E-commerce has changed the way companies sell goods and services to their customers. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce businesses are not constrained by geographical location or business hours. Brands that once relied on store footfall can now sell to a global audience 24/7/365.
Despite its advantages, the e-commerce industry faces its own set of challenges when it comes to generating and closing sales. With everyday distractions, unlimited choices, and competitors on multiple platforms, it can feel impossible to keep your customers’ attention all the way to the finish line (or, in this case, to the online checkout).
Brands also need to meet the high expectations of online customers by delivering a personalized buying experience that matches what they would receive in-store. Here, we’ll focus on how e-commerce brands can drive sales and reduce cart abandonment with the help of a live chat service.
Understanding cart abandonment
Cart abandonment is when customers add items to their virtual shopping cart but don’t complete the purchase. This behavior trait is common amongst online shoppers, with an average cart abandonment rate of over 70%.
Abandoned carts can be costly for your business, so it’s important to understand why your customers leave before purchasing. Let’s look at some of the most common reasons customers fail to reach checkout:
The discount code doesn’t work
People like to think they’re getting a deal, so offering a discount code can make the online shopping experience much more appealing. But what happens when a customer reaches the checkout and the code doesn’t work?
Not only are your customers left disappointed, but they suddenly feel they’re paying more than it’s worth. Something that was 20% off is now full price and, just like that, the incentive to purchase has gone.
Re-entering information
Customers know they need to provide a certain amount of details to complete a purchase, but manual entry has been found to be one of the biggest turn-offs. If a customer has already input shipping or credit card details, 55% will abandon their cart if asked to re-enter this information.
Similarly, customers like the option of a guest checkout. If every customer has to go through the process of creating an account, many will leave your site and move on. The fewer steps to reach the checkout, the better.
Long delivery times.
Buying something online is meant to offer convenience to the customer. After all, you’re removing the need for customers to go to the store and take time out of their busy schedules. However, many won’t complete the order if your delivery options are limited.
More than a quarter of customers will abandon their carts if next-day delivery or store pickup isn’t an option.
Additional fees.
The shopping experience can be highly frustrating for customers when an unexpected expense is added at the last minute. In fact, high shipping costs are why 48% of shoppers don’t go through with an online purchase.
Many companies try to counter this problem with free shipping, delivery charges included in their product’s price, or even delivery deals, such as ‘$9.99 for a year of next-day delivery’.
Poor return policies.
Returns policies need to be simple and flexible to keep customers happy. Returns-related issues that turn customers away include:
- Not clearly showing your returns policy
- Charging a high fee to send items back
- Having a tight timeline to return items by
- Long wait for refunds to be processed
- Overcomplicating the returns process
Be transparent about your return policy so customers have confidence hitting the ‘Buy now’ button, knowing they can easily return items if needed.
Lack of payment methods.
Imagine one of your website visitors is on the train to work. Entering the site from their mobile and browsing the products, they add some products to the cart and are ready to purchase. They add the ‘new customer’ discount code which gets approved before moving on to payment.
At this stage, the customer realizes they’ve left their physical credit cards at home and the discount code expires in a few hours. A digital wallet payment method like ApplePay would allow this customer to finish their transaction. Without it, the customer would likely abandon their shopping cart, frustrated that they’re unable to purchase before the code expires.
The more payment options available to your customers, the easier it becomes to complete the checkout process.
Distraction.
It’s important to remember that customer journey issues are not the sole reason for cart abandonment. Unfortunately, life happens and distractions are everywhere.
Did you know that mobiles have the highest cart abandonment rate of all devices? At nearly 86%, mobile shoppers are continuously dropping off. While cart abandonment may result from poor mobile design, it can also be due to more distractions on mobile devices.
Messages, phone calls, and other types of notifications on a phone can distract the customer and take them away from your site.
How live chat can help reduce cart abandonment
One of the best ways companies can deal with cart abandonment is by using live chat on their e-commerce site. 79% of businesses say adding live chat to their website has positively affected sales. Meanwhile, customers who use live chat spend 60% more per purchase.
Live chat offers customers a friendly nudge or bespoke support to complete their order. It’s not only beneficial to your sales, but it’s something customers are looking for during the buying journey.
Customer support during checkout
Many customers have questions during the checkout process, and your company must be able to address these concerns. In fact, half of consumers believe the most significant service a brand can offer is a real person to answer questions in the middle of a purchase decision.
By introducing live chat to your e-commerce website, you can provide customers with a positive checkout experience where they not only complete the purchase but feel confident doing so.
Personalized recommendations and assistance
Personalization is no longer something that only happens inside physical stores. The demands of online customers continue to grow and there is a clear expectation of what they should receive in return for their business – customization.
65% of consumers say personalized offers are most important to them in their shopping experience, and half of shoppers are looking for real-time offers depending on what they’re browsing at that moment. This tells us that shoppers are motivated and willing to part with personal data in order to get a tailored experience.
Live chat agents who make the most of this value exchange (customer data for personalization) can:
- Offer tailored product recommendations,
- Suggest items based on the person’s interests or preferences, and
- Provide immediate assistance with product or service selection.
Collect feedback and improve the shopping experience
Feedback allows businesses to continually improve their customer journey. Live chat interactions give your company a valuable opportunity to gather information such as why a shopper left something in their basket.
By actively listening to their suggestions, businesses can also identify areas for improvement and optimize their e-commerce platform.
Reminders!
Customers like to shop around and will put similar products into different baskets when deciding what their best option is. Sometimes all it takes is a message on live chat to bring them back to your page and finish the purchase.
Use live customer support to remind them what’s in their basket, its value, and how your offer is better than competitors.
Driving sales with 24/7 chat support
A live chat service can do so much more than improve your cart abandonment issues. E-commerce brands who use 24/7 chat support can:
Guide customers with proactive engagement
Live chat agents can engage with your site visitors to:
- Offer guidance
- Answer questions
- Address potential pain points
Good customer service can stop issues from escalating and make customers more likely to purchase again.
“Proactive engagement is the first step in bringing a lead into your funnel, and it’s important to make a great first impression. Use this to ask questions and show you’re looking to help resolve their solution, not just sell them a generic solution.”
Lindsay Wilson – AnswerConnect Sales Operations Leader
Upsell and cross-sell
When a brand has 24/7 chat support, it’s much easier to find upselling and cross-selling opportunities. Agents can look at customer preferences, browsing behavior, and purchase history to recommend products and upgrades that are suited to the individual.
Improve customer acquisition
Live chat can be a powerful lead-generation tool. Offering real-time communication lets your business capture customer information and nurture the customer relationship. By providing exceptional support that is personalized to the customer, you can leave a lasting positive impression.
Best practice for implementing live chat in e-commerce
To make sure live chat is making the best impact on your e-commerce business, focus on:
Choosing the right live chat software or service provider
It’s more than having live chat on your site, it’s about finding the live chat software or provider that suits your business’ needs. Have a look at any special features offered, with some of the most important factors including:
- Ease of use
- Customization options
- Integration capabilities
- Scalability options
Training customer support representatives
A live chat service is only as good as the representatives behind it. Make sure your live customer support agents have all the product knowledge they need to advise your customers. On top of this, the more customer data your agents have access to, the easier it becomes to upsell and cross-sell based on the individual’s interests.
Optimizing live chat placement and visibility
If you’re going to offer live chat to your customers, make sure they can easily find it! A clear live chat pop-up on the bottom-right-hand corner of the site is a common place to find this. It also helps to have an image of your customer support agent so your customers know they’re speaking to a real person rather than a chatbot.
Integrating live chat with other customer service channels
When live chat is integrated with other customer service channels, you create a cohesive and consistent experience. If live chat is integrated into email, phone support, and social media platforms, your omnichannel approach is improved for your customers.
Measuring success: Key metrics to track
To gauge whether your live chat service is improving sales and customer satisfaction, there are some key metrics you should track:
Conversion rate improvements
Tracking conversion rate improvements before and after implementing live chat can help you understand how effective live customer support is for your e-commerce brand. According to a study by Invesp, customers who use live chat are 2.8x more likely to convert than those who don’t
Reduction in cart abandonment rate
Has your cart abandonment rate improved since introducing a live chat service? With a staggering 77% of customers not willing to make a purchase if there’s no live chat support, you’re more than likely to see a difference!
A decrease in cart abandonment after implementing live chat could signify that live chat has helped customers through the buying journey.
Customer satisfaction scores and feedback
Collecting and analyzing customer satisfaction scores, ratings, and feedback related to live chat interactions can help identify areas for improvement so your customer service continues to meet your online shopper’s expectations.
Return on Investment (ROI) analysis
Conducting a ROI analysis can let your business determine the cost-effectiveness of live chat. It can also help you justify investment into customer service channels and how they have improved the business’ bottom line.
