Revolutionising Customer Engagement: The Power of Support Automation in the Beauty and Fashion Industry

By Gaurav Singh, CEO, Verloop.io

In the fast-paced world of fashion and beauty which is growing at an exponential rate of 6% yearly in terms of revenue, customer engagement is the lifeblood of success. As trends evolve, so do the expectations of consumers. From favoring in-store shopping to embracing the convenience of mobile apps at home, customer support has evolved alongside shifting preferences. Waiting on hold or in queues, once customary, has given way to a preference for swift, agent-free resolutions. In this dynamic industry, providing seamless and personalised customer support is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity.

The Era of Support Automation
Enter the era of support automation, a game-changer that's transforming how brands in the beauty and fashion industry connect with their customers. With the integration of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), businesses are enhancing their customer service strategies. Moreover, brands are harnessing cutting-edge AI support like Conversational AI, to boost sales through customer support.

In the fashion industry, a standout application involves providing personalised style guidance. A leading Indian fashion and beauty e-commerce platform has harnessed the power of conversation automation on WhatsApp to achieve just that. With support extended to its beauty e-commerce platform, the brand has witnessed an influx of over 0.7 million customer interactions quarterly, with 36% seeking style advice. Moreover, 60% of its recurring users engage in beauty-related support, while an impressive 65% return for style advice in the fashion segment.

Another leading beauty and fashion e-commerce platform in India deployed the conversation automation solution to its application and witnessed over 0.6 million interactions in a single quarter, out of which 15.39% were recurrent users. A leading omnichannel fashion operator based in Indonesia, renowned for introducing prominent global brands to the country, harnessed the power of conversational e-commerce. This strategic move resulted in a staggering $139,000 in sales generated solely through chat automation over 2 2-year time period.

These examples speak for themselves – we are at the dawn of support automation,
and without it, prominent brands are at risk of losing to the battle for survival.

24/7 Available Personalised Interactions, at Scale
In an industry where trends never sleep, round-the-clock availability is paramount. Support automation ensures that customers can get the help they need precisely when they need it. Conversational AI solutions handle routine queries, freeing up human agents to focus on complex issues and creative problem-solving.

An eminent fashion brand in India integrated conversational AI into its mobile app to address customer inquiries on delivery, refunds, product specifics, and more. Within six months, the solution handled over 0.4 million chats, with just 15% necessitating agent intervention. Remarkably, 95% of the queries were autonomously resolved by
the AI.

Support automation allows brands to deliver hyper-personalised interactions on a massive scale. AI-powered conversation automation solutions, armed with deep learning algorithms, can understand customer intent, preferences, and history. This enables them to offer tailored recommendations, suggest products, and provide timely assistance.

Omnichannel Support Elevating Customer Experience
Customers interact with brands across various channels—social media, websites, mobile apps, and more. Support automation unifies these touchpoints, ensuring a consistent experience. Whether a customer starts a conversation on Instagram and switches to the website, the conversation continues seamlessly, thus improving the overall shopping and support experience of customers.

The beauty and fashion industry thrives on experiences. Automated support doesn’t just provide quick answers; it crafts delightful interactions. From helping customers find the perfect shade of lipstick to suggesting accessories that complement an outfit, AI-powered solutions engage with empathy and expertise.

Data-Driven Insights for Growth
Support automation doesn’t stop at immediate problem-solving. It's a treasure trove of data. Brands gain invaluable insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and pain points. This data fuels product development, marketing strategies, and even trend forecasting. Apart from this, it also helps in ensuring a unified brand voice throughout sales and support.

AI solutions provide in-depth insights into your agent’s interactions with customers along with their daily activities, revealing areas where additional training or tools may be beneficial for delivering outstanding service.

Empowering Agents with Superhuman Capabilities
Support automation isn’t about replacing humans; it’s about empowering them. With AI handling routine tasks, human agents have the bandwidth to tackle complex issues that demand creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking. It’s a fusion of human intuition and AI efficiency.

Integrating generative AI tools into conversational AI solutions equips agents with enhanced capabilities. They can now swiftly formulate concise and coherent responses, streamlining customer interactions with efficiency.

Advanced tools like AI-Summary streamline the process for agents by swiftly generating summaries of entire conversations. This eliminates the need for manual scrutiny, significantly reducing the time and effort required to extract specific details and identify potential issues.

Additionally, another powerful Generative AI tool, AnswerFlow, leverages document cognition. This innovative feature enables the system to automatically generate responses for agents, ensuring swift and accurate replies. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also leads to more effective customer interactions.

Final Thoughts
In a fiercely competitive industry like beauty and fashion, customer engagement is a differentiator. Support automation isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategic imperative. Brands that leverage their power are not only meeting customer expectations but also setting new
standards for exceptional experiences.

By embracing support automation, the beauty and fashion industry is not just keeping up; it’s propelling itself into a future where customer engagement is not just a service, but an art form.