What is Conversational Commerce? – Definition, Tools & Examples

In the past, people put on their outdoor shoes and went from store to store to do the weekly shopping. That was in our grandparents' time. Then the internet came along. This started a whole revolution in shopping. This in turn resulted in E-Commerce. Today there are numerous possibilities to buy and sell products digitally. Now another drastic change is in the starting blocks or has already started: Generation Z. A generation that grows up with social media and messengers and lets digitalisation skyrocket. The classic online shopping is shifting in this direction in order to pick up the young target group as an e-commerce company. But many other age groups also gratefully accept the change of direction. We are talking about conversational commerce and marketing.

This article will explain exactly what C-Commerce is, why it is important for companies, what the figures around conversational commerce look like and what advantages it brings. We also give you tips for tools you can use to evolve into the conversational commerce business. You can find all the tools on OMR Reviews.

Contents

1. What is Conversational Commerce?

2. What is the difference between C-Commerce and E-Commerce?

3. This is what the C-Commerce market currently looks like

4. What makes C-Commerce important for companies and what advantages do they have as a result?

5. What are the trends in conversational commerce?

6. 5 Tools for your start into C-Commerce

7. What are examples of conversational commerce and how do tools support this?

What is Conversational Commerce?

First there were the websites. Then came the apps. Then came the messengers. This is how the evolution of e-commerce can be described. This article focuses on the last point. Here and there we are talking about the beginning Age of Conversational - the age of shopping via WhatsApp and Co. While online shops previously offered their products for sale on websites and in apps - i.e. classic e-commerce - the next step is towards dialogue. Thanks to Generation Z, which is pressing the gas pedal exponentially in terms of digitalisation and wants to do their shopping where they are online anyway. Plus, this generation likes service, advice and proximity to the brands. C-Commerce is therefore nothing more than buying and selling via conversational tools - including messengers, but also AI like Alexa and Siri - which combine all these wishes.

WhatsApp plays a big role in conversational commerce.

What is the difference between C-Commerce and E-Commerce?

While E-Commerce - i.e. electronic commerce - is a generic term for buying and selling on the internet or digitally, C-Commerce - i.e. dialogue commerce - is just a form of it. So we can't describe a difference, but only explain to you that Conversational Commerce belongs to E-Commerce.

This is what the C-Commerce market looks like at the moment

Although it is Generation Z that is driving developments in e-commerce, there are several other age groups that companies can address with conversational marketing. The reason: over 90 % of 45 to 54 year olds use WhatsApp, but are hardly on social networks. The status quo thus currently suggests that different age groups need to be addressed via different marketing channels. C-Commerce can change this and bring many customers and companies together in one place.

The fact is: at least 75% of all age groups from 16 to 64 have shopped online in the last few months according to the Digital 2021 Germany Report. In addition, all age groups use WhatsApp on average 96% of the time. This means that C-Commerce does not represent a revolution in e-commerce, but will only respond even more to the needs that customers of online shops expect - service, advice, trust. C-Commerce was only a matter of time.

Statistics show that all age groups could potentially be open to C-Commerce. (Source: MessengerPeople, now Sinch Engage )

What makes C-Commerce important for companies and what advantages do they have as a result?

What is already normal in some countries is just starting here. In China, for example, WeChat, the equivalent of WhatsApp, allows not only to chat but also to do shopping, order a taxi or pay on the go everywhere. One app for many important to-dos of everyday life. This makes C-Commerce so attractive for companies. After all, this results in the following advantages:

• Apps and tools are used that are in millions of households or installed on smartphones.
• Companies can enter into 'close-up' dialogue with their customers and thus have more influence on the customer journey, customer service and brand building.
• Companies also save a lot of development costs, as no separate app, no online shop and no server fees are incurred.
• Chatbots can allow companies to provide advice to their customers 24/7, 365 days a year - service par excellence!
• C-Commerce can bypass the cookie problem thanks to extensive insights in conversational commerce tools.
• Companies can address several target groups at the same time on one channel - even older age groups that are difficult to reach via social media.

What are the trends in conversational commerce?

'Alexa, please order new coffee' is the sentence that clearly illustrates the difference from previous dialogue marketing. After this sentence, a machinery starts in the background that users no longer have to deal with. Time savings and automation - all by voice command. This will be the trend in conversational commerce in the future and will give a big advantage to any company that jumps on the bandwagon.

The trend looks similar with messengers like WhatsApp in C-commerce. But instead of voice commands, messengers fulfil their role in a different way: Via virtual assistance and chatbots, companies can be available around the clock for customers. All via existing tools like WhatsApp, which are installed millions of times. So conversational commerce meets the ubiquitous demand for efficiency on the part of the customers and automation on the part of the companies.

However, Meta has also announced more, which will further fuel the advance of C-Commerce: With WhatsApp, customers should be able to place orders via text message, which should ultimately be made possible by WhatsApp Payment. To this end, features such as catalogues and shopping baskets are to be established in the messaging app.

In addition, push notifications will also become more important in order to bind customers even more closely to themselves and create product experiences. The motto in conversational commerce is definitely mobile only.

5 Tools for your start in C-Commerce

With all the theoretical knowledge, it would probably be helpful for you to know how to approach the topic of conversational commerce as a company. We understand! That's why we looked at OMR Reviews to give you the best tools. These include tools that help you with chatbots, push notifications and mobile messaging to raise your customer loyalty to the next level.

Sinch Engage

Sinch Engage is a very comprehensive tool solution in the C-Commerce area.

If you want to get started in conversational e-commerce - at least as far as the status quo allows -, you almost have to go through Sinch Engage, an almost fixed part of the journey. The German software provider gives you a communication platform that is scalable and GDPR-compliant. The focus is on customer communication via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat and iMessage, Telegram, Viber and Notify. So you can address your customers via all relevant messenger channels with one app. The chatbot builder and API interfaces to various shop systems are an additional feature. Prices start at Sinch Engage at 199 euros.

MoEngage

With MoEngage, you can intensify the journey of your customers.

With MoEngage, you have the opportunity to intensify the customer journey. Using detailed insights, you can engage in targeted dialogue with your customers via channels such as Mobile Push, Email, SMS, Web Push or On-Site Messaging. An AI-supported automation helps with this. You can test MoEngage for free before deciding on one of three packages.

OneSignal

OneSignal is the perfect partner for push notifications.

OneSignal is designed to send push messages. This works via Mobile, Web, In-App, Email and SMS. In addition, you can personalise the messages and let OneSignal send them at the right time thanks to automated analysis of user behaviour. In addition, the tool from the USA can be linked with other software to be even more effective in C-Commerce. There is a manageable for-free version. Otherwise, the tariffs start at 9 euros per month.

CleverTap

With CleverTap you can initiate dialogue-based live chats.

With the messaging suite from CleverTap, you can send your messages to your customers' mobile devices via push notification. In addition, you can use the channels Email, Web, SMS and WhatsApp. CleverTap allows you to create automated responses and start dialogue-oriented live chats. There are no fixed prices, but you can request a demo and settle the money afterwards.

Braze

Braze is a customer engagement platform with which you can, among other things, send push messages.

Braze gives you the necessary tools to strengthen customer loyalty in a dialogue-based way. You can communicate with your customers via Braze via mail, SMS, mobile and web push, as well as via the app. The customer engagement platform focuses on personalised push notifications and campaign optimisation through accurate analysis. CleverTap also does not have a fixed price, this is entirely based on your needs.

You can find other tools that are suitable as a conversational commerce platform on OMR Reviews. Stop by and compare the software using verified user experiences and ratings.

What are examples of conversational commerce and how do tools support this?

Anyone who wants to position themselves in conversational commerce can follow brands that have already done this successfully. Would you like a list? But with pleasure.

• Adidas positioned the football boot 'Predator20 Mutator' with a WhatsApp campaign at the beginning of 2020, delivering replacement players to amateur clubs in London. With the sentence 'Rent a Pred', amateur teams could recruit fully equipped professional players from the city to Adidas by WhatsApp message when players dropped out at short notice.
• Beck's came up with a special idea: The famous beer brand turned WhatsApp histories into comics. This wasn't directly in WhatsApp, but the connection alone has brought the company popularity and shown customers that Beck's wants to position itself in C-Commerce.
• Hellmann's Conversational Marketing campaign showed that commerce and marketing can be combined with a solution for everyday problems. Hellmann's therefore offered users the opportunity to send a photo with available ingredients via WhatsApp. In return, they received a recommendation for a dish from a real chef - naturally always with Hellmann's products in the recipe.
• Sinch Engage has made Wish even more direct: the shopping app advised customers about Christmas presents via WhatsApp. For this purpose, users sent a message to Wish looking for a gift. As a result, they received a product recommendation with a link to the shop. If it was a fail, users could write 'Next' as long as they always got a new product suggested until it fit.

The next step in C-Commerce will now be for marketing campaigns to convert users into buyers as a standard feature via WhatsApp and other messengers - in a single app. The topic of conversational commerce has only just begun, but as always: first come, first love the customers more!