High-end beauty brand Wander Beauty is building out its customer communication channels with a Facebook chatbot.
In July, around the same time that Wander Beauty began testing a text messaging service, the company piloted a chatbot living in Facebook Messenger before officially expanding its use in August. (The company has over 57,000 followers on the platform.) The chatbot prompts customers to answer six questions to receive product recommendations selected by the brand’s customer service team. In four months, Wander Beauty found that 17 percent of its customers engaged with the chatbot and made a purchase, compared to the industry benchmark of 2 percent
“Facebook has been a priority channel for us and we want to amplify that with a personal experience, meaning products that are recommended to an individual’s needs,” said Divya Gugnani, Wander Beauty co-founder.
For Wander, the mobile experience has been a primary driver of revenue. Approximately 50 percent of sales are through its e-commerce website, versus retail partners like Sephora and Nordstrom, and between Jan. 1 and Nov. 19, approximately 67 percent of all e-commerce traffic was on mobile. In the last week, it was even higher: 73 percent. The chatbot’s ability to be embedded in Facebook Messenger creates a new channel of dialog with customers on the go, Gugnani said.
“Mobile is paramount to the chatbot experience because customers spend all day on their phones,” said Caroline Klatt, co-founder and CEO of Headliner Labs, which created the Facebook chatbot for Wander Beauty. Beauty brands like Ouai and Dr. Brandt have also used Headliner Labs chatbot services on Facebook Messenger to reach their customers on their phones.
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Wander Beauty’s customers range in age from 14 to 65, and the chatbot has helped the brand reach targeted customer segments. Gugnani said 30-something mothers is one demographic Wander Beauty is catering to more than ever. “Facebook is amazing for that pocket of people and for that [older] generation,” she said.
