AI Shopping Apps in Chatbots: Retailers Face Adoption Challenges

Retailers are rapidly launching shopping apps inside chatbots, aiming to enhance online shopping experiences. Currently, there are about 900 apps on ChatGPT, with 10% focused on shopping, and 353 connectors for Claude. This month alone, over 500 new ChatGPT apps have been added. However, adoption and conversion rates remain low, according to Dimitri Ewald from Alpic. He points out that many clients are struggling to see significant sales from these integrations. Interestingly, this push comes after OpenAI ended its Instant Checkout feature, which some merchants felt didn’t drive sales effectively. The performance of these new shopping apps varies widely. Some simply provide links, while others allow users to add items to carts or complete purchases directly with merchants. The bottom line is that while the potential for shopping via chatbots is significant, challenges like discoverability and conversion rates must be addressed. This matters because as shopping habits evolve, understanding these new tools could shape our future purchasing experiences.