This year, with COVID-19 reducing foot traffic to brick and mortar stores, ecommerce is set to be bigger than ever. Online shopping, for many, will be the only way they can buy their Christmas gifts and food.
Meeting this demand will be no small task for businesses. Having an extra helper, then, could make all the difference.
Enter the Christmas chatbot.
Finding the right gifts and products
Christmas shopping isn’t always easy. Sometimes, you have an item in mind but can’t find it anywhere. Other times, you just can’t come up with any good gift ideas.
A Christmas chatbot can help customers landing on your site with both problems. They can assist with site navigation, as well as informing customers about seasonal offers and products.
A chatbot could ask questions about the intended recipient of a gift — or the tastes of the visitor — and suggest products that fit with their answers. Or, customers could tell a chatbot what they’re looking for, and the bot can find products that match or are similar.
A Christmas chatbot could also offer and share seasonal advice and information to online visitors. For example, a Christmas chatbot on a food ordering site could share Christmassy recipes and party food suggestions.
50 of UK consumers vow to do more of their Christmas season shopping and gift buying online this year compared to 2019 - Dynata
Answer delivery concerns
Delivery times are of paramount importance during the holidays. Online shoppers want assurance that they’ll receive their purchase in time to put it under the tree. As such, delivery details will form one of the most asked questions on your site — and they’re ones that your bot can answer.
For last-minute shoppers, delivery times can prove fatal to their panicked gift buying. A Christmas chatbot could serve as their saviour — and secure you a sale. By locating the nearest brick and mortar store with their desired items in stock, chatbots can save the day for last-minute buyers.
A third of all Christmas spending is forecast to take place online this year - Internet Retailing
Supporting bare-bones teams
A Christmas chatbot eases the strain on seasonal teams. They take on the easy questions and engage with customers, letting your team handle the more nuanced queries and escalations.
But just because it’s Christmas day, it doesn’t mean your customers won’t still need help and attention. A challenge over the Christmas period comes as the day itself looms, and team members take their holidays and head home for the festivities.
Some customers might need to get in touch because they can’t get their gift to work and need support. Others might decide to do some Christmas day shopping while they digest their dinner. Whatever the case, someone needs to be there to answer questions.
Chatbots don’t need holidays or time off. They can be there to answer simple queries 24/7, even on Christmas day.
A Christmas chatbot — your website’s little helper
A Christmas chatbot supports your online visitors and your team over the holiday period. More, it can help your customers bring the Christmas magic into their experience with you — and to their homes in time for December 25th.
So, is it time you deployed a Christmas chatbot?
Useful links
- - Chatbots: what are they good for?
- - Is your Christmas customer service a lump of coal?
- - High street decline and the urgency of digital transformation
- - Online Christmas shopping: Santa Claus is shopping online
- - 10 practical chatbot uses in ecommerce
- - Why use live chat in retail? The key reasons explored