Boost Conversions with Live Chat in Ecommerce Web Design

We are used to instant gratification.

If we stand too long in line at a store, we will likely go elsewhere. We begin to feel upset if we wait too long for food at a restaurant. If we wait an entire year between seasons of our favorite TV show, we grow impatient (and may travel down a rabbit hole of fan fiction).

Instant gratification has especially hit ecommerce. Customers don’t want to wait for answers and products when they can easily find similar products elsewhere with less time and effort. For example, the optimal page load speed for website pages is less than four seconds if you’d like to maximize your conversions.

It’s time to add a competitive edge to your website.

Adding live chat to your ecommerce web design allows your customers to have their cake and eat it, too.

In other words, they can have personalized, immediate help without much effort.

The best part is that you’ll see live chat pay for itself through increased conversions and happier customers.

Let’s look at how live chat works and the best strategies for adding it to your website.

What Is Live Chat in Ecommerce?

Live chat is a tool on your ecommerce website that allows customers to interact directly with a company representative.

You embed the chat window directly on your ecommerce website. Usually, when visitors enter your website, they will see a welcome message in the live chat, encouraging the visitor to ask a question. There is space for visitors to ask questions or comment at any point while browsing. That message enters the system where the most knowledgeable or first available customer service agent can respond.

Image from Burn Right Products

The Relationship between Live Chat and AI

     Live chat is not a chatbot. When a customer talks with a chatbot, AI generates the answers.

With live chat, the customer is talking with a live agent in real-time.

However, even though a customer is speaking with a live representative, that doesn’t mean AI doesn’t have a role to play. AI has made live chat much easier for companies to handle at scale.

Here are just a few ways AI improves the live chat experience:

• AI automatically forwards the message to the correct department based on keywords in the customer’s message.
• AI greets the customers before the live agent begins responding, so customers always receive an immediate response.
• AI tracks and groups website visitors to help customer service better understand that customer.
• AI can suggest auto-generated responses customer service can provide to respond even faster.

Ways to Use Live Chat in Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization

Let’s explore the role of live chat in ecommerce conversion rate optimization, helping move leads from strangers to loyal customers.

Customer Support

Live chat is another customer support channel. Your customers can contact you with any issues, questions, and concerns. It might range from wanting to know where they can find a specific product to asking for detailed information about your business practices.

Having this channel for customer support helps improve the customer experience since it makes you more accessible. That positive impression increases your chance of converting those same customers later in the sales funnel. Ultimately, your business goal is serving people in addition to converting them. Positive customer experiences accomplish both goals.

Lead Generation

Many live chat tools request emails and contact information from the website visitor. This allows you to follow up with those with questions or concerns, nurturing them further.

If you already have that lead in your database, the chat is another way to touch base with those customers and collect valuable information about them that will help you improve and personalize the nurturing process.

Collecting Feedback

How are you doing as an ecommerce business?

Live chat can help you understand how people feel about your brand. It’s a convenient way for customers to leave feedback or ask for help, providing feedback you can use to improve your practices for higher conversions.

Recommending Products

Live chat is another sales channel. Anyone who is shopping can reach out to a sales associate for help. For instance, your sales associates can recommend products, cross-sell, and upsell all through live chat.

Customers receive a better experience because instead of hunting through the site to find the item they need, a sales associate can pull it up, saving them time and effort.

Completing Orders

Live chat also allows you to conveniently complete orders. You can complete the transaction immediately after providing product recommendations and answering questions. At the same time, you engage the customer, increasing the chances of the customer following through with the purchase.

6 Benefits of Live Chat in Ecommerce Website Design

What edge does live chat have over other customer service options, like chatbots, phone support, and in-person support? While each channel has a place, live chat offers something a little more unique.

About 46% of customers prefer live chat over email or social media. In addition, customers you chat with on live chat are 82% more likely to purchase your ecommerce products.

Here are the top six benefits of using live chat in the online shopping experience.

1. Offers Real-Time Support

Live support improves the customer experience because they receive instantaneous answers.

If you have tried emailing a company’s customer support, you are probably familiar with the message, “We will reply between three to five business days.”

That’s fine if you are researching hiking boots for summer three months away. That is not so fine if your swimsuit ripped a week before your beach vacation and you want to order a new one today.

Not everyone has three to five business days to wait for a response. Some people don’t even have an hour to sit on hold for a phone response. Live chat offers another option where people who need immediate responses can receive real-time support.

2. Provides Personalized Experiences

Personalization defines our current culture. AI has made personalization possible on a whole new level due to its ability to analyze vast amounts of data and adjust content and experience based on that data.

Just think about watching Netflix. No two people’s Netflix home screens look the same. Each person receives recommendations and highlights based on their past viewing. You can find that same level of personalization across the internet.

While you might offer support in different ways, such as a FAQ page or Chatbot, those methods aren’t personalized. They can be helpful for common questions, but the responses are the same for everyone.

Live chat allows a person to analyze the query, adjust their response to any details they might notice, and offer personalized solutions.

3. Allows Convenient Communication

Live chat is usually available on each page of an ecommerce website. This allows a customer to ask questions no matter where they are in your web design.

Are you browsing clothing and wondering if there is a similar style available? Live chat is available.

Are you looking on the About page and are curious if the ecommerce store also has a physical location? Live chat is available.

There’s no need to open email or pull out your phone. You can type in your response without interrupting your browsing experience.

4. Increases Customer Satisfaction

The average customer satisfaction rate from LiveChat, a leading live chat tool, is 69.3%. There are many factors contributing to this satisfaction rate. For instance, the average wait time for reaching an agent with LiveChat is 3 minutes and 37 seconds. That’s pretty appealing when you compare it to the hours on hold many customers experience with phone support.

Customers walk away satisfied because it’s fast, convenient, and personalized — basically, the whole package.

5. Increases Customer Engagement

When someone says, “I’ll think about it,” we all know that’s usually code for they will forget about it.

Engagement is crucial for a sale because once you lose that engagement, you probably will lose the sale. That engagement starts with being able to address questions quickly. About half of adults will not complete a purchase if they can’t immediately find the answer to their question. 🤯

Salespeople want customers to remain engaged from the moment they step their digital foot on your website until they purchase a product. If the customer leaves, there’s a good chance a competition will swoop in and close the deal.

Your live chat can help keep people on your website. Customers have a place to ask all questions and receive personalized recommendations.

You can also run the entire buyer’s journey from one tool. For instance, you can connect with a visitor over chat, recommend products, convince them to buy, and then process the sale all within the live chat.

6. Offers a Cost-Efficient Option

Live chat tends to cost less than phone support. If you have a live chat, you can decrease the traffic to your call center, addressing many questions directly through live chat. You also require less technology, time, and workforce to run live chat.

For example, when an agent takes a call in a call center, they’re on that call until it ends. However, with live chat, agents can answer multiple chats simultaneously, increasing productivity. You can also have a mix of AI-generated and personalized responses, again speeding up the process and cutting costs.

Examples of LiveChat Success in Ecommerce Web Design

LiveChat has a long history of success that supports its claim to conversions.

Here is a glimpse at LiveChat’s power from successful businesses’ eyes and why it should be part of your ecommerce web design. These success stories come directly from LiveChat, the best live chat platform for ecommerce brands.

Sephora Increases Order Value by 25%

Sephora adopted LiveChat in 2021 in response to the lockdown. It was a way to remain connected to customers. Live chat helped the company stay in business and operate smoothly. Customers could access live support and recommendations without entering a physical store.

As a result, Sephora held a 90% customer satisfaction rate, a 25% increase in average order value, and 1.7% of profits coming directly from Live chat.

Depositphotos Increases Customer Satisfaction

Depositphotos needed a solution that offered immediate support. Many of their clients didn’t have the luxury of time. So, Depositphotos implemented LiveChat. Their goal was to have a perfect customer satisfaction score.

Through Live Chat, they saw a 10% decrease in email inquiries. They also saw an increased conversion rate.

Auto Accessories Garage Increases Conversions

Auto Accessories Garage works in a very competitive market. They wanted to go above and beyond for their customers to help them stand out. That’s why they added LiveChat to their website experience.

Now, customers not only could find the parts and services they needed, but they also could access support seven days a week. Auto Accessories Garage saw their customer engagement increase by 30% through chat interactions. They also saw a 5% increase in conversions.

Their other support channels were less crowded as 18% of contacts connected through chat, freeing up other channels so they could have shorter wait times.

Provide Your Customers with the Help They Need

Keeping up with customer support, inquiries, and visitors is exhausting. As you grow, that exhaustion may feel overwhelming.

LiveChat helps you keep up with your increased traffic, allowing you to grow without compromising that incredible quality of customer support.

Let’s boost your website conversions through LiveChat.

Contact us to learn how to receive a free 14-day trial of LiveChat and 10% off your first payment.