How brands navigate conversational commerce

Their focus has shifted towards perfecting the end-to-end conversational journey.

Brands worldwide are now embracing conversational commerce to deepen connections with consumers.

According to the latest Messaging Trends Report 2024, which analysed over 473 billion digital communications interactions between businesses and consumers in 2023, brands are now focusing on the end-to-end conversational journey, allowing customers to seamlessly progress through purchase stages within single chat threads or rich communications services (RCS).

The report said that Interactive AI is driving this change, enabling brands to deploy a mix of chatbots and algorithms for efficient customer service, marketing, and operations. 

The retail and eCommerce sectors, known for pioneering technological innovations, also saw a 684% increase in the use of RCS messages. These sectors also continue to explore new avenues for engagement, including click-to-chat ads, end-to-end chat journeys, virtual assistants, and in-app delivery tracking.

“In the next year we foresee the widespread adoption of this approach in customer service, in supporting marketing and sales automation, and for operational use cases like scheduling deliveries or managing payments,” the report said.

As consumers crave deeper engagement, conversational messaging channels witnessed unprecedented growth, prompting brands to adopt tailored omnichannel approaches. WhatsApp leads the way, with other platforms like Telegram, Line, Viber, and Messenger following suit.

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In customer service, hybrid models blending human agents and chatbots are gaining traction, enhancing support experiences across multiple channels. 

In 2022, WhatsApp accounted for 99% of support messages, but by 2023, its share decreased to 90%, with the usage of several other chat apps becoming more widespread.

The year 2023 saw a surge in AI usage for customer support, characterized by trends such as generative AI, intelligent routing, proactive support, and social media chatbots.

Chat apps serve as the backbone of conversational commerce, enriching person-to-person communication.

“With customer support being the main reason for people to get in touch, it is crucial for businesses to make the process of starting a conversation as easy as possible,” the report added. 

Adding "click to chat" links at different entry points also increases the number of queries resolved on cost-effective digital channels for brands.