Is conversational shopping part of your 2025 strategy? If not, now’s the time to seriously consider conversational commerce if you hope to keep your customers coming back.
As conversational AI has evolved, so too have consumer expectations. They expect personalization, and they expect it fast. With a conversational shopping solution, you’ll be able to create truly personalized shopping experiences — in real time and at scale. What’s more, conversational AI will open up new ways for consumers to shop, as well as new opportunities for you to connect with your shoppers and forge stronger relationships.
At the same time, it’s not as simple as “turn on conversational shopping = profit.” You’ll need to deploy a conversational experience at the right moments in the customer journey to drive the best outcomes. In this post, we’ll highlight six key ways you can use conversational shopping to effectively boost customer engagement.
Narrow Down Options
When your product categories have a wide range of options (like apparel), it can be overwhelming for the customer to navigate. Don’t put the onus on them to apply the right filters or stumble into the right sub-category.
A conversational shopping assistant can capitalize on the right moment — when customers type what they’re looking for in the search bar — to help them navigate those thousands of results. It can do this by asking clarifying questions to better understand what the customer is looking for, and then narrow down the options to fit their needs. Think of this as the digital equivalent of top-notch in-store experiences, where a salesperson guides the customer around the store until they find the perfect product.
Provide Expert Assistance
In order to personalize around certain types of products (such as beauty or fashion), you’ll need to get specific customer preferences. For example, is the customer looking for a color that complements a certain piece of clothing? Are they allergic to certain ingredients? Are they looking for eco-friendly products?
Instead of having the customer sift through product descriptions to find the right product, your conversational shopping assistant can do the heavy lifting for you. By providing expert assistance, it can quickly create a personalized experience that’s tailored to an individual level.
Drive More High-Value Conversions
With product categories like furniture or jewelry, where the price point can be significantly higher than everyday purchases, customers naturally become more cautious before buying. After all, if they’re going to spend a lot of money on something, they’ll want to make sure it meets their exact preferences.
To alleviate their concerns, you can have a conversational commerce tool proactively offer to answer any questions and provide additional information. By giving them everything they need to make an informed decision, they’ll be more likely to convert and finalize that purchase.
Simplify Complex Products
Conversational commerce is also effective for more complex products like electronics. In a brick-and-mortar store, a sales associate can answer all of a customer’s questions on the spot. Online, customers traditionally have to hunt for that information elsewhere (e.g., YouTube videos, forums, etc.).
A conversational shopping solution will replicate that in-store assistance digitally, allowing customers to get questions answered immediately. The AI can also show a wide range of assets, from overview videos to comparison guides, to help the customer make the right purchase.
Essentially, conversational AI is like taking your best employee, who’s well-versed in your brand voice and product catalog, and having them available online 24/7 for every shopper.
Reduce the Likelihood of Returns
Ecommerce returns are a big problem for retailers and can significantly impact revenue and environmental footprint. Conversational shopping assistants step in to proactively prevent returns from happening.
For example, if a customer adds the same piece of clothing in different sizes to their cart, the AI recognizes this behavior as typically associated with returns. It can then engage the customer and ask if they need a sizing guide or if they have specific questions about the product. By addressing any concerns or uncertainty prior to purchase, you can save yourself the costs and headaches associated with returns.
Navigate Complex Purchase Journeys
Some products require more involvement — for example, creating a custom PC or picking out modular furniture. These purchases call for multiple decisions throughout the process, which can be complex and overwhelming for the customer.
With conversational commerce, you can walk customers through every step and answer questions on the fly. This guidance will give them the confidence that they’re receiving the product to the exact specifications they had in mind.
Bring Your Conversational Shopping Strategy to Life With Bloomreach Clarity
Consumers want personalized experiences, and conversational AI is your key to keeping them coming back to your brand. However, customer preferences and behaviors can be nuanced, which is why you need a sophisticated conversational shopping solution if you want to drive impactful results.
That’s where Bloomreach Clarity comes in. Trained on over 15 years of commerce-specific data, Clarity can make every shopping experience feel like a 1:1 session with a personal shopper. It’s also designed with out-of-the-box functionality so you can start seeing value immediately. Plus, you get to decide where to reach your customers — whether it’s when they’re adding an item to their cart, browsing a product page, or hesitating at checkout — so you reach your shoppers when it matters most.
Ready to engage your customers and keep up with their shopping expectations? Learn more about Bloomreach Clarity today.