For an ecommerce store, the difference between closing or losing a sale can come down to how quickly you respond to a customer. But it’s easy to completely miss or ignore messages when juggling hundreds of them across multiple channels. That’s why you need a chatbot for ecommerce.
An AI chatbot primarily helps you manage customer queries and conversations. Advanced chatbot software like Nextiva AI provides additional functionalities for conversational commerce, including multilingual support and guided customer journeys.
Key Features for E-Commerce Chatbots
At the bare minimum, your e-commerce chatbot should have the following features:
1. Personalized product suggestions
Your chatbot should be able to recommend relevant products to customers based on their browsing histories, purchasing behavior, and preferences.
For example, a customer just bought a new phone. The chatbot should be able to suggest complementary accessories, such as phone cases and screen protectors, available in your store.
That way, you can close sales faster because customers spend less time searching your inventory for what matches their needs. It also helps you upsell and cross-sell products to customers to make more money.
2. Real-time tracking
According to Verte Research, nearly 20% of American online shoppers track their orders multiple times a day. Responding to order-tracking messages can be time-consuming for your employees, especially when they’re dealing with a large number of customers.
That’s where an e-commerce chatbot comes in. It provides real-time status updates on order and shipment inquiries. That way, customers know where their orders are and when they’ll arrive without speaking to live agents.
3. Customer support
An e-commerce bot should double as a self-service channel. This means it should be able to respond to common questions with relevant and context-based answers, troubleshoot issues, and help customers complete actions like product returns and exchanges.
This reduces wait times, ensuring that your customers quickly receive relevant support around the clock. It also makes your agents more productive by freeing up time for them to focus on more human-centered tasks.
4. Payment processing
E-commerce chatbots integrate with secure payment gateways to enable in-chat purchases and provide a seamless shopping experience. They also assist customers with issues such as declined payments, providing troubleshooting steps or alternate payment options.
When customers can finish their transactions quickly and efficiently, it reduces the likelihood of abandoned carts and increases your online store’s conversion rates.
5. Abandoned cart recovery
The average cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%. This means that about seven in 10 people who add items to their online shopping carts don’t check out and complete their purchases.
An e-commerce chatbot can help you convert abandoned carts into quick sales opportunities and revenue. It can engage potential customers who abandon carts, remind them of forgotten items, and offer them incentives to buy those items.
6. Inventory management
Integrating a chatbot into your e-commerce platform can help you maintain efficient and accurate inventory management while delivering a seamless customer experience. It can provide real-time updates on product availability, notify customers when items are back in stock, and even assist with order status tracking and fulfillment.
Best Chatbot Solutions for Online Stores
Now that you know what to look for when choosing a chatbot, let’s look at the best e-commerce chatbots for growing businesses.
E-commerce chatbot software
| FEATURES | PRICING | |
|---|---|---|
| Nextiva AI | Omnichannel deployment Multilingual support Customizable automation Insights and analytics dashboard | From $159/agent/month |
| Manychat | Automated drip sequences Instagram Direct Messaging One-tap contact data collection | From $15 per month |
| Customers.ai (formerly called MobileMonkey) | Multichannel chatbot Chat forms Facebook post autoresponder | From $199 per month |
| ShopMessage | Compatible with multiple e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento One-click opt-in forms Analytics dashboard | From $9 per month |
| Shopify Inbox | Mobile application Message segmentation Smart replies with AI | Free for Shopify merchants |
1. Nextiva AI
Nextiva AI helps you drive sales and scale support with smart chatbots. You can integrate them into your website and instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Nextiva-powered chatbots can answer product questions, qualify leads, and guide customers toward purchases with relevant and personalized responses. These bots are also self-learning, meaning they can personalize interactions based on customer data and browsing behaviors.
Top features
- Omnichannel deployment
- Multilingual support
- Customizable automation
- Insights and analytics dashboard
- Machine learning and natural language processing
Pricing
The AI chatbot is part of Nextiva’s contact center solutions for businesses. You can access it when you subscribe to the Professional or Premium plans.
- Professional: From $159 per agent per month
- Premium: From $199 per agent per month
2. Manychat
Manychat started as a Facebook Messenger bot for marketing, sales, and support. Now, it has grown into a chatbot marketing solution for e-commerce businesses.
You can use it to create intelligent chatbots for Instagram, WhatsApp, and SMS marketing. It also helps you generate product carousels and lead capture forms to drive lead generation and sales.
Manychat’s features are limited to e-commerce marketing and sales, so it might not be a good fit for businesses looking for a more robust contact center chatbot.
Top features
- Automated drip sequences
- Instagram Direct Messaging
- One-tap contact data collection
Pricing
Manychat has one free plan and two paid plans. Its pricing scales with the size of your contact list, meaning you pay more for a higher number of customers.
- Pro: Starts at $15 per month
- Elite: Contact the sales department for pricing
3. Customers.ai
Formerly called MobileMonkey, Customers.ai is a website remarketing software offering AI chatbots primarily for Facebook platforms.
Its conversational chatbots can capture lead information on first contact, provide product recommendations, and collect customer feedback.
However, some users say the platform is buggy and that support requests might go unanswered for days.
Top features
- Conversational AI
- Multichannel chatbot
- Chat forms
- Facebook post autoresponder
Pricing
Customers.ai offers a seven-day free trial across all its plans:
- Meta ads: From $199 per month
- Email for e-commerce and B2B: From $199 per month
- Ads plus email: From $399 per month
- Marketing agencies: Custom pricing
4. ShopMessage
ShopMessage is a Facebook Messenger chatbot primarily used by Shopify stores.
It personalizes messages based on the customer’s activities, providing relevant information at all times. It also offers features tailored to Shopify stores, like abandoned cart recovery with product recommendations and automated post-purchase messages.
A significant drawback is that ShopMessage can only be used in Facebook Messenger. If you want a solution that integrates with more channels, choose an omnichannel chatbot software like Nextiva AI.
Top features
- Compatible with multiple e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento
- One-click opt-in forms
- Analytics dashboard
Pricing
ShopMessage offers a 30-day free trial for all plans:
- Professional: Starts at $9 per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
5. Shopify Inbox
Shopify Inbox is a free business chat software for Shopify stores. It lets you set up automated messages to engage leads and customers throughout the funnel. It also has a mobile app that makes it easy to manage customer conversations from anywhere.
The major drawback is that Shopify Inbox is only compatible with Shopify stores. It doesn’t integrate with social channels or other e-commerce platforms, such as Magento or BigCommerce.
Top features
- Mobile application
- Message segmentation
- Smart replies with AI
Pricing
Shopify Inbox is free for all Shopify users. Here are the prices to set up a Shopify store if you don’t have one already:
- Basic: $24 per month
- Shopify: $69 per month
- Advanced: $299 per month
- Plus: $2,300 per month
Dos and Don’ts When Using E-Commerce Chatbots
Here are some best practices to help you make the most of your e-commerce chatbot platform.
| DO | DON’T |
|---|---|
| Use data to personalize customer interactions | Bombard users with sales pitches |
| Make it easy for customers to connect with live chat for complex issues | Replace human agents with chatbots; chatbots should complement human efforts |
| Be clear about what the chatbot can and cannot do, and offer human assistance as needed | Provide generic, robotic responses to customers’ questions |
| Test variations in greetings, conversation flows, and visuals to see what resonates best with your audience | Let the chatbot go stale with outdated information |
| Collect customer feedback on the chatbot’s performance regularly and make improvements based on user insights |
Increase Conversions and Grow Revenue With Nextiva
Nextiva’s chatbot solution is the best choice for online retailers looking to ramp up sales while offering reliable customer support.
It’s affordable and scalable and can be integrated into all your customer communication channels — from e-commerce websites to social media platforms and instant messaging apps.
