How to get the most sales and make shopping experiences irresistible in 2023

By its very nature, conversational commerce is all about being social with your consumers. That means being available on online channels, while reaching out with personalized messages to create meaningful connections.

Social shopping represents the pinnacle of “self-service” customer journeys: The shopper spots a product in their social feed, clicks on it, and purchases it. Because this process is so fast, simple, and effortless for consumers—and brands—social shopping’s popularity is set to grow further in 2023. For example, Deloitte Global predicts the market for social commerce will power past $1tr globally in 2023, with two billion people predicted to shop via social media platforms, according to Accenture.

This represents a sizable opportunity for brands—one that will need meticulous management to seize fully. To help you create great social shopping experiences supported by messaging, specialists including tyntec offer APIs that integrate direct messaging for Instagram, Facebook, and other channels right into your CRM.

The next level in personalized customer care—Clienteling 2.0—is helping high-end brands deliver white-glove online customer experiences via messaging. It’s an approach that’s already been embraced by high-end fashion brands. For instance, Yoox Net-A-Porter is selling many big ticket items via WhatsApp (including one that went for £80k). As better channel management solutions and smart chatbot deployment gain traction in 2023, expect Clienteling 2.0’s popularity to spread into less high-end sectors as costs for delivering such personalization begin to fall.

While you may not yet have the resources to offer hyper-customized buying journeys, platforms such as tyntec’s Conversations Inbox enable you to offer guidance on purchases as well as make personalized offers based on customers’ purchasing histories—all via the consumers’ preferred messaging channel. And being personal matters: Exploding Topics’ research reveals that 60% of consumers say they’ll become repeat customers after a personalized shopping experience.

Consumers are researching their purchases more than ever before and, with the cost of living going up, expect this trend to continue in 2023.

Whether they’re scrolling social feeds or visiting your site, help shoppers research by offering rich sources of product or service information and insights—think video, image carousels, and PDFs—that aid them to make quicker, more informed buying decisions. According to Google, 50% of shoppers say images help them decide what to buy.

Video continues to dominate the visual content landscape. According to research by Wyzowl, 73% of shoppers who want to learn about a product or service say they prefer watching a short video. That’s compared to 11% who prefer to read a text-based article, website, or post. Meanwhile, Google research reveals that video inspires or gives 60% of shoppers’ ideas for what to buy in the first place.

Combined, this means brands must double down on their investment in image-driven content across all their channels in 2023. If they don’t, they risk being left behind by competitors who use visuals as their number one choice for attracting and nurturing shoppers.

In 2023 conversational commerce will continue to grow in importance. Thankfully, it couldn’t be easier to go conversational this year.

Leveraging messaging channels effectively will deliver richer customer experiences, foster deeper loyalty, and generate more revenue. With the right strategy—and the right partner—you can put your brand in forefront of customer’s minds at all times and at all touchpoints. Go beyond your customer’s expectations in 2023. Delight them by going conversational.