A recent article on Marketing Magazine Online, a huge 87% of Australian shoppers need some form of help when shopping online and over 90% would like the help provided to be in real time, preferable in the form of live chat.
Also, online shoppers expect access to help within a five-minute time frame, and 54% would give up immediately or only try once when seeking help before an online purchase.
“Over a third (36%) of Australian shoppers abandon a website because they have difficulty in getting any help online – the highest of all countries surveyed in our global study – which indicates a huge opportunity for local brands to improve the online customer experience,” says vice president of LivePerson for Asia Pacific, Dustin Dean. “Our research shows that consumers today are demanding a much higher level of engagement throughout their online buying journey."
As small business marketing consultants many of our clients have a live chat on their website not only when it is for purchasing online but also just to ask simple questions and has proven a successful tool.
In our opinion most websites should consider this tool on their website to heighten the customer service relationship.