Apple Business Chat to bring ‘new level of personalization’ to David’s Bridal customers

David’s Bridal, the nation’s leading bridal and special occasion authority, announced today the debut of their messaging-powered experience for customers, led by concierge bot Zoey. The new solution, enabled by global conversational commerce solutions provider LivePerson, gives customers a white-glove experience through Apple Business Chat – a new way for businesses to connect to customers using the Messages app on Apple products. David’s Bridal is a retail industry leader in launching this technology and the only wedding retailer to offer this service today.

Messaging on mobile devices has become the preferred channel for David’s Bridal customers, now representing 45% of their total contact center traffic. The Zoey-led messaging experience is powered by LivePerson’s conversational platform, LiveEngage, which connects brands to messaging channels and voice assistants. Within LiveEngage, LivePerson’s artificial intelligence orchestrates human agents and bots to provide outstanding consumer experiences at scale.

Zoey provides a true omni-experience with Apple Business Chat that seamlessly combines automated technology with real people, allowing customers to book appointments, text with stylists to quickly resolve questions or get advice, and even place secure orders. David’s Bridal is also using the new chat suggestions feature in iOS 13, which offers the option to start a Business Chat conversation when a customer taps to call David’s Bridal customer service. If the user chooses to message instead of call, a conversation with Zoey will open instantly in the Messages app. With Apple Business Chat, customers can message when it’s convenient and seamlessly pick up conversations where they left off, just as they would with friends and family.

Switching from voice calls to messaging led to outstanding increases in customer service and operational efficiency metrics, including:

• > 41% of customers opted to use messaging versus waiting on hold
• > Messaging is trending over 60 NPS
• > Achieved 90% First Call Resolution compared to 73% on voice channel
• > Reduced contact center operating costs by over 30%
• > Shifted 30% of appointment booking phone traffic out of stores, freeing up employees to provide outstanding in-person experiences

“Following the success of introducing the messaging option to our customers, we knew we’d hit on something special,” said Holly Carroll, Vice President, Customer Service & Contact Center Operations at David’s Bridal. “In fact, our customers loved the Apple Business chat option so much that, as we saw their feedback roll in, we decided to replace our email address with the option to message and accelerate our rollout of the feature. Introducing Zoey as a personalized concierge experience was the logical next step to help our customers at every stage of their event journey so they can focus on enjoying every moment of their once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”

Zoey will continue to evolve over time with features that will help customers find their dream dresses, great accessories, and the perfect gifts for their occasions. Zoey will also have the ability to connect customers effortlessly with partners that represent the entire event planning ecosystem – a true one-stop shopping experience.

“We are delighted by the overwhelmingly positive response to Zoey and the way David’s Bridal is changing how brides plan their weddings, proving once again that if given the option to message, consumers will embrace it wholeheartedly,” said Manlio Carrelli, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Business Group at LivePerson. “We’re proud to bring this innovative brand online with Apple Business Chat and provide the technology behind Zoey.”

Apple Business Chat is available in beta for users and businesses worldwide, and is built into iOS 11.3 and higher. The new chat suggestions feature is available starting with iOS 13.

To start messaging with Zoey, begin an Apple Business Chat conversation here.