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As consumers rely more and more on their mobile phones and other digital platforms, Square unveiled on Wednesday several new enhancements to Square Messages, its artificial-intelligence-based digital-communications platform. Square is the payment-processing unit of San Francisco-based Block Inc.
Square Messages allows merchants and consumers to communicate through a single platform via text, email, digital receipts, invoices, customer feedback, links at checkout, and other digital channels. For example, a merchant sending a customer a payment link within Messages will see any related correspondence in one place, in contrast to monitoring multiple communications platforms, such as social media, for responses.
The enhancements are intended to help sellers build strong customer relationships using a single communications platform, Willem Ave, head of conversations and appointments at Square, tells Digital Transactions News via email.
The first enhancement is Suggested Replies, which automatically prompts responses to a customer’s message. The new feature boosts customer response rates by 4%, according to Square. Another enhancement is Suggested Actions, which gives businesses the ability to respond to consumers with one-click interactions, such as a prompt to send an invoice or payment link.
Square Messages has also been integrated with social-media platforms. “Square Messages enables two-way communication between sellers and buyers for instant, personalized conversations,” says Ave. “Square Messages gives sellers omnichannel solutions right at their fingertips so they can send checkout links, invoices to request payments, or share personalized coupons to entice customers to return, while buyers receive automated order updates and can reply to get status notifications or make changes to their order.”
Square Messages has proven popular with merchants. From late March 2021 through August this year, the number of active merchants using Square Messages increased three-fold, Square says. Within that time, 53 million messages were sent between businesses and their customers.
Square has found that 40% of inbound messages from social platforms are commerce-related, such as a customer inquiring about how to pick up an order or about the cost of services before they make a purchasing decision
“Square Messages has also proven to be a tool that works for merchants of any size and complexity as upmarket businesses represent nearly 20% of the active seller base,” Ave adds.
The top three merchant categories using Square Messages are beauty and barber shops, health care and fitness, and professional services. Beauty and barbershops use Square Messages to coordinate appointment bookings, while health-care and fitness sellers use the app for appointment reminders and to send receipts. Professional services rely more heavily on Square Messages to send customers their invoices and receipts, according to Ave.
Another recently introduced feature is the ability to send photos, which can provide more accurate details around a specific project or purchase the customer has in mind. For example, a consumer communicating with a home-repair service or tradesman can share photos of the damage caused by a burst pipe. Alternatively, a consumer can send a beauty and wellness merchant a photo of a desired hairstyle prior to an upcoming appointment.
“The ability for sellers to quickly and effectively communicate is a key differentiator that increases customer satisfaction and retention, while also building brand loyalty,” says Ave. “Square Messages levels the playing field so that sellers of all sizes can access modern, tech-enabled omnichannel solutions.”
In related news, Square also released its “Growth of Mobile and Conversational Commerce Report” Wednesday. Key findings from the report include:
● 98% of consumers surveyed say they want to connect with businesses via their mobile devices. Appointment reminders (66%) and order notifications (65%) are the most common interactions;
● 30% of consumers expect to shop more through their mobile devices over the next 12 months, with 38% of men expecting to increase their mobile shopping compared to 27% of women.
● Of the 97% of businesses using mobile commerce and reporting noticeable benefits, 53% say they’re better able to manage customer relationships and 53% note they’re able to save time by automating their business.
“Sellers continue to need powerful software that enables them to automate their business and meet the on-the-go needs of modern consumers,” Saumil Mehta, head of point of sale and e-commerce for Square says in a prepared statement. “Mobile commerce technologies are a competitive advantage for merchants to leverage in order to stand out from the noise.”
