UK Consumers Prefer Online Chat Retailer Help To Phone Calls

Over three quarters of UK consumers want to talk to a customer service representative live online instead of having to phone up in order to resolve an issue with the retailer in question.

A survey carried out by Moxie of UK and US consumers found that 77 per cent prefer live chat to a phone call and that half of those opted for this due to the immediacy of the response.

Live chat on mobile devices is becoming an increasingly more popular feature with 64 per cent of consumers wanting it offered and 76 per cent would use it if it was available.

“Today, people have their mobile phones with them at all times and they are primarily using them to research information, message family and friends and engage with apps,” said Nikhil Govindaraj, VP of products, Moxie.

67 per cent of consumers were satisfied or very satisfied with their customer support experience, however, this rose to a whopping 88 per cent when live chat was used on a mobile device.

Providing a good experience to customers is critical to keeping them onside and this is illustrated by the fact that 60 per cent of respondents admitted to abandoning a shopping cart due to a bad experience. To compound this even further, 48 per cent would never shop at the retailer again after the experience.

Moxie, the firm that provided the results, has just released a new version of its Moxie Chat suite that allows retailers to provide a live chat experience across different devices. Some of the new features include being able to browse and chat at the same time, message waiting alerts, a consistent connection that updates after stopping for a phone call or text message, and file sharing with chat representatives to provide a more helpful experience.

“Our customers now have the ability to design the chat experience to align with their brands and execute specific campaigns that resonate with a growing base of mobile device users,” Govindaraj added.

The results of the survey came from a sample of 2,700 UK and US residents that were all questioned on online shopping experiences and the way that live chat helps to shape that experience.

Image Credit: Flickr (Tim Reckmann)