Voice Capabilities Better CX for Retail

In this article, we’ll look at some of the key business challenges Retailers are facing, and how Conversational AI can be leveraged to address them. But first…

TLDR

The long-term success of a Retailer is reliant on their ability to constantly adapt to changing market conditions. Conversational AI can help retailers augment labor, differentiate their commerce offering, enhance customer experience and reduce service costs.

What to look for in a Conversational AI solution

Key features a Conversational AI solution must have to fulfill the use cases outlined in this article include:

• The ability to deploy multiple endpoints (Web, Mobile, in-store, etc.). This is necessary to enable omnichannel experiences.
• Built API first to connect to key systems of record, whether it be CRM, Loyalty, e-commerce, Inventory Management, etc.
• Robust NLP and ASR. Legacy chat solutions that rely on decision trees (If this, then that) would be unable to fulfill these use cases. A modern Conversational AI solution will be able to facilitate natural, human-like conversations.

Labor Shortages

The Retail sector has been one of the industries hardest hit by the ongoing Labor Shortage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the Retail Trade is down by 270,000 since February, 2020.

Many retailers have offered wage increases, enhanced benefits, and other programs to attract and retain Retail employees. Despite those efforts, it’s evident Retailers are going to have to figure out how to meet customer expectations with fewer associates.

One solution that can help Retailers through the labor shortage is automation through AI. A conversational AI solution can automate several tasks an employee would have to do such as order tracking, responding to customer calls and inquiries, and aiding in employee onboarding and training.

A solution we implemented for a Retailer around automating order tracking has led to a 7-figure annual reduction in service costs.

Another interesting concept is an in-store digital assistant that could answer FAQ’s customers may have that they’d typically seek out a store associate for. The assistant could live within a Brands native Mobile App or reside on Kiosks or Tablets in store.

An in-store Assistant could also facilitate commerce transactions – say for a product a customer may be looking to purchase but is currently out of stock in the store they’re shopping.

Conversational Commerce

Global ecommerce sales are expected to reach nearly $6T in 2022, and customer expectations for the omnichannel commerce experience they expect from Retailers is at an all-time-high. Any way Retailers can continue to optimize and differentiate their Commerce experiences will help them stand out in a market where consumers have more options than ever.

The concept of Conversational Commerce has been talked about for a few years now. Several Retailers have enabled the ability for consumers to transact with them via messaging apps they frequent – such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Kik and Facebook Messenger. A Conversational AI solution like Voicify can make it easier to build and manage a Conversational Commerce assistant in one platform, that can then be deployed out to these different messaging apps.

In addition, a Conversational AI solution makes it possible to enable Conversational and Voice Commerce within a Brands owned Web & Mobile Commerce apps. Think less chatbot, and more a personal shopping assistant than allows the user to search and navigate the site with their voice, ask questions about the product, and ultimately transact.

Customer Experience

Customer Experience is a key driver in a retailer’s ability to earn customer loyalty. Even after years of building up goodwill, one negative customer experience with a Retailer can cause a customer to never return. Customer Experience issues are all but inevitable in retail and ecommerce environments – some common ones include: wrong or delayed packages, billing issues, refunds, and product quality issues. Often the driving factor in keeping that customer is how the service resolution is handled.

Customers that have to wait a long time to speak to an associate or have to submit a service ticket and ponder aimlessly on resolution are more likely to churn than those who have their issue addressed promptly. A conversational AI solution can enable a Virtual Agent across a multitude of channels (Web, Native Mobile, IVR, etc.) that can intelligently and proactively work with the customer on resolution. In cases where an associate needs to get involved, the virtual agent can pass off the case to the employee with context on the issue and conversation history, so the customer doesn’t feel like they’re starting over.

About Voicify 

Voicify, LLC is the world’s only end-to-end solution for creating, managing, and optimizing enterprise-owned voice assistants. Our platform enables brands to create highly engaging and personalized voice experiences that can be automatically deployed to web and mobile products and services and a broad array of voice platforms, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, IVR telephony systems, and more. 

Learn more at www.voicify.com.

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