Retailing is such a tough business today. The global economic outlook is gloomy, the digital advertising markets are oversaturated, and customers are overloaded with information. Think about how long it takes for you to close an online retail sale. Can you measure store traffic tied to online activity? Do you struggle to maintain your brick-and-mortar business during slow seasons?
Here is the hottest trend in Apac to grow retail sales: two-way conversations through private messaging services that keep your customers closer. Let’s look at how retail brands can work with a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) to delight customers and grow business at scale.
Bossini generated 18 per cent membership sales with SleekFlow
Bossini, one of Asia’s most preferred everyday wear brands, used to update its members about the latest promotions through in-app push notifications. However, the mobile operating systems did not allow developers to track open rates. The brand risked uncertainty of marketing investment returns.
Given the deep penetration of WhatsApp in Asia countries, Bossini turned to social selling. The brand has been working with SleekFlow to deploy WhatsApp Business Platform Cloud API solutions. SleekFlow is a WhatsApp BSP selected by Meta. The social commerce software follows Meta’s conversation-based pricing model and doesn’t mark up messaging fees. It makes budgeting easy for enterprises that have a large messaging volume.
Bossini’s first WhatsApp broadcast campaign was to distribute limited copies of in-store pickup coupon books to more than 100,000 members. The broadcast message was dynamic and personalised, filled with custom variables and a quick reply button. SleekFlow auto-assigned conversations to human agents for converting high-potential leads. As a result, Bossini saw a doubling of foot traffic and an 18 per cent increase in retail sales for this campaign.
Eau Thermale Avène implements a WhatsApp-based loyalty program
The French dermo-cosmetic brand Eau Thermale Avène has been running its loyalty program on SleekFlow. New customers scan a WhatsApp QR code at the physical dermo counter to initiate a conversation with a smart chatbot. It guides new member registration and services like redeeming welcome gifts and checking point history. Upon every purchase, customers only have to send a photo of their receipt through WhatsApp to earn and use membership points.
SleekFlow builds its solutions on top of the cloud-based API hosted by Meta, which supports up to 500 messages per second when sending or receiving text and media upon request. Managing a large number of WhatsApp conversations is fast and secure.
The simple reward experience has attracted more than 60,000 in-store customers to their loyalty program. By collecting omnichannel data such as the frequently visited store, purchase history, skin type, and website browsing history, the brand can retarget past walk-ins and pull customers back into its retail stores.
Le Dessert doubles sales through social selling
The F&B industry also sells retail and fixed point-of-sale locations. Here’s how Le Dessert, a French patisserie in Hong Kong, uses WhatsApp to forge deep connections with customers and win their loyalty.
“With SleekFlow, WhatsApp is no longer an individual touchpoint, but a complete sales funnel,” said Julien de Préaumont, founder of Le Dessert. “We broadcast our monthly dessert magazine and introduce new recipes to thousands of contacts. Our Shopify store is synced with SleekFlow’s in-app catalogue. The online dessert concierge can draft orders and send customised shopping carts using the SleekFlow mobile app. And then, we send a traceable payment link for checkout in WhatsApp to close the deal. It saves customers’ efforts to navigate digital aisles and reduces purchase friction. Lastly, we send automated order tracking and review request messages to keep them happy.”
WhatsApp makes the brand approachable and personable. It benefits the growth in all sales channels, including pop-ups, pickup, website, and social apps. Le Dessert’s sales have skyrocketed 200 per cent since onboarding to SleekFlow.
Sign up in three minutes and start scaling personalised and automated WhatsApp conversations on SleekFlow. Using Salesforce or HubSpot to manage customer data? SleekFlow offers a free trial for CRM integration to all subscribers, reaching out to your leads in WhatsApp for quick results. Talk to localised experts in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Dubai, and the UK for growth guidance.
