Correlation between Live Chat and Increased Sales

In a current study and industry research study of the Efficacy of Live Chat as a Website Communication Tool, the researchers found that those companies which set up live chat on their websites tend to report a higher level of sales and increased market share. The study surveyed 250 consumers and found that almost 60% of online shoppers who have used live chat at least once typically go looking for websites which provide live chat service so that they may shop on those websites. The study also demonstrated an irrefutable connection between live chat and brand loyalty. The study arrived at five very interesting conclusions which would most certainly interest website owners, online marketers and e-entrepreneurs such as you. Here are the conclusions:

• Live chat is without doubt influential during the sales cycle. Throughout the study, online shoppers indicated that live chat positively impacts their likelihood to buy products and services as they surf the Internet looking for things to purchase. As many as 58% of the entire sample said that if a website offered live chat, that fact alone would positively influence their decision to make a purchase on that website. Chat is the most preferred communication method when a visitor is having trouble finding an item or experiencing an error during checkout, the study has concluded.


• Internet companies that fail to provide popular live chat services such as Live2Support are missing out on new business. Those shoppers who shop more frequently online and those that spend more money-- measured either by the average amount they spend when shopping, or the greatest amount they have ever spent in a single purchase-- are more likely to choose live chat during sales interactions. Moreover, these shoppers rank the positive influence of live chat much higher than other groups.


• Live chat has a loyalty effect, specifically with those customers who spend a considerable amount of money online. The survey shows that customers who have had experience with live chat are more likely to return to, and make repeat purchases from websites that provide live chat service. In general, chat customers tend to select the live chat over other methods during the sales cycle. More than 50% of those consumers surveyed cited that they are more likely to trust a website that offers live chat. They in fact prefer to shop at sites that offer the option of live chat.


• Online retailers with live chat can improve results by following a few consumer-driven best practices. The study discovered several ways in which retailers can optimize their live chat software implementation.


• The most interesting conclusion of the survey is that live chat may be even more critical and relevant to service companies than it is to online companies or e-commerce portals. Many website features which shoppers indicated would influence their decision to buy are not relevant to service-only companies, such as product images or product catalogue searching.

As a result, live chat's importance is even greater for service providers such as institutions of higher education, law firms, accountants, counseling services, consulting firms and others. As is evident from this highly scientific survey conducted in a controlled environment, live chat is a must have for your online business.