Walmart Acquires Botmock: Investing in Voice & Text Shopping

Walmart Enhances Conversational Commerce Capabilities with Botmock Acquisition

Walmart is strategically expanding its investment in voice and chat shopping technologies through the acquisition of specific technology assets from Botmock, a startup specializing in conversational application design. This move underscores the retail giant’s commitment to evolving shopping experiences.

Botmock's Origins and Development

Established in 2016, Botmock emerged during the initial stages of conversational interface development. A key challenge at the time was the limited availability of design resources. Early adopters often relied on platforms such as DialogFlow and IBM Watson, which presented hurdles for rapid prototyping and testing of new ideas.

Prior to Botmock, designers frequently utilized tools like Visio or Lucidchart for mapping conversation flows. Botmock aimed to provide a more streamlined and effective toolset, enabling teams to proactively identify design flaws and create superior conversational experiences.

Features of the Botmock Platform

Botmock’s core offering is a drag-and-drop editor designed for crafting chatbot and voice bot conversations. The system automatically generates the underlying code as users construct their conversational pathways. It also simplifies the management of platform-specific limitations and promotes collaborative teamwork.

Before the acquisition, Botmock seamlessly integrated with existing tools like Atlassian JIRA, RASA, DialogFlow, Atlassian Confluence, Slack, Zapier, Alexa Skills Kit, and IBM Watson. Developed conversations could then be deployed across various text and voice platforms, including Apple Business Chat, WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, Microsoft Teams, Alexa, and Google Assistant.

Widespread Adoption of Botmock

Recent data from Botmock’s website indicated a user base exceeding 50,000 individuals. The company served a diverse clientele across multiple industries, including prominent organizations such as Nationwide, Accenture, Delta, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oracle, Viasat, Mercury.ai, Liveperson, BlueRobot, BT, Avanade, and Enbridge.

Walmart's Focus on Conversational Commerce

Walmart’s acquisition is specifically geared towards bolstering its “conversational commerce” initiatives, an area receiving increased attention and investment. The company envisions leveraging Botmock’s technology to enhance both customer and associate interactions.

In October, Walmart initiated a beta test of “Walmart Text to Shop,” allowing customers to complete purchases via text message. This builds upon prior investments in voice shopping, including a 2019 partnership with Google for voice-activated grocery shopping. Currently, Walmart supports voice shopping through both Google and Siri, and offers voice-enabled contactless order pickup.

The Rise of Text-Based Shopping

Walmart notes that text-based shopping is a relatively new frontier, despite its potential. The integration of Botmock is expected to accelerate the development of intuitive voice and chat interfaces.

These interfaces will serve both customers and Walmart associates, enhancing the functionality of the internal “Ask Sam” application. “Ask Sam” assists store staff by answering inquiries and providing product location information.

Benefits of the Acquisition

“This tool will enable us to build and deploy natural voice and chat interfaces for our customers and associates more quickly,” stated Cheryl Ainoa, Walmart SVP of Core Retail Services & Emerging Technology. She emphasized the complexity of designing seamless conversational experiences, requiring consideration of diverse customer scenarios and needs.

Ainoa illustrated this with an example: “When a customer adds milk to their cart via voice, the system must account for factors like past purchases, preferred milk type, existing items in the cart, and whether to request a quantity change or confirm the addition.”

Botmock’s technology is projected to reduce development and deployment times from months to days, accelerating time to market and reducing associated costs.

Deal Details and Transition

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, with Walmart confirming only the purchase of select technology assets. The Botmock team will be joining Walmart to facilitate the transition of existing customers and data migration.

Botmock customers will retain access to the platform until December 1, 2021, and will receive pro-rated refunds on their subscriptions.