From cart abandonment to conversion: How boAt mastered conversational commerce

Now synonymous with lifestyle technology, boAt targets "young and wild explorers" by keeping pace with on-the-go consumers and ensuring its products are available when and where its customers are. To better control customer touchpoints and enhance the customer experience, boAt recently aimed to boost direct-to-consumer sales through its website.

However, operationalizing these sales directly on boAt's own website posed challenges. Managing customer notifications, such as order status updates and returns, proved difficult and led to an increase in calls to the contact center. Additionally, marketing efforts in both proactive campaigns and responses to customer concerns, were not producing satisfactory results. Response rates via email and SMS were low, and there was a risk of emails being marked as spam, exacerbating the problem.  

Recognizing the high read rates on WhatsApp in India and the potential for customer engagement on this channel, boAt looked for a conversational commerce solution that would enable efficient customer notifications, drive customer acquisition, facilitate sales directly from customer engagement points — and allow for seamless purchases within WhatsApp conversations. 

Within two months, he and his team had implemented, tested and rolled out the solution that would enable the business to engage with customers in real-time conversations — facilitating seamless interactions and transactions within WhatsApp. "The Sprinklr team was so supportive during the testing phase," says Singh. "They helped us understand what we needed to build, the impact certain changes would have on our timeline and the right settings that would allow us to launch without any hassle." 

Improving customer relationships by meeting shoppers where they are 
Conversational Commerce on WhatsApp, made possible by Sprinklr's native integration with WhatsApp Business, would enable boAt to proactively engage and assist customers. "We aim to provide order confirmations and delivery updates preemptively," explains Singh. Leveraging Sprinklr, the company ensures compliance, manages consent and respects customers' privacy preferences with opt-out messages and clear terms. By reengaging cart abandoners through targeted WhatsApp campaigns, boAt tailors communications for maximum impact and boosts conversions. This includes encouraging customers to preorder new products, offering priority access to product launches, notifying them of restocks or offering custom coupons to draw them back to their cart. "With Sprinklr's flexibility, we customize campaigns like abandoned cart recovery, providing discounts to nudge customers towards completing their orders." 

boAt also integrated an AI-powered chatbot to provide customers with information about product inventory and offer product suggestions. Additionally, the team enabled checkout through WhatsApp to create a seamless experience for customers who interact with the chatbot. This now accounts for 2-3% of the company’s total revenue.
 
Transitioning from cash on delivery to prepaid conversion 
Cash-on-delivery (COD) orders — which is when a customer pays for their product after delivery —  account for more than 70% of e-commerce transactions in India. While providing the option for COD is important, shifting toward prepaid payment allows businesses to better predict cash flow, mitigate risk and improve the overall customer experience. "If we can convert customers to prepaid payments, we can be certain they’ll buy our product, which gives us a clearer way to evaluate cash flow," explains Singh. Sprinklr's conversational commerce platform helps power these conversions, enabling Singh and his team to encourage customers to choose prepaid options, reducing the risk and cost associated with return to origin orders and ensuring more secure and guaranteed deliveries.

Building integrations to design a better customer experience 
Forging integrations to elevate customer interactions, boAt has streamlined its tech ecosystem to enhance the overall customer journey. By seamlessly connecting platforms like CleverTap, GoKwik, Shopify and Nectar, the company tailors experiences to individual preferences. "Integrating tools across our tech stack is essential," says Ashutosh Gavali, boAt's director of engineering and analytics. "With Shopify processing orders, Unicommerce managing them, and Shiprocket handling logistics, unifying everything on Sprinklr ensures a cohesive experience and facilitates smoother customer communication." Additionally, boAt gamifies its rewards schemes by integrating Nectar, enabling customers to earn points for purchases or referrals, with notifications delivered via Conversational Commerce. All of this information enables boAt to personalize journeys over time. "We can share updates, including customers who leave reviews, from Conversational Commerce across Sprinklr Service," Gavali explains. "In this way, Sprinklr's conversational commerce platform empowers us to recognize and incentivize loyal customers while consistently nurturing our relationships with them."