Conversational commerce (“c-commerce”) in a nutshell, is the process of acquiring goods and services through messaging apps.  It is all set to be the third major pillar of commerce, joining ‘bricks-and-mortar’ retail with e-commerce by gluing together all channels.

C-commerce unlocks the full potential of personalisation by using channels and apps where customers already spend their time, like WhatsApp, Telegram or Line.  C-commerce is fast becoming an essential component of an omnichannel sales strategy for brand owners.  Recent research predicted that the total spend over c-commerce channels will increase by 590% to reach $290 billion by 2025. 

The phrase “conversational commerce” is generally attributed to Chris Messina. His predictions have maybe taken a little longer than predicted but c-commerce is here and it is here to stay. C-commerce is probably in your life already: paid for parking in Dublin via SMS? That’s c-commerce. Received a reminder for an appointment via text? That’s on the c-commerce ladder. Bought coffee by WhatsApp from Badger & Dodo, Cloud Picker Coffee or Creed Coffee? C-commerce (and Cloda!).

Conversational sales have up to a 10x conversion success rate compared with regular e-commerce sales. 

SMS and chat messages enjoy a 98% opening rate.  SMS messages are generally opened within 90 seconds of receipt with a response rate of 45%, compared to just 8% for emails.  Conversational sales have up to a 10x conversion success rate compared with regular e-commerce sales. 

 Cloda’s own figures are compelling with a customer retention rate of 48% and a multiple re-order rate of 32%.  Cloda provides automated sales ‘out of the box’ and the Cloda portal allows clients to ‘assist’ in sales.  Cloda is fully integrated with leading e-commerce platforms, WooCommerce and Shopify, so there is no additional set-up required for the business.  All transactions are automatically fed into the e-commerce platform.  Payment goes directly to the business.

Want to know a bit more? Keep an eye on chatstrat for more in the coming weeks.

Request access via WhatsApp right here