E-Retailers Struggle With Live Chat
June 2008
The availability of live chat is becoming more commonplace, and its benefits, namely improved customer relations and sales, are attractive to most multichannel merchants. But a recent survey revealed most aren’t using the technology effectively. In particular, most e-retailers have it located in the wrong spot on their sites, the survey found.
Commissioned by inQ, an outsourced chat services company that works with e-retailers, and the e-commerce research firm the e-tailing group, the study polled 31 online businesses on how they use live chat as a selling tool on their Web sites. Here are some of the results.
* 88 percent have live chat on customer service pages while only 42 percent offer it on product pages;
* 15 percent of the companies surveyed use proactive chat;
* 39 seconds is the average response time, a low figure, especially when considering half the sites surveyed connect in three seconds or less;
* live chat agents offer alternative or better products too infrequently, with an average rating of 2.7 out of a possible 5; and
* survey respondents received a 2.7 out of a possible 5 on encouraging customers to buy, often losing the opportunity for potential sales.
For more information, go to www.e-tailing.com .
Commissioned by inQ, an outsourced chat services company that works with e-retailers, and the e-commerce research firm the e-tailing group, the study polled 31 online businesses on how they use live chat as a selling tool on their Web sites. Here are some of the results.
* 88 percent have live chat on customer service pages while only 42 percent offer it on product pages;
* 15 percent of the companies surveyed use proactive chat;
* 39 seconds is the average response time, a low figure, especially when considering half the sites surveyed connect in three seconds or less;
* live chat agents offer alternative or better products too infrequently, with an average rating of 2.7 out of a possible 5; and
* survey respondents received a 2.7 out of a possible 5 on encouraging customers to buy, often losing the opportunity for potential sales.
For more information, go to www.e-tailing.com .
Companies Mentioned:
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