Yes. If that’s all you read from this post is the first word, that may be enough, as long as you take it seriously. If you keep reading, I’ll tell you why live chat on your e-commerce website will increase your bottom line.

It’s Cost Effective

If you have a customer service agent that is taking calls vs. an agent that is handling live chat, how many customers can each handle at a time? Phone agents can only talk to one person at a time, the industry average for experienced chat agents is 2-3 customers at a time. That’s 2-3 times the customers being helped in a timely manner! That's also fewer employees that you need to handle the customer service experience. 

It Cuts Down Customer Wait Times

Because chat agents can take on more customers at a time, your customers will spend less time waiting for help than they would on the phone. The average wait time for a live chat with a representative is 1 minute.

While the average wait time for a phone representative varies across industries, it is typically longer than a customer would wait for live chat assistance.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction rates are highest when customers use live chat. This is probably attributed to the lower wait times, personalized care (agents can do quick research to help the customer without putting them on hold), and the convenience that comes with not being on the phone (the customer can continue with their other tasks while chatting).

It Increases Sales

This American Marketing Association study shows that live chat can increase conversion rates by 20% and ROI on live chat is 300%. Since customers are likely more satisfied, they are more inclined to return to buy more.

Live chat also provides a unique way for more products to be introduced by the sales agent! These numbers alone display the benefits of live chat features!

90% of customers think that live chat is an overall helpful feature. It’s easy for customers to use, works more quickly, and results in higher satisfaction. This in turn will help lower customer churn.

If live chat isn’t a feature you offer your customers on your website yet, take the time to make it your primary customer support channel.

We recommend the following live chat solutions:

Comm100 – Relatively inexpensive with all of the customizable options

Rhino Support – Offers live chat and ticket management for issues that need to be escalated

Find out what other 6 tools you should have on your website!