming your order via Instagram DM or a clothing boutique helping you pick the right size on WhatsApp, small businesses are using conversational tools to build relationships at scale. Relying on one channel is not enough for modern consumer behaviour; businesses use multiple channels for customer interactions to ensure a seamless experience.
With Shopify, it’s easier than ever to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp or chat widgets into online stores - making real-time customer interaction accessible to everyone.
Here are some ways businesses are using conversational commerce: Chatbots ask “What are you looking for today?” and suggest products. Chat & AI handle FAQs, shipping and returns.
And it’s not just retail. Hospitality, finance, healthcare, real estate are all using messaging to improve the customer experience.
Conversational AI is the engine behind conversational commerce, allowing businesses to interact with their customers in a human way. At its core it’s natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning that understands and responds to customer queries in a natural and intuitive way.
Imagine asking a chatbot for product recommendations based on your previous purchases or getting instant answers to your questions about a product. That’s conversational AI at work. It can provide personalised product recommendations, decision support and answer customer questions.
Examples of conversational AI are chatbots, voice assistants like Google Home and Alexa, personal shopping assistants that guide you through the buying process. These are part of conversational commerce platforms for a seamless and efficient customer experience.
But conversational AI doesn’t just stop at answering questions. It can analyse customer feedback and give businesses valuable insights to improve their services. With generative AI and large language models (LLMs) these conversations are getting more human-like and increasing customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
Businesses can integrate conversational AI with various messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat and social media platforms so customers can interact with them in a more natural way. This two way conversation not only increases sales but builds a deeper connection between the brand and customer.
The customer journey in conversational commerce is an interactive process of multiple conversations between a customer and a business through conversational channels. It starts at the awareness stage where a customer first learns about a business or product and goes to the post purchase stage where they get support and provide feedback.Conversational commerce platforms help map this journey, identify the touchpoints and opportunities to engage. From the moment a customer asks a question on a messaging app to the moment they get personalised recommendations and decision support every interaction is designed to improve their experience.
Throughout this journey businesses can use conversational AI to provide recommendations and support so each customer feels seen and heard. The customer journey in conversational commerce is not limited to one channel, it spans multiple channels - messaging apps, social media, voice assistants - to create a cohesive and consistent experience.
Data and analytics are key to understanding the customer journey. By analysing customer interactions businesses can identify areas to improve and refine their strategy to better serve the customer. This feedback loop helps businesses stay responsive and adaptive and deliver a good customer experience at every stage.
In essence the customer journey in conversational commerce is about creating a seamless and efficient experience across all channels so customers feel supported and engaged from start to finish. By using conversational AI and data driven insights businesses can deliver a satisfying shopping experience.
Whether you’re a D2C brand or a Shopify powered niche store here’s how to get started:
While conversational commerce happens mostly in messaging apps or voice assistants it complements SEO strategies too. Here’s how:
So while chat doesn’t directly improve rankings the insights gained from these conversations help you create better, more human centered content which does improve SEO.
We went from brick-and-mortar to digital storefronts. From browsing aisles to scrolling feeds. Now we’re in the era of shopping through conversation. If your brand isn’t saying “Hey, how can I help you?” - now’s the time. Because in today’s digital economy the brands that talk to their customers - not just sell to them - are the ones that win.