Chatbots bring new income stream to ecommerce

Growing revenue is a constant battle for ecommerce websites. This can involve fine-tuning processes by optimizing funnels, checkout pages, or calls to action. It also means being open to new technologies and opportunities.

Recent research on consumer attitudes shows the income-growing opportunity chatbots can represent for ecommerce store owners. Below, I’ll dive into the study and shed light on three major learning points we can take from it.

35% of consumers want more chatbots

Before we examine the actual revenue and ROI element of chatbots, it is important to look at consumer adoption of the technology. After all, for a revenue stream to scale, you need adoption. Without it, we would be left with a neat growth hack — good enough for a quick spurt of income, maybe, but not good enough to scale.

The 2017 chatbot report suggests we are not looking at a fad but, instead, an actual trend. Out of the 2,000 consumers interviewed, 35 percent said they want more businesses to adopt chatbots.

To put an even finer point on it, that means that although only 57 percent of respondents had already used a chatbot before, over half of those consumers are already asking for more.

Consumers are ready to spend over $600 via a chatbot

It’s time to talk cash. The research shows consumers are ready to spend real money while interacting with a chatbot. On average, millennials (26 to 36 years old) would be willing to spend $618 via a chatbot.

So far, case studies around chatbots have mostly been about fun. You will find countless stories about entertaining bots that help you be a better cook, find the right pair of shoes, or simply deliver a joke every day.

This research shows chatbots can do much more than entertain. A finely tuned ecommerce chatbot can be a new revenue stream.

According to the study, “One in five (21%) UK consumers would consider purchasing goods and services from a chatbot.” This is a goldmine for ecommerce businesses looking for new ways to attract, entertain, and monetize an audience. It’s no wonder giants like Walmart are using AI to enhance a shopping experience, and it’s just the beginning.

40% of consumers want deals and offers

Many studies have announced email marketing’s death. One of the biggest reasons people cite for disliking marketing emails is the irrelevant and promotional content.

Surprisingly, this exact type of content would please almost half of the consumers if it came through a chatbot. When promotional content comes through a channel a consumer likes to use, they seem to find it less spammy, more personal, more bespoke.

It’s a goldmine for ecommerce. Where most marketers have struggled to maintain a 15 percent open rate on their beautifully designed emails, they can now leverage this new channel that does not require any of the fluff.

You can now target customers through a channel they love, a channel they want to use more, a channel they are ready to spend money through.

Conclusion: Ready for the chatbot revolution

All these statistics come from an extensive study on consumer behavior regarding and expectations for chatbots. There are many more interesting data points herein I could have reported on.

While some might think chatbots are a fad, research proves otherwise. The first ecommerce stores to adapt will be the first to profit from this new channel.

Alex Debecker is the founder of Ubisend, a SaaS platform that allows users to integrate multiple mobile messaging applications and send messages to their subscribers across all of them from a single account.