Live chat for ecommerce: a smart choice?

That live chat for ecommerce has become an indispensable tool for every webshop is beyond doubt. Thanks to live chat, customers can easily ask questions about products or services, straight through the website. The customer no longer has to switch to their mailbox, phone or social media. That way website visitors do not have to leave your site, and they get an extremely fast answer during the purchasing process; just as they would experience in a shop.

Measuring is knowing: what do the figures say?

In 2020 Forrester carried out extensive research into the use of live chat. It found that live chat is the most popular means of contact: over 42% of respondents say they would rather get in touch via live chat than by email (23%) or social media (16%). The research also shows that live chat produces higher customer satisfaction than all other customer service channels: 72% of consumers say they are ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with customer service via live chat. For email that was 61%, and by telephone 44%.

Why is live chat so popular with consumers?

Forrester's research produced three clear reasons why consumers prefer live chat:

• 79% of respondents say they would rather live chat because this way they get a fast answer to their question;

• 51% of respondents said they would rather use live chat because this way they can multitask;

• 46% of respondents said they find live chat the most efficient way of communicating.

Respond to customer needs with a live chat

Over the past few years online shopping has become easier and faster; think of filtering particular sizes and colours, or the payment process. Online shopping has picked up considerable pace; waiting for an answer from customer service slows that pace down. It is therefore logical that a fast option such as live chat is preferred by many online shoppers. The advantage for webshop owners is that they can respond to customers quickly, which means the choice of a product is made sooner. On top of that, the average order value rose by 10% among customers who used the live chat during their purchase.

Increase your market awareness

Through live chat, every question the customer has while visiting your website can be answered easily and quickly. By offering customers the possibility of asking these questions, you also create greater market awareness. By analysing and categorising the incoming questions, you know where your strengths and weaknesses lie in the market.

A personal customer service

By offering live chat you easily grow your customer base. Ask customers who ask a question for their name and email address before you answer, in order to create and expand your customer profiles this way. Live chat software offers you the possibility of building extensive customer profiles, so that you can help your customer even more easily, and pick the conversation up where you left off. That way you offer a personal service online.

Collect all the data for optimisation

Live chat software makes it easy for you to collect data about your target audience. Think for example of names, email addresses, postcodes, but also question categories or complaints. That way you know where there are still ambiguities on the website, where people get stuck, or which products are popular. That is certainly relevant for e-commerce companies selling numerous products on their website. Getting a clear view of which products generate the most interest or questions is essential in that. This lets you optimise continuously with input from the customer. Before buying live chat software, check which statistics you can see, so that you can gather the data that is really relevant to you.

Give your webshop's conversion a boost through live chat

Live chat for ecommerce offers a unique, direct connection with an interested buyer. That is therefore far more interesting than advertising on social media, for instance: live chat lets you step into the sales development at an early stage. That produces a boost in the number of conversions: research by Forrester shows that the conversion rate rose by 40% through the use of live chat. You support the customer journey from contact moment to purchase.

Experience our live chat for ecommerce yourself

The figures do not lie: live chat is an effective tool for every webshop. Curious about other trends within the ecommerce world, such as a chatbot? Read more!