Global Survey Reveals That 83% of Consumers State a Need for Some Form of Support During Their Online Shopping Journey

LivePerson, Inc., a provider of intelligent engagement solutions, announced the release of the Connecting with Customers Report—a comprehensive global study examining the trends in online attitudes and behaviors of consumers in six different countries. The report revealed that 83% of consumers state that they need some form of support during their online journey, and 59% of consumers would like more options in how they connect with brands.

The report highlights key trends in online spending and online customer experience expectations. According to this study, 40% of consumers are now spending as much online as they do in store. Furthermore, 71% of online consumers expect to be able to access help when purchasing online within five minutes and 51% will give up immediately or after just one attempt to seek help before an online purchase is abandoned. In addition, the research underlying the report indicates that 93% see real-time help as beneficial when shopping online and 31% will take their business elsewhere unless help is accessible immediately.

Key findings from the Connecting with Customers Report include:

-- Speed of abandonment: 71% of visitors expect to be able to access help within five minutes when purchasing online, while 31% expect this help to be immediate. If this support wasn't forthcoming within their expected time frame, 48% state they would go elsewhere or abandon the purchase altogether – with the highest abandonment speed in the UK (58%) and lowest in Italy (39%).  

-- Online customer service expectations: Globally 83% of online users indicate that they need some form of support during their online journey, and 59% of global users would like to have more choice in how they contact online brands, expressing interest in real-time channels such as live chat (57%), click-to-call (34%), and live video chat (7%).  When asked what makes a great customer service experience, the top three factors identified by consumers were getting an issue resolved quickly (82%), getting an issue resolved in a single interaction (56%) and dealing with a friendly customer service representative (45%).

-- Real-time differentiator: 93% of consumers see real-time help as being beneficial during their online customer journey, whether it's before, during or after their purchase process. 51% stated that they were more likely to purchase from a website if they could get answers via live chat, with particular demand for this channel in Italy (60%), the US (56%) and Australia (52%).   Globally, 48% of consumers indicated that they are more likely to return to a website if live help is available.

More information on service, support and CRM can be found at www.CRMindustry.com