The full shopping experience — now in Telegram

The lightweight and functional online shop inside Telegram messenger, aimed at a young, active audience.  A shop that is always at your fingertips, in your pocket!

How to stay close without being pushy

In e-commerce, knowing your customer is only half the battle — staying connected without overwhelming them is the real challenge.

Many users ignore calls from unfamiliar numbers. Half of all marketing emails are deleted without being opened. SMS messages are often seen as spam, and push notifications get lost in a sea of alerts. Even mobile apps have their limits: 65% of users delete apps after periods of inactivity, and only 27% reinstall them within three months.

Building a connection is hard. Maintaining it is even harder.

That’s the challenge retailers everywhere are facing — and the one we helped Sportmaster overcome.

The challenge

New sales channel

The task was complex.

Firstly, it was necessary to create another sales channel in addition to offline and online in the form of a website and an app for Android and iOS smartphones. Secondly, it was necessary to make this channel as convenient and effective as possible, but at the same time not annoying for the client.

And we solved this problem with the help of a mini-application for the messenger Telegram, which is used by every second resident of Russia, spending an average of more than 44 minutes a day in it.

This channel of interaction between business and client is so far more resistant to various restrictions arising due to the specifics of regulation of digital platforms, as well as due to various political factors.

This is how Sportmaster tg.shop - an online shop in the format of a bot in the country's most popular messenger - came into being.

When clicking on a link, the bot asks the user to authorise, and then an IT magic session takes place, following which the client is able to shop at Sportmaster without leaving the messenger.

Opportunities

What you can do with Sportmaster in Telegram:

Familiarise yourself with the Sportmaster range;

Select an item by adding it to your shopping basket;

Make a purchase taking into account the main features of the client's personal account - loyalty card bonuses, discounts and promotions;

Pay for the product in a variety of ways from offline purchase to card and payment via SPB, as well as instalments;

Inform the customer about the status of the order.

And all this can be done without having to install an app or visit a website - shopping has become even more convenient and faster.

Results

Thanks to that, Sportsmaster:

Combined the sales and communications channel into one bot, allowing direct interaction with an audience of thousands;

Maintained full compatibility of the new sales channel with its internal systems;

Got an additional and completely free, unlike sms or phone calls, tool for contacting the customer.

This channel requires no additional labour on the part of the Customer for support and maintenance, and provides a seamless customer experience within the company's products.