It’s happening.

The average consumer has taken a look at themselves and realised that shopping online in the ironically ‘traditional’ sense is actually quite a hack. They needed time to get over the wow factor of shopping online, and weigh that up against the relative convenience. I say relative, because the convenience is not necessarily just about staying at home.

For me, the most convenient thing in the world is not having to think or talk, and if I find your online shop confusing because its menu system is so different to other online shops (they’re all different – all trying to “raise the bar” and kill us in the process), then it’s definitely more convenient for me to get in my car and drive to Constantia Village shopping centre.

And that’s not the first time you’ve heard this. How many people these days admit to going to a physical shop because shopping online is such a hassle? I’ll tell you how many. Everyone.

It’s become such a daunting exercise, that if I have no choice but to shop for something online, then I plan ahead and create appointments in my diary to do it. At least then I can prepare myself mentally and give it my full attention when the time comes – such is the challenge that lies ahead.

Which brings us to a stunning new buzz phrase – ‘conversational commerce’ – which is to do with marrying live online chats with purchasing. Now I know it’s fairly simple to add a live chat to your e-commerce site, but that’s usually just for assistance. The user will still have to go through the shopping menu system to make a purchase.

Funny story on that note. The Muse had a live chat on Instagram with some fashion boutique called Sweet Pea. She said (in the chat with the operator) that she loved their sandals and wanted them in every colour – all in the same size. The chat operator told her she would have to go and place the order via their online shop.

The Muse did so and, guess what… She incorrectly entered the size of the one pair of sandals. You can guess what happened next. Customer services. Angry phone calls. Returns. “Will someone be at home on Wednesday between blah and blah”? You know the drill.

Everything was locked and loaded in the chat, and the agent sent the customer away to go and fend for themselves on some wonky menu-driven website. Absolute buffoonery.

Imagine if you could go onto the Woolies website and in a chat tell them that you want R300 worth of mixed sushi to feed two people. Oh, you also want R100 of sliced biltong which must have fat on it.

Hang on, you also need to buy something but you don’t know the name of it – oh wait – let me upload a picture into the chat! “Oh… a frittata! Is that what it’s called!”

With WhatsApp chats dominating our everyday lives now, you could probably bang that all out in mere seconds. Then compare that effort to finding those same items on the Woolies online shop, adding them to your ‘basket’ or ‘trolley’, going to the checkout, etc etc etc.

I’m falling asleep. You get the point. And you’d never find that frittata.

Butler’s Pizza is another one. More than satisfied with a single JPEG of their menu serving as their entire website for over a decade (after all, what else would people be looking for), they have stepped things up a notch. No, they haven’t created a whole online shopping ‘experience’, but they have added a live chat box to their website.

That’s it. No online shop, just a live chat. But it’s not just for assistance, it’s also to place orders. And guess what? People are falling over themselves to use it.

Here’s my vibe on Sunday night.

Compare that to navigating through all sorts of menus and tick boxes and cookies and God knows what else. Live chat ordering is clearly way easier. And, because it’s on the blockchain, it means that your pizza…

That was a joke. It’s not on any blockchain – for the five of you reading this that know (or care) what ‘the’ blockchain is. I get that, apparently, it’s pretty incredible tech, but please, get on with it.

Back to ‘conversational commerce’ and the future of online shopping. One thing’s for sure, it’s great news for those of you who were about to spend a fortune building an e-commerce site!

But it’s not just Butlers Pizza, because the big dogs are doing it, too. Walmart has invested millions into Jetblack, a premium offering ($50 a month) that lets you text in any order, any time.

“Please bring me two orchids and the big box of Ariel dishwasher tabs… thanks.”

Bang. Done!

Now that’s convenience.

Go on, grab yourself some Butler’s – maybe you even want to dabble in one of their specials? What a rush.