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Planning a vacation? Great idea. But what happens to your Shopify store while you are away? Can you afford to lose customers and sales for a short period of time?
That’s the dilemma that prevents ecommerce owners from ever taking a break. Shopify has different options to put your store in vacation mode, but all roads lead to closing your store during that time.
Quick solution? Try an AI chatbot.
You don’t have to shut everything down while you're away. With the help of an AI chatbot like AskTimmy, you can offer customer support and even continue making sales while you’re on vacation.
Why use a Shopify AI chatbot during your vacation?
Think about your existing customers. They want to know when they will receive their order. They send a message or an email to your support, and all they get is silence from your side because you are not available. They open your website, and it's password protected. How would they feel?
Imagine the sales you lose every single day you are away from your store and customers.
An AI chatbot like AskTimmy will come in handy at times like these. Here is a list of all the benefits of using a Shopify AI chatbot during your vacation.
- Works 24/7 and takes no breaks.
- Answers all customer queries instantly and accurately.
- Provides order updates and helps track orders.
- Recommends products based on customer preferences.
AskTimmy will act as your virtual assistant. It keeps selling even when you are not there. It is one of the best alternatives to try instead of putting your store in vacation mode or password-protected.
How to use AskTimmy to manage your Shopify store during vacation
While AskTimmy can help you manage your Shopify store, let you’re customers know you're on a short break.
The best thing would be to add a banner on your site announcing shipping delays and fulfilment timelines. You can also feed this information into AskTimmy’s knowledge base to answer customers promptly.
1. Customize AskTimmy’s welcome message:
AskTimmy can greet customers with a friendly note that sets the expectations.
Try something like, “Hey there! We're currently on vacation until June 10th. But don’t worry—I'm here to help! You can still browse, ask questions, and place orders. We’ll ship as soon as we’re back!
2. Train AskTimmy to answer vacation FAQs:
You can add special FAQs related to the delay in shipping and other queries to help AskTimmy handle customers better. Questions such as,
- “When will my order ship?”
- “Can I still place an order?”
- “Can I cancel my order if it hasn’t yet shipped without any charges?”
3. Let AskTimmy recommend products
Once you have trained AskTimmy with the right data and information, it acts as a sales assistant round the clock. It not just recommends products,
- AskTimmy understands customer preferences and personalizes the recommendations.
- Upsells and cross sells products to double your sales.
- Creates product bundles to increase average order value.
Also read: Best Shopify AI chatbots to recommend products.
4. Collect leads for post vacation follow up
If you enable lead generation, you can collect customer email and phone number directly through AskTimmy.
Using this data, you can send email and SMS notifications to customers regarding your business updates.
You can even send a discount code to all customers who signed up while you were away to increase sales opportunities.
Wrapping up
Taking a break and going on a vacation doesn’t mean you have to put your business on hold. With a Shopify chatbot like AskTimmy, your Shopify store stays open, responsive, and even makes money while you enjoy your time off.
Add AskTimmy to your Shopify store today for free!
Frequently asked questions
1. How do I let customers know I’m on vacation?
You can add a banner or an announcement bar to let customers know you are away on vacation. You can also train the AI chatbot to answer customer queries related to shipping delays, timeline, and order status.
2. Will customers get upset if I delay shipping while on vacation?
As long as you communicate openly and clearly, there will be no issues with your customers. Let them know the delay in shipping and delivery before they place an order or pay you in advance.
An AI chatbot like AskTimmy will help them with their questions and queries with clear and accurate answers.