Aosom and the Conversational Commerce Revolution

How to transform a 7,000 product catalog into a personalized, global shopping experience

Aosom, an e-commerce giant specializing in furniture, outdoor, and home care, is a textbook example of how technology can bridge the gap between digital and physical retail. With a vast catalog and a multinational presence, the challenge was not just to “respond to customers,” but to “guide” them toward the right choice.

The challenge: Beyond simple assistance

Managing an e-commerce platform with over 7,000 constantly updated SKUs involves significant operational complexity. For Aosom, the goal was twofold: to optimize Customer Service resources and to enhance the customer journey in a competitive market.

“We receive a huge number of support requests every day,” explains Dania Pedron, eCommerce Manager at Aosom Italy. “The primary need was to help customers immediately and, at the same time, relieve our customer service team of the most common questions which, while simple to manage, take up a lot of the team’s valuable time.”

The solution: A visual Personal Shopper

The choice of Oct8ne was driven by the need to go beyond the limitations of text links. In a sector like furniture, visuals are essential: users need to see exactly what is being discussed.

1. Breaking Down Physical Limits

One of the biggest hurdles in e-commerce is the inability to touch or see the product in person. Aosom overcame this barrier by leveraging the visual capabilities of the chat tool.

“The great limitation of e-commerce is not being a physical point of sale where you can see the products. Oct8ne is a solution that helps immensely with the selection process because it allows us to offer not just a link, but a real preview of the features, both visually and through the product data sheet.”

2. Inspiration and Cross-selling

The virtual assistant doesn’t just answer questions; it suggests alternative solutions, much like an expert shop assistant would.

“The immediate visualization within the chat helps the user instantly understand if the suggestion aligns with what they are looking for. They can also be inspired by solutions they might not have considered, discovering many more opportunities within our catalog.”

3. Hybrid and Flexible Management

Aosom didn’t choose rigid automation; instead, they opted for a dynamic model that adapts to the user’s needs.

“We set up a hybrid mode: a multi-choice path combined with a virtual assistant activated by the user. For us, it was essential not to be overly tied to a rigid format, but to have an assistant capable of responding promptly to the stress of high-volume requests.”

Success: From Italy to the rest of the world

The project started in Italy as a “pilot,” but the results were so disruptive that they quickly scaled through the multinational’s entire corporate hierarchy.

“The Italian branch was the first to test Oct8ne. Once the excellent results were achieved, our headquarters decided to extend the service to the other group sites operating in Europe, North America, and Canada.”

The technical implementation via API also allowed Aosom to integrate the system with its own CRM and email marketing strategies, creating a consistent data ecosystem aimed at user segmentation.

Future vision: Conversational Commerce as the standard

For Aosom, the future is defined by an increasingly deep integration between AI and the catalog, transforming the chat into the final, decisive mile of conversion.

“Our goal is to turn the virtual assistant into a true personal shopper that doesn’t just answer, but guides the user toward the purchase, immediately providing all the information needed to convince them to complete the order.”

Dania Pedron concludes with a clear recommendation for other companies:

“I would absolutely recommend Oct8ne. Our experience has been extremely positive, and the results that convinced our parent company to extend the integration globally speak for themselves.”

Companies of all sizes trust Oct8ne to increase their sales: