Zendesk rolls out Conversational Commerce with Meta, Shopify

Zendesk is rolling out new conversational tools for consumer brands and retailers, while deepening partnerships with key commerce platforms including Meta and Shopify.

The customer experience software company is rolling out a suite of tools called Conversational Commerce. They include the following:

Sales personalization: These tools allow agents to interact with abandoned carts, support active carts and inform customers when items are available in close proximity so they can complete purchases. Additional tools allow sharing of feature promotions.

Sales acceleration: This set of features is aimed at increasing overall order value. Agents can access a given shopper’s purchase history, merchandise preferences and browsing journey, and in turn provide recommendations for cross-sell and upsell.

Data at scale: Through more than 1,400 pre-built apps, businesses can use AI to automate conversions and recommendations. Additional integrations unify SKU, inventory and location data for product tracking, and connect disparate systems in order to provide a complete view of the customer.

Additionally, Zendesk is expanding integrations with a pair of key tech platforms for brands and retailers:

WhatsApp: An integration will enable businesses to create a buying experience within a message.

Shopify: Agents can incorporate product catalogs, checkout processes and promotions into their CX management approaches through Shopify’s platform.

Foot Locker is among the early retailers that are tapping these features, according to Zendesk.

Conversational experiences were among three areas that Zendesk CTO Adrian McDermott identified as key advances in customer experience in a conversation with The Current earlier this year.

According to the Zendesk 2023 CX Trends Report, 70% of customers expect conversational experiences when interacting with brands. Additionally, the survey found that 70% of consumers purchase more from brands that incorporate these capabilities.

“Whether it's Facebook Messenger, it's embedded messaging in your application, it's WhatsApp or it’s Google Business messaging, the messaging window has become the new browser window,” McDermott told The Current at the NRF Big Show in January.