Nordstrom’s Facebook Chatbot Used AI to Offer Curated Gift Suggestions
Laura McQuarrie — January 18, 2017 — Tech
References: shop.nordstrom & wersm
Since the advent of Facebook chatbots on Messenger, there have been countless bots created for retail applications, including those to connect consumers with products they might enjoy. For the holiday season, Nordstrom launched a special holiday chatbot to help people find the perfect gifts for people on their list.
While there have been many online tools such as quizzes that have provided such a service in the past, this one from Nordstrom sets itself apart with artificial intelligence. As such, the bot is able to ask complex questions like: "Where would you find this person on the weekends?" and "When this person considers eating out at a restaurant, what's their main interest?" Most interestingly, people were able to truly converse with the bot, by typing any answer, rather than choosing from a multiple choice menu with pre-set responses.
While there have been many online tools such as quizzes that have provided such a service in the past, this one from Nordstrom sets itself apart with artificial intelligence. As such, the bot is able to ask complex questions like: "Where would you find this person on the weekends?" and "When this person considers eating out at a restaurant, what's their main interest?" Most interestingly, people were able to truly converse with the bot, by typing any answer, rather than choosing from a multiple choice menu with pre-set responses.
Trend Themes
1. AI Chatbots for Retail - The trend of using AI chatbots for retail, such as Nordstrom's holiday chatbot, to connect consumers with products they might enjoy using more advanced natural language processing (NLP) and learning algorithms.
2. Conversational Ecommerce - The trend of using AI chatbots for conversational eCommerce during the holiday season to help people find the perfect gifts for people on their list, such as Nordstrom's holiday chatbot, as a way to offer personalized recommendations and create a more engaging customer experience.
3. Advanced Questioning for Shopping Assistance - The trend of AI chatbots like Nordstrom's holiday chatbot using advanced questioning to gather more detailed information from customers, allowing for more personalized product recommendations and a more seamless shopping experience.
Industry Implications
1. Retail and Ecommerce Industry - The retail and eCommerce industry can take advantage of AI chatbots like Nordstrom's holiday chatbot to provide personalized recommendations, create a more engaging customer experience, and increase sales during the holiday season.
2. Technology Industry - The technology industry can innovate AI chatbots for retail like Nordstrom's holiday chatbot by developing advanced NLP and machine learning algorithms that can gather even more detail from customer questions, leading to more accurate recommendations.
3. Customer Service Industry - The Customer Service industry can innovate AI chatbots like Nordstrom's holiday chatbot by creating more human-like chatbots that can converse with customers more naturally, providing a more personalized shopping experience and tighter integration with customer service support.
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