Top 5 Benefits Of Live Chat For E-Commerce

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When it comes to connecting with customers and providing support that goes above and beyond, live chat is often the go-to customer service channel for brands in the E-Commerce industry. Millennials, a key demographic for many E-Commerce brands, generally prefer live chat for customer service over every other communication channel, and 81% of customers across the board consistently use live chat for communicating with a company.If your team has the resources, implementing live chat on your online store or expanding it to cover more time zones can increase customer satisfaction and generate more revenue for your business.
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Why E-Commerce Live Chat Is Essential For Your Online Store’s Conversion Rates

The live chat pop-ups that chirp at us as we begin our online shopping journeys are the digital equivalent of friendly, in-store clerks who help us find the right size of jeans or answer our questions about a product. With that comparison in mind, it’s easy to understand why live chat is an essential customer service channel for online shoppers. The instant, personalized assistance that E-Commerce live chat offers enhances customer satisfaction, builds trust and loyalty, and allows your brand to connect with your customers in real-time. Plus, it offers extensive benefits that can positively impact brands ready to gain an edge over competitors and prioritize customer satisfaction. To show you how this support channel can help your brand offer a more optimized customer experience, we’re diving into the top 5 benefits you can expect from quality live chat customer service.

1. Provide Instant, Real-Time Service To Customers

The fast-paced nature of E-Commerce live chat is an absolute lifesaver to 33% of consumers who are most frustrated by having to wait hold or repeat themselves to multiple support representatives. Unlike other traditional support channels such as email or phone, live chat offers instant, real-time support that often means less hold time for customers to endure. For example, if a customer shopping online has a question about how to care for a new rug they’re considering buying, they will likely receive a faster response by opening up a chat window to initiate a conversation than they would if they picked up the phone to call. The level of accessibility and responsiveness that live chat provides saves time for all parties involved and allows customers to make more informed purchase decisions faster.

2. Serve Multiple Customers At Once

Though agents certainly have the ability to press the hold button during phone conversations, it’s not necessarily easy to serve multiple customers at once on other customer service channels. However, helpdesk software like Gorgias and Re:amaze that provide E-Commerce live chat services allow your agents to multitask and engage with more than one customer at a time to reduce wait times and free up support ticket queues. These helpdesks can even prioritize incoming live chat conversations and provide an overview of the customer’s issue so they’re not forced to repeat themselves throughout the interaction.

3. Increase Revenue With Upselling Opportunities

When customers can speak with agents via live chat during their purchasing process, brands can see a 48% increase in revenue per chat hour and a 40% conversion rate. Typically, these results are due to the ability of your agents to upsell and cross-sell at the appropriate moments that arise during live chat interactions. Let’s return to the rug example we mentioned in our first E-Commerce live chat benefit: rather than simply answering a customer’s question about how to care for their new rug, your agents can offer them your brand’s rug-cleaning kit that contains everything they need to keep their new household item looking and feeling great for years. A successful upsell opportunity is successful will increase this customer’s order value and make them eager to shop with your brand again knowing that their concerns will always be addressed with a clear response or solution.

4. Reduce Abandoned Carts

Honest question – have you ever wanted to buy something online but didn’t because you felt confused or anxious about the shipping policies or had general product questions? If so, you’re not alone. Nearly 57% of customers will abandon their cart if they can’t get their questions answered quickly, making live chat a vital part of every online store. Having agents available to quickly answer questions or clear up confusion will maintain customers’ focus on their cart and make them feel more comfortable completing their purchase. Plus, if your live chat function asks for customers’ contact information, you can follow up with an abandoned cart email sequence to check back in on their query and remind them of the items they left behind on your website.

5. Measure The Performance Of Your Customer Service Team

Another benefit of live chat customer service is that it is relatively easy to track and analyze the data from it with a helpdesk. As we’re known for saying, data is crucial when understanding your internal processes and strategies and identifying where each can be improved. Reviewing key live chat data points such as first response time, resolution rates, average handling time, and customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores are tremendously important for eliminating areas of friction that may detract from the experience and cost your brand sales and revenue. Additionally, if your agents consistently see the same questions or inquiries in live chat interactions, your software’s notes will offer insight into where you can update your knowledge base and FAQ pages to reduce repetitive tickets.

Experience The Benefits Of Live Chat With Support From TalentPop’s Qualified Agents

Just offering live chat isn’t enough to earn loyal customers and generate more revenue for your brand. To truly make a positive impact, you must offer an optimized customer experience via E-Commerce live chat that delivers instant, personalized support. At TalentPop, our skilled and friendly agents have helped over 500+ top brands like Orgain, Ancient Nutrition, and Beyond Meat effectively use live chat support to increase their customer lifetime value and establish themselves as industry leaders. If you’re looking for a partner to help you master your live chat customer experience this year and crush your revenue goals through upselling and cross-selling via chat, look no further than the customer service experts at TalentPop. Schedule a call with our team today and we’ll show you just how easy it is to get started together.