How to Use Live Chat for Ecommerce and Boost Sales: 4 Ways

In this digital era, ecommerce has become the most preferred shopping method for many people. The trend of ecommerce is continuously rising and it is showing no sign of slowing down. Online shopping is changing the way people purchase items.  So to stay ahead of the competition it is necessary that you implement live chat for ecommerce to improve customer experience and drive more sales.

Live chat has changed the way online stores generate sales and is a whole new marketing channel. Integrating live chat software into your ecommerce site while offer instance assistance to shoppers who need a bit of help. Without it, these customers might have left your site, and worse, purchased from your competitors.

Let's get started.

Why is live chat important for ecommerce websites?

According to Michael Kansky, the CEO of Live Help Now, ecommerce stores that use live chat see an increase in order size between 100% and 300%. This happens when a visitor speaks with a live chat representative.

The study shows that customers appreciate access to instant assistance. Live chat can offer solutions to the customers' query in the middle of an online purchase. This is one of the most important features a website can offer.

44 percent of customers say that having questions answered by a live person boosted their satisfaction level and they feel more confident to do business with the company. Live chat for ecommerce gives quick solutions to customers’ queries and thus it improves customer service and builds trust and loyalty.

In another survey by Roosit, 63% of consumers said that they will return to an eCommerce store that offers live chat, and 57% reported that they will abandon a purchase if their queries weren’t answered quickly.

Besides, when a potential buyer lands on your website and sees a live chat option, he’s intrigued to talk because this is the least resistive path.

You've no choice but to talk when you see a live chat box on an e-commerce store that asks: “How may I help you?”

When a prospect engages in a conversation with a representative, the unimaginable could happen. The representative can tap into the pain point of the visitor and can solve his biggest challenge by offering the best product.

Live chat doesn’t just increase sales but it provides an additional support channel, it reduces expenses, it gives your brand a competitive advantage, increases customer satisfaction, and helps you engage with the visitors. Live chat is a complete package that delivers exceptional value.

So, let's find out how to actually use live chat for ecommerce.

Top 4 ways live chat software on an ecommerce site can skyrocket sales

1. Make E-Commerce Even More Convenient

Ecommerce is growing rapidly isn’t a coincidence. Rather, it’s driven by the same forces that brought the growth of Netflix and Uber Eats: the pursuit of convenience.

More and more customers prefer online shopping for its accessibility. Customers enjoy online shopping as they can shop sitting at home. They can easily compare the prices from multiple vendors and chose the product available at reasonable rates.

Most internet users are just browsing or comparing prices but engaging with them at a right moment via live chat. This increases the chances that the visitors will convert into the buyer. Studies show that more than 50% of customers prefer live chat for multitasking and 21% prefer live chat to shop online while they work.

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2. Use Proactive Chat to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

Shopping cart abandonment is a known issue for every ecommerce website. Research shows that over 67% of sales are lost due to cart abandonment.  To reduce shopping cart abandonment the best way is to adopt the proactive chat approach.

Proactive chat is where customer service agent proactively connects with the customers based on their behavior on the website. If a customer is on the checkout page for more than 5 minutes, there is a probability that customer is looking for some crucial information.

At this moment, if a simple automatic message "Hey there, is there anything that I can help with?" to the customer can prevent cart abandonment. The customer may come to you and tell what the issue they are facing.  A live chat can answer all the questions quickly and give them a little encouragement to complete the purchase.

3. Encourage Sales Via Mobile Chat

A study shows that more than 65% of Americans own smartphones and 70% of mobile searches trigger an action within an hour.  Mobile has revolutionized the ecommerce business.  It is used as the effective tool for more sales. As per the survey, 67% of traffic generated from mobile devices. To meet a rising mobile demand, companies should integrate a mobile chat window and can guide the customers to complete the purchase.

4. A better understanding of your business

To grow your ecommerce business, you must have clear information regarding website’s UX. Check if the product description is well written and is clear or not so that you can fix it quickly.  To increase ecommerce sales you need to make sure that you are doing everything possible to make customers happy and to drive more sales. Keep an eye on the behavior of shoppers that how shoppers move through your site, what pages they are looking, where they are taking more time. This analysis will help you to make your website more user-friendly. With proactive live chat, you can improve customer retention and can improve customer engagement.

Intuit Incorporated live chat software on different parts of their website that helped it increase its sales by 211%.

They used different designs and types of live chat to test what works and where it works. Live chat at checkout page increased Intuit’s average order value by 43%.

Sales increased by 211% when live chat was incorporated on product comparison page. The conversion rate of lead generation page was increased by a whopping 190%.

This case study shows that it isn’t just all about using live chat but you've to test different variations and try it on different pages throughout your store to see what works best.

Intuit isn’t the only brand that has increased sales with live chat. Sam's Furniture generated $50K in sales in one month after using live chat and at Blue Soda Promo, 60% of chats on their site leads to a sale.

Live chat for ecommerce tips from the pros

Are you ready to get started? Here are tips and best practices to help you increase sales with live chat:

• Train your customer support, representatives. They must be more than support agents—they must be trained to act as salespersons. Your team must know how to convert visitors into customers on live chat. If they aren’t trained, the best live chat software won't work.
• Test different live chat features and designs. Instead of using the same chat design throughout the store, test different variations on different pages.

For instance, live chat on checkout page might perform differently than live chat on the landing page. The design should vary too as per the type of page.

• Live chat feature should be available 24/7. Your store gets traffic from all over the world. You can’t leave your customers alone. Hire freelance support agents so that you can assist visitors 24 hours a day.
• Use responsive live chat. Your target audience is moving to smartphones and tablets, better offer them live chat feature across all devices, not just desktop.

This is one area where you can easily get a competitive advantage because there are a few brands that use responsive live chat. Be the leader.

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Adding live chat to your ecommerce site is a smart move

Live chat for ecommerce will get more popular in the future. It’s not actively used today, but since it drives sales you'll soon see every other online store using chat to assist visitors and guide them through the sales funnel.

Do it today.

Even if the impact on sales is minimal, keep using it because of the additional benefits that your business derives from live chat can’t be ignored.

Not to mention the data and instant customer feedback that you receive are worth millions. Yes, they are.

Don’t let website visitors leave your store without buying. Traffic isn’t cheap. Make every visitor count.

Does your ecommerce site have live chat? How's it been working? Let us know in the comments.

Also, sharing this on social media is a great way to help other online shops improve their customer experience.

Laduram Vishnoi

CEO, Acquire.io

Laduram Vishnoi is Acquire’s President & Co-founder. He enjoys building companies and scaling product teams. He’s passionate about AI, machine learning, neuroscience, and meditation.