The commercial companies and e-stores to achieve customer satisfaction and provide a successful buying experience that is repeated, it is necessary to provide the necessary support to them, by answering their inquiries and questions about products and clarifying all information which helps to improve customer service and build trust, as well as to develop conversion rates in your online store and the possibility of persuading them to buy products.

Therefore, the online chat has become one of the basics and components of e-stores that allow to obtaining visitors’ reactions and access to the best experience and performance for them, as the level of customer satisfaction on the online store has a prominent role to attract or alienating potential new customers. In this article, the necessity and importance of the availability of online chat in e-stores.

Read Also: Top steps to gain customers trust in e-stores

The importance of providing online chat service in e-stores:

The online chat in the e-store enables immediate response to customers: One of the most important advantages of online conversation is to response quickly and to provide the necessary information that answers customers' questions and inquiries, which encourages them to make the purchase decision easily and quickly.

The online chat enables the e-store to compete with other stores: Many online stores are trying to stand out among their competitors by providing a fast and interactive customer service, which helps to convince the customer and urge him / her to buy products from your store. So, the online chat service has become more profitable and useful than e-mails and phone calls.

The online chat in e-store improves conversion rate and sales: The customers prefer the online stores that provide them a quick customer service through e-chat, as it is one of the best tools to strengthen the relationship with them, which increases the degree of trust in dealing between the store and the customer, and this method leads to a higher average demand and more revenue.

The online chat in e-store increases customer satisfaction: The online chat strengthens the relationship between customers and the online store, converts the potential customers into actual customers in order to buy again, as it is a tool for individual communication that builds a personal relationship with the customer, which increases his / her loyalty to the store or brand.

The online chat in the e-store costs less money: By comparing the revenues generated by e-mail, phones number and online chat, we find that chat is more effective than others, in addition to that it is a cheaper method than call centers, so you do not need to employ a number of customer service representatives to facilitate live chat, as one service representative is able to respond to many clients simultaneously, unlike call centers.

The online chat adds an interactive human touch to e-store: Many customers prefer an easier shopping experience through personal assistance quickly via online chat and obtaining information in a short time. According to as a marketing study conducted by (JD Power), the online chat is the first option that people look for when they visit an online store, as more than 42 % preferred the live chat option to solve problems and query while online shopping, as the chat function has been used by the customer.

The online chat in e-stores reduces shopping cart: The online service in e-stores supports the customer who has added the products to the shopping cart by answering his / her questions and inquiries at various stages of the purchase process, as well as it providing special offers for specific products to encourage him / her to complete that process. Perhaps, leaving the shopping cart after filling it with products is one of the most common issues that the e-stores are exposed to, so the online chat helps to reduce leaving the shopping cart by the visitor.

Steps to use the online chat professionally

With depending on the online chat, the e-stores should follow certain steps and methods to use them to achieve the desired results of solving the customers` problems by answering their questions, which are:

• Inform the customer about the waiting time to be answered by a customer service representative in the store.
• It is necessary to inform the customer that a member of the customer service team responds to him / her after reading his inquiry.
• Placing the chat feature clearly in the online store and using a clear symbol to refer to it.
• Send the chat summary to the customer after his / her problem is solved or his questions are answered, and the chat is finished by e-mail or mobile.
• Configure customer service representatives on chat etiquette and knowing the details of the products and services offered by your online store.

Meta Description:

Therefore, the online chat has become one of the basics and components of e-stores that allow to obtaining visitors’ reactions and access to the best experience and performance for them, as the level of customer satisfaction on the online store has a prominent role to attract or alienating potential new customers.