International retailer Lulu Hypermarket has launched Salem, a new AI-powered customer service channel available on WhatsApp. The service is powered by Yellow.ai, a leading enterprise-grade Conversational AI platform.

 

Customers can now receive in-app purchase receipts, quickly track the delivery of their online orders and message for purchase-related customer support - all through WhatsApp. Customers in the UAE can also use WhatsApp to order products for in-store collection.

 

Lulu Hypermarket has also become one of the first retailers in the Middle East to introduce a loyalty programme via WhatsApp, through which customers can sign up for personalised offers based on their purchase history. Since July 2022, Salem has delivered over 300+ personalised offers on WhatsApp, recording a 40% increase in opt-ins through them.

 

Backend integration

With deep backend integration with the retailer’s CRM and Order Management system, Salem is capable of efficiently engaging with customers across the stages of their purchase journey, and has markedly improved customer satisfaction by up to 60%.

 

V NandaKumar, Director of Marketing and Communications at Lulu group, said: “Salem has considerably reduced the workload on Lulu Hypermarket’s customer support agents, allowing them to concentrate on more crucial tasks. Within 4 weeks of going live, it has successfully handled queries from over 3M unique users on WhatsApp and will continue to scale up in the coming months. At the same time, it is capable of smoothly switching customer conversations to live agent support in the case of complex issues.”

 

Raghu Ravinutala, CEO and Co-founder, Yellow.ai, said: "Conversational AI-powered solutions coupled with conversational commerce on messaging channels such as WhatsApp are quickly and effectively changing the game of retail digital commerce and helping brands stand out in a highly cluttered market. The sheer convenience quotient that this provides not only helps elevate customer experiences but also translates to greater conversion rates. And Salem is a true testimony to that. We are excited to work alongside a legacy brand like Lulu Hypermarket towards delivering delightful customer experiences and contributing to their overall digital transformation journey."

 

Growing demand

Nicolas Farin, Head of Client Sales EMEA, Business Messaging at Meta says: “We continue to see a growing demand from customers, particularly in the Middle East, to connect with a business in the same way they chat with their friends and family - through quick, easy and secure messaging. We hope this partnership will continue to improve customer journeys, offering new and innovative ways to connect on WhatsApp.”-- TradeArabia News Service