Shopify clients who use Facebook Messenger to reach out to customers will be happy to know they can now use the popular instant messaging app to facilitate purchases too.
Starting this month, the company’s Messenger channel can be used to not only notify customers regarding their orders and respond to concerns, but sell merchandise as well.
“This can help you build the same strong, one-to-one relationships neighborhood store owners once built with their customers,” Shopify senior product manager Brandon Chu wrote in an Oct. 5 blog post. “Establishing these deep, personal relationships is how you build brand loyalty; it’s how you build a company people love.”
Though online channels remain critical to the retail industry, there is also a growing awareness that the tide of eulogies for bricks-and-mortar a few years ago were premature, and that incorporating a human element is important too: though customers are more likely to shop at app-friendly retailers, it’s proven equally important for online retailers to have a physical presence.
On the customer-facing side, Shopify’s Messenger support simply adds a “Shop Now” tab (right) to conversations, which customers can tap to view a Shopify client’s product catalogue using a carousel interface similar to Facebook’s Canvas platform.
From there, they can browse through pre-selected categories, type in their own, or perform simple requests by typing commands such as “Read description” or “choose options.”
Should they discover something they would like to purchase (below)…
…They can buy it with a few more taps using Shopify’s checkout interface (further below).
The Messenger sales channel is free for all Shopify clients – all they need do is add the Messenger channel in Shopify, connect their Facebook business page to the platform, and choose the products they would like to sell through Messenger.
You can find out more about Shopify’s Messenger platform here.