How Businesses Can Drive Growth Through Conversational Commerce

Consumers are demanding fast, personal and convenient transactions. Conversational commerce allows them to chat, discover and transact all in one place. Businesses can sell and support within the chat or voice channel rather than sending users to multiple pages or nonintegrated checkout screens. These solutions create smooth experiences, develop stronger relationships and drive visible growth.

Why Conversational Commerce Matters

Conversational commerce is more than a technology upgrade. It’s about ensuring you meet customers where they spend the most time. Messaging apps such as WhatsApp, SMS and web browser-based chats make commerce conversational and seamless. Shoppers can ask questions, compare options and purchase without leaving the chat.

The value of conversational technology is clear from the advances in AI and chatbots. One study estimates that AI chat and voice tools increased online holiday sales by 4% in the U.S. during the 2024 holiday season, as shoppers used AI-based chatbots 42% more than in 2023.

How Businesses Can Leverage the Technology

For younger shoppers, buying and answering questions on chat is more like talking to a store associate than using a website. When done well, sales through chats can improve three key factors. These advantages position conversational commerce as a cornerstone of customer-focused digital growth.

Customer Experience

Conversational interactions feel personal and intuitive instead of scripted. Chatbots and messaging apps remember customer preferences. They suggest products based on each shopper’s needs or desires, making chat-based selling less promotional and more conversational.

Conversion Rates

The user can navigate away and return without starting over, unlike a website visit that ends when the user closes the tab. This customization can lead to refill reminders, early-access offers or follow-up messages that keep customers engaged.

Operational Efficiency

Bots handle simple requests, so employees can handle more complex issues. Use automation to enhance support, not replace it, and always provide an easy way to reach a live representative.

Steps to Implement Conversational Commerce Successfully

Implementing a chatbot isn’t enough to drive growth. Brands must take the time to solve customer pain points and make the shopping experience easier and more intuitive. Companies should focus on several key factors to improve touchpoints and conversions.

1. Identify Customer Friction

Study internal data to see when people abandon a shopping cart or cancel an order. Are there points where a chat could simplify the user’s journey? If customers ask similar questions, build a workflow that first answers the most common query. For example, automating FAQs speeds up service.

2. Choose the Right Channels

Different audiences prefer different touchpoints. Retail brands may thrive on WhatsApp or Instagram DMs. Service brands may offer support through SMS or web chats. Understanding how customers access company information is crucial. Sending a text message may increase conversions if consumers use a mobile device. Texts have a 98% open rate, which isn’t surprising since Americans check their smartphone screens around 144 times daily.

3. Balance Automation and Human Support

Automation can handle repetitive sales tasks, freeing people to focus on genuine connection. The last thing companies want to do is frustrate their base. Always offer a quick way to talk to a live person if needed. For anyone who’s ever called an automated line and been stuck in limbo while trying to explain to a machine what they want, knowing they can access a human representative is a relief.

4. Enable In-Chat Transactions

Customers should be able to purchase inside the chat, utilizing integrated secure payment tools and receiving an order confirmation. Brands can drive users through the purchase funnel from discovery to checkout to order confirmation in the chat or text.

5. Utilize Analytical Data

Conversation strategy is a continuing process. Track turnaround time and conversion rates, and find ways to improve the process. Companies already using CRM software or other automated tools to communicate can layer on top of these systems, allowing machine learning algorithms to analyze large amounts of data quickly. With 80% of consumers demanding more personalized experiences, sales teams can adjust to market changes to better meet consumer needs.

Start a Conversation

Using AI isn’t about finding the latest shiny tool. It’s about finding the methods that work for each organization’s audience. The technology is available and improving every day. The businesses that drive the change will begin to pull ahead of those ignoring the possibilities. Brands have a chance to set the tone for tomorrow’s customer interactions.