Mercaux, the digital transformation company turning retail stores into multi-purpose centres, has announced the release of its new solution, Remote Selling via WhatsApp. Providing a new channel for sales associates to communicate with customers on a hyper-personalised 1:1 level, the solution leverages previous online and in-store engagements with the brand and represents a brand new revenue stream for both online and physical retail.

As retail stores transition from being simple sales channels into multi-purpose centres, more and more retailers are experimenting with remote selling. There are several key features to this latest Mercaux solution:

• Sales associates connect with customers through the Mercaux Platform via an integration with WhatsApp, creating a new service-led revenue generating channel
• New service improves online and in-store conversion, increases frequency of purchase, delivers bigger basket sizes and crucially, elongates customer lifetime value
• Sales associates provided with tailored talking points - gathered from a 360 view of a customer’s previous engagement

By leveraging the skills of the sales associate to sell remotely to customers, the store is able to contribute even more to the success of the business, by both generating incremental revenues and improving customer lifetime value.

Let's look at this latest solution in a bit detail. There are two types of conversations that are facilitated by Remote Selling via WhatsApp:

• 1. Convert more sales with bigger basket sizes by replying to inbound requests

Store associates are alerted to inbound requests from customers scanning a QR code, or clicking on a link that’s displayed on a retailer’s website, in a web chat conversation, in a social media post/ bio description, or as a call to action in marketing communications. The most appropriate sales associate based on location and their recent activity with the Mercaux App is then assigned to the conversation to ensure a speedy response.

• 2. Generate brand new revenues by instigating new outbound conversations

Alternatively, store associates can initiate a conversation from the profile of a customer in Mercaux’s Clienteling Solution. They might like to extend a conversation that originated in-store for customers who have recently visited, or they can send a tailored message based on a topic relevant to that customer’s ‘list view’ in clienteling, such as upcoming birthdays, new collections or their VIP status.

Speaking of the new release, Olga Kotsur, co-founder & CEO, commented: “What makes this new solution stand out is the timing of the conversation and the super high relevancy of the topics being discussed.

Whereas other remote selling solutions provide the digital tools to facilitate a remote selling conversation, we’re taking this two steps further by providing tailored talking points for the store associate to use and an easy way to share products with the customer through a seamless integration with our Assisted Selling solution. So, not only do we provide the ability to communicate remotely with customers, but we also provide the reasons why.”

To ensure tight control over the messages that are being relayed to customers, every conversation is recorded on to the customer’s profile so they can be viewed by management teams. In addition, every product shared and every product ‘liked’ by the customer is also stored on the customer’s profile to be analysed by HQ Teams or used by store associates and marketing teams in future engagement with the brand.

To find out more about Remote Selling via WhatsApp, click here to register for one of our free product webinars: