Clear outlet stock at better margins with a chatbot that doesn't suck

"Let me speak to a @#-ing human!!"

Let’s be honest, chatbots have gotten themselves a bad name. But did you know, in ecommerce, new chatbots designed with specific purposes are handling tasks better than any human ever could? Yes, really!

Many people hear the word “chatbot” and think of a clunky customer-service assistant; a gate-keeper to the live agent or a digitised FAQ page. It may surprise you, but chatbots with unique purposes can out-perform and reinvigorate your customer experience in ecommerce.

Look at the growing stock problems retailers worldwide are facing. Blanket sales and a heavy discount code just don’t excite consumers anymore. They want something that feels personal, engaging, innovative and FAST. That’s where Nibble comes in. The benefit isn’t just on the customer’s side—the retailer can clear the same volume of stock at a better margin than they would compared to traditional discounting.

More engaging than pasting a code into a box (that's not hard)

A voucher code is made to offer a promotion. Nibble has been designed to close the sale. It’s fast by design, with most deals being agreed within a minute, and is changing the way retailer’s approach promotions by giving them a discrete way of discounting that doesn’t impact full price sales.

70% of shoppers get to the point of purchase, then look for a voucher code or price-check elsewhere. We’re all aware that too many blanket discounts and flash sales have a negative impact on the perceived value of your brand. When was the last time anyone paid full price for a Domino’s Pizza? Making a deal within a natural language chat is uniquely placed to offer promotions at the right moment just before the customer abandons their basket in favour of another retailer or to voucher code sites.

Importantly, Nibble can offer a deal AND reinforce your brand values simultaneously. We’ve seen this in practice when a shopper spoke with Nibble on a premium coffee brand. After a lowball opening offer, Nibble reinforced their brand values by responding, “You know they’re paying a Fairtrade wage to their farmers and organic coffee comes at a premium.” The shopper, reminded of the value of the product at the point of purchase, replied, “Fair point…” and converted at a better margin. It's not only Nibble who was being persuasive on this store, either...

Don't trust the chatbot, trust the data

This conversational approach to clearing stock has yielded impressive data. One premium gin brand used Nibble to clear old stock this year. They had great-tasting gin stuck with an old label design which meant they couldn’t sell at full price. Ordinarily, the solution to this problem would be a voucher code that gave a flat rate off. Instead, Nibble cleared this stock and managed to improve their margin-saving by 27% compared to their voucher code promotions.

Ecommerce retailers need to remember that shopping is an emotional experience. As soon as you engage in conversation 1-to-1, people don’t think in percentages anymore. For the consumer, it’s no longer a case of ‘I hope I get 15% off for this.’ Instead, it’s ‘I'll buy this if I can get it for under £30.’

For another retailer, Nibble improved conversion by +50% without impacting full-price sales when used exclusively on product page re-visits; a gentle nudge to the discerning customer who just needed a personalised deal to get over the line.

This is personal shopping delivered at a scale unmatchable by live agents. The next time you’re planning promotions, think twice before reactivating that tired voucher code. Give customers an experience that will grab their attention.

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