Customer experience solution provider Simplr has released a new study into how ecommerce brands are unprepared for a holiday surge in customer service inquiries.
Consisting of a study of support and service interactions across 1,483 ecommerce company websites, The State of Ecommerce Customer Service 2021 found that only 40% of ecommerce brands have live chat available, while 21% do not offer “readily available” email support.
“Today’s NOW customer expects effective, personalised, and most importantly prompt responses to their inquiries. Every single time. If ecommerce brands are unable to meet those expectations in August and September, what does that mean for November and December, especially as companies struggle to staff?” said Daniel Rodriguez, Simplr CMO. “This study should act as a warning to ecommerce leaders: Make rapid improvements to your CX programs now, or lose customers in the very near future.”
Other key findings of the report included the fact that:
- 42% of brands were unable to respond to email support inquiries in less than 24 hours
- The chat interaction was unable to resolve the issue at hand 49% of the time
- 93% of consumers are more likely to repurchase from a brand after an interaction with a human agent
“Your first response time is your chance to make a first impression with a customer,” said Rodriguez. “By responding quickly and taking the time to show you care, you develop real rapport with the customer. This study proves that the impression is not lost on the customer. The best brands understand this and use it to their advantage when it comes to leveraging CX as a true customer loyalty and revenue driver.”
Simplr’s offering combines a staffing pool with AI-based technology to quickly allow companies to expand customer service capacity. The company recently launched a new feature, Personal Connection Prompts, allows the company’s specialists to be more empathetic by integrating response-prompting tools within their workflows.
“It’s clear that investing in personalisation and empathy is a must-have for any business that sees customer experience as a revenue driver. But to do it at scale across service and support traditionally requires significant overhead and training without any guarantee of consistency or effectiveness,” said Rodriguez.
