Automotive E-Commerce Store Reduces Support Costs by 65% with After Hours AI Chatbot
The Challenge
Rvinyl, a leading online retailer of automotive wraps, tints, and accessories, faced a common challenge: customers shopping outside business hours couldn't get immediate answers to product questions. With a specialized catalog of vinyl wraps, PPF films, and installation products, customers often needed technical guidance before purchasing. The small support team couldn't provide 24/7 coverage, resulting in missed sales opportunities, abandoned carts, and delayed customer inquiries that piled up overnight and on weekends.
The Solution
We deployed After Hours, our AI-powered chatbot built specifically for Shopify stores. After Hours was integrated directly into Rvinyl's Shopify store and trained on their extensive product catalog, including specifications, compatibility information, and installation requirements. The chatbot provides instant answers to common questions about product selection, sizing, installation, shipping, and returns—available 24/7 when the human support team is offline. Learn more at https://apps.shopify.com/talkingtommy
The Results
Customers get immediate answers 24/7, even outside business hours
Reduction in support costs by handling routine inquiries automatically
Increase in customer engagement during off-hours when support was previously unavailable
Percentage of customer questions answered successfully by After Hours without human intervention
Within the first month of deploying After Hours, Rvinyl saw immediate results. The chatbot successfully handles product inquiries, sizing questions, compatibility checks, and order status updates around the clock. During peak shopping periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, After Hours managed hundreds of simultaneous conversations without any degradation in response quality. The human support team now focuses on complex technical installations and custom orders, while After Hours captures leads and answers questions when the team is offline. The solution proved so effective that customers often don't realize they're chatting with an AI assistant.
"After Hours has been a game-changer for our business. We were losing sales every night and weekend because customers couldn't get answers to simple questions. Now they get instant, accurate responses 24/7. Our support tickets have dropped dramatically, and our team can focus on the complex stuff. The ROI was immediate—we saw results in the first week."