How conversational commerce enhances CX across multiple channels

As the demand for seamless and interactive shopping experiences grows, conversational commerce has emerged as a transformative force in the retail landscape. This approach integrates chatbots, messaging apps, and AI-driven conversations to engage customers across every step of their journey, from initial enquiries to final purchases.

Conversational commerce enables businesses to connect with customers through text, voice, and other conversational methods. By leveraging tools such as AI-powered chatbots and messaging platforms, it simplifies decision-making and facilitates transactions.

At the inaugural afaqs! Customer First Summit - Harnessing the Power of CX, panelists explored the topic Chat to Checkout: Unlocking Sales Potential with Conversational Commerce. They shared insights on how this innovative approach is redefining customer engagement and creating new opportunities for businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital-first world.

The panel comprised Avi Kumar, chief marketing officer, FNP; Prasun Kumar, chief marketing officer, Magicbricks; Rajesh Sethuraman, vice president - brand experience, Blackberrys; and Sunnyraj Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Chat360. Sreekant Khandekar, co-founder and CEO, afaqs!, chaired the session.

Khandekar began the session by asking the panellists to share the most exciting aspect of leveraging conversational commerce in their work. Avi Kumar responded by highlighting the emotional core of his business, stating, “We are in the business of spreading emotion.” He explained that when it comes to gifting, the process often starts with a dilemma: What is the right gift? This makes discovery a crucial part of the customer journey.

To address this, he elaborated on how conversational commerce helps guide customers in making the perfect choice. While curated recommendations are available on the main page, an AI-powered chatbot also plays a pivotal role in assisting consumers with their decisions.

Reflecting on the growth of conversational commerce over the past four years since founding Chat360, Aggarwal shared how the platform has evolved from its early days as a basic chatbot operating on a single channel.

He remarked, “When we started, Chat360 was a basic chatbot platform working on a single channel. Today, consumers are interacting across multiple platforms—voice, email, WhatsApp, RCS, and more.”

Aggarwal also highlighted how this shift has transformed conversational commerce into a more efficient and personalised tool. “With time, conversational commerce has become extremely efficient and personalised as we’re seeing more data points and information maturing,” he explained. This evolution allows businesses to predict customer needs with greater accuracy, delivering the right product at the right moment.

Prasun Kumar from Magicbricks shared an intriguing shift in customer behaviour. “There have been cases where consumers explicitly request not to speak but instead prefer sharing information with the brand over platforms like WhatsApp,” he noted, highlighting the growing preference for text-based communication, which kind of poses a challenge in conversational commerce.

He illustrated this trend with a striking statistic: “In the last data I saw, about 70% of calls we made resulted in consumers asking us to share information via text rather than persuading them to download an app through a call.” This shift underscores the importance of meeting consumers where they are most comfortable and tailoring communication methods to their preferences.

Concluding the session, Khandekar posed a thought-provoking question: If we were to reconvene on this platform five years from now, would the nature of this conversation differ from today? Sethuraman stated, “A couple of years from now, personalisation will become hygiene, and I believe brands won’t talk much about it anymore.”

He emphasised that while personalisation may soon be a baseline expectation, the real challenge lies in executing it effectively.

“What will surely become a conversation is how brands meaningfully personalise conversations,” he remarked, highlighting the complexities involved in creating impactful and relevant customer interactions.

We would like to thank our partners:

Digital Experience Partner:
Salesforce

Gen AI Partner:
Chat360

Co-Partner:
Zoho

Watch the full session below: