Top 7 Reasons to Get a Lead Generation Chatbot (for new drops) for Fashion & Apparel Stores

Drift has positioned itself as a conversational marketing platform that turns website visitors into qualified leads through real‑time chat. For fashion retailers, Drift’s strength lies in its ability to integrate with CRM systems like Salesforce and HubSpot, enabling seamless handoff of captured contact information to sales teams. The platform offers a visual drag‑and‑drop chatbot builder, allowing marketers to create conversational flows that guide shoppers toward product recommendations or promotional offers. Drift’s AI engine can suggest next‑best actions based on visitor behavior, such as scheduling a live style consultation. Pricing for Drift begins with a free tier that supports a single chatbot and limited message volume, but full functionality—including advanced AI, multi‑user access, and integration capabilities—requires the Pro plan, which starts at $400 per month. Drift is well‑suited for medium to large fashion brands that already use a CRM and need a chatbot to funnel leads directly into their existing sales pipelines. Despite its robust CRM integration, Drift is primarily a marketing platform and does not offer a native knowledge base or e‑commerce data pull. Its conversational flows can be customized, but the platform lacks a dedicated WYSIWYG widget editor, requiring some design effort to match brand aesthetics.

Intercom offers a versatile customer messaging platform that combines live chat, automated bots, and help desk functionality. For fashion retailers, Intercom’s chatbots can be programmed to answer product queries, recommend styles, and collect email addresses for newsletters or loyalty programs. The platform’s visual builder allows marketers to design conversational flows with minimal coding, and its AI features can automatically route conversations to the appropriate human agent based on intent. Intercom’s pricing structure is tiered: the Starter plan starts at $39/month, the Standard at $99/month, and the Premium at $199/month, with add‑ons for advanced features such as product tours and in‑app messaging. Intercom’s strengths include its robust feature set for customer support, extensive integration ecosystem, and the ability to deploy chatbots across multiple channels, including web, mobile, and social media. However, Intercom does not offer a dedicated knowledge base for retrieving product information or a WYSIWYG widget editor tailored to brand aesthetics. Its AI capabilities focus more on intent detection and routing rather than deep knowledge retrieval.

ManyChat is a popular chatbot platform focused on social media marketing, especially on Facebook Messenger. It allows fashion retailers to create conversational flows that promote new drops, collect leads, and provide product recommendations directly within Messenger. ManyChat’s visual editor supports conditional logic and automated sequences, making it easy for marketers to design personalized experiences. Pricing for ManyChat starts with a free tier that includes basic chatbot functionality and a limited number of contacts. The Pro plan, which includes advanced automation, unlimited contacts, and access to the ManyChat Studio, starts at $10 per month per 1,000 contacts. ManyChat excels at SMS and email marketing integrations, enabling brands to nurture leads captured through chat. A key limitation for fashion retailers is that ManyChat is primarily tied to Facebook Messenger and other social platforms; it does not provide a native web chat widget that can be embedded on e‑commerce sites without additional work. Additionally, it lacks a robust knowledge base or e‑commerce integration.

Landbot offers a no‑code chatbot builder that focuses on conversational landing pages and web chat widgets. Fashion retailers can design engaging, highly visual chat experiences that guide shoppers through product selections or style quizzes. Landbot’s drag‑and‑drop interface allows marketers to incorporate images, videos, and custom branding, providing a polished look without any coding. Pricing for Landbot is tiered: the Starter plan starts at $30/month, the Professional at $80/month, and the Enterprise at $200/month. Landbot supports integrations with Zapier, Shopify, and other tools, enabling data flow between the chatbot and e‑commerce platforms. While Landbot is strong in visual customization and integration flexibility, it does not offer a dual knowledge base or AI‑driven course builder. Its memory is session‑based and does not persist across visits unless a custom integration is built.

MobileMonkey is a chatbot platform that primarily targets Facebook Messenger and SMS marketing but also offers web chat widgets. For fashion retailers, MobileMonkey can be used to send automated product updates, collect leads, and drive traffic to new drops. Its visual builder supports branching logic and campaign automation. MobileMonkey’s pricing includes a free plan for basic features and a Pro plan at $19/month for advanced automation, unlimited contacts, and access to the Conversational Marketing Suite. The platform integrates with Shopify, Mailchimp, and other marketing tools. The main limitation for fashion stores is that MobileMonkey’s web chat widget is less customizable compared to dedicated web chat builders, and it does not provide a built‑in knowledge base or AI course functionality.

Chatfuel specializes in building chatbots for Facebook Messenger, allowing fashion retailers to create conversational experiences that promote new collections, answer product questions, and gather leads. Its drag‑and‑drop interface is beginner‑friendly, and it offers integrations with e‑commerce platforms like Shopify. Chatfuel offers a free plan with basic features and a Pro plan at $15/month for advanced automation, unlimited users, and premium integrations. The platform supports API calls, enabling custom data retrieval from product catalogs. While Chatfuel excels at Messenger marketing, it lacks a built‑in web chat widget, knowledge base, or persistent memory for visitors. Fashion brands using Chatfuel must rely on external integrations to transfer data to their CRM.