With digital interactions becoming the norm between the public and organizations, live chat statistics highlight many interesting changes in the field of customer support.

One advancement in this area we’ve grown accustomed to over the years is the use of live chat.

Even with how common this feature is nowadays, you still won’t find it across every website on the internet.

However, the live chat market is growing, as it’s expected to reach $987.3 million by the end of this year.

You’ll also find that millennials are 20% more likely to use live chat, showing an increasing preference for handling customer support through online chat portals.

When live chat was a new concept on the internet, it came with some pretty basic functions, but it had quite a few flaws that made the process a bit unreliable.

It’s a lot better in our current day, and there are also many new integrations with live chat that have increased the efficacy and value of the tool.

In this resource, you’ll get a comprehensive look at statistics surrounding the live chat market, which will provide a broader understanding of the technology as a whole.

Key Statistics

• More than 41% of shoppers expect live chat to exist on any given website
• The popularity of live chat features is expected to grow by 87% over the next one to two years
• Live chat has proven to improve conversion rates by 3.84%
• Roughly 69% of consumers in the U.S. prefer working with live chat over chatbot support
• The live chat market is expected to reach around $987.3 million by the end of 2023
• Live chat is the support service of choice for shoppers that are aged 19 to 49 years old
• 51% of consumers want support to be available 24/7
• 79% of consumers prefer speaking with a live agent as it generally drives faster results
• Live chat surpasses all other content methods in consumer preferences for support

Live Chat Statistics in 2023: Revolutionizing Customer Support

Nowadays, most people will find it relatively annoying if a website or business doesn’t offer a live chat feature.

This technology has also created a competitive space in customer support, as many people would rather work with a company that offers live chat compared to those that don’t.

Live chat technology has been around for decades, but it has really hit a changing stride until the last decade or so.

Many organizations will offer 24/7 live chat support with agents available, and this seems to be the top preference among the general public.

Nevertheless, the system has been around for years, which has generated a long list of insightful statistics.

1. Customers Like a Quick Response

Regardless of the era, customers enjoy feeling like their questions and concerns are being addressed with attention to detail and a timely approach.

In the past, this simply wasn’t always possible, but live chat has been able to disrupt that.

It’s estimated that about 90% of customers find a prompt reaction from customer support to be high on their list of important qualities in a company.

This is understandable, and the best way to do this is to integrate live chat features.

Some organizations are still beating around the bush on whether they need a live chat or not, but the numbers speak for themselves.

When consumers tell you what they want, it’s a good idea to list, and shoppers want efficient, minimal contact support solutions.

(99Firms)

2. Live Chat and the Shopper’s Journey

There are several stages in the buyer’s journey, and stats show that live chat features play a crucial role in that.

With shoppers who spend around $250 to $500 per month online, 63% are more likely to buy from a company offering live chat support.

When you consider the results live chat is able to provide, it makes a lot of sense.

It can also be helpful for people with speech, language, or even hearing issues.

Other important stats related to this topic include:

• 51% of customers will likely buy again from companies that have live chat
• 38% of buyers are likely to make their first purchase from a company if they have live chat
• 79% of organizations with live chat have reported that it has made a positive impact on their customer relations, sales, and overall revenue

Although many people like live chat because they can talk to a real agent, artificial intelligence is slowly making its way into this space.

You could call it a chatbot, but some AI-driven chat systems have proven to be undetectable, efficient, and accurate in many cases.

(99Firms)

3. Exponential Growth in the Near Future

With all of the developments we’ve seen in recent years with live chat features, this has positively impacted the market.

Not only does live chat historically show a good track record for growth, but future projections are better than they’ve ever been.

At this rate, industry experts believe the live chat market is expected to grow by roughly 87% over the course of 12 to 18 months.

With shifting generations and furthering technological innovations, more and more people prefer to work with businesses that have live chat.

When you break down live chat growth among different industries, some advancements have been much more substantial.

For example, some industries exude 150% in the growth of live chat services and features.

Even with the rising popularity of this feature, you’d be surprised at how many websites still have yet to implement it into their customer support.

(SuperOffice)

4. How Many Companies Use Live Chat?

A shocking number of companies have yet to take notice of the benefits of live chat.

The most recent data shows that only 9% of organizations actually make use of the customer support feature.

It’s surprising considering the leading edge that live chat support can offer a company.

Customers are pretty transparent about their preferences, and businesses are slowly starting to catch on.

One of the main benefits of live chat support is the ability to multi-task.

Agents can handle numerous inquiries at once, as they don’t have to talk or have any in-person interaction.

This has led to streamlined efficiency that customer support hasn’t seen in a long time.

Data supports this, yet many companies still haven’t hopped on board.

It’s simply a matter of time, as it won’t take long before the general population as a whole demands live chat wherever they shop.

(SuperOffice)

5. Improves the User Experience

Data also tells us that live chat support leaves a positive impact on the experience for each user.

Moreover, it delivers better results than other traditional forms of contact.

In the table below, you can get a brief look at the satisfaction rates of support across different contact methods.

It’s evident why social media would rank a bit lower, as this isn’t generally seen as a primary method of contact.

Of course, live chat is at the top for two main reasons.

One, it’s a form of support with the least amount of contact or effort on the customer’s part, and two, it delivers some of the fastest results.

How live chat impacts your customer base is actually quite detailed, and statistics can tell you everything about how it affects them.

(LiveAgent)

Making a Positive Impact on the Customer

Getting a quick answer to your question merely scratches the surface of the benefits that live chat has to offer.

From improving customer satisfaction to increasing sales, both sides win, and results are even better if the service is 24/7.

Live chat support is a rising preference with each passing year.

Companies that are tuned into the feature are also looking for ways to make it as efficient as possible.

In some ways, it’s already there, as live chat offers solutions in a fraction of the time compared to traditional contact methods.

No matter how you look at it, data surrounding how live chat impacts customers should make any organization want to implement the feature as soon as possible.

6. The Quality of Live Support Matters

Not all experiences with live chat agents are the same.

Negative experiences aren’t uncommon, and this can be quite damaging to any business in the long run.

38% of customers agree that poor experiences with live chat support lead to significant frustration.

The table below offers a point of view from both customers and businesses regarding frustrations with live chat.

Even if percentages vary, both sides have acknowledged these issues to some capacity.

Live chat support is far from perfect, but it has come a long way.

However, companies that offer live chat have a lot of pain points to work through, and it’s important to be aware of them as early as possible.

(99Firms)

7. Where are the Problem Areas?

There’s a good chance you’ve seen more than one live chat integration when browsing websites online.

You’ll notice that not all of them function the same or offer the same type or quality of service.

However, in the midst of companies trying to find their way with live chat, some of them have generated a sizeable number of problems for themselves.

Some of the areas of live chat where businesses are lacking include some of the following:

• The average wait time for an initial live chat response is nearly three minutes
• Companies don’t catch every support request, with 21% of them going unanswered
• 55% of businesses don’t offer customers chat transcripts at the end of the conversation
• It takes live chat agents roughly seven minutes to provide a solution to an inquiry

Statistics have a lot more to offer on this, but these numbers give you a look into the different ways customers are affected.

The chat times may be reasonable when in reality, technology says they can be a lot faster. 

In some circumstances, when it comes to a live agent, wait times can stem from a simple personnel issue.

Sometimes there are simply more requests coming in than the staff can actually handle with unwavering speed.

(99Firms)

8. Beneficial for Customer Satisfaction Ratings

When stacked up against other forms of contact, it’s evident that live chat support goes beyond what traditional methods are capable of.

Of course, people are still sending emails and making phone calls, but live chat support is the go-to option for many online shoppers.

The figure below offers a visualization of where live chat support matches up to other forms of contact in terms of customer satisfaction ratings.

Keep in mind these satisfaction ratings aren’t accomplished without an effective system put in place.

Live chat agents have to be quick, which means they need access to every resource possible that could help them solve a customer’s problem.

Although some companies are struggling with live chat support systems, others are a part of the higher customer satisfaction ratings.

The average response time may be two minutes and 40 seconds, but the quickest response time for live chat is only two seconds.

9. Response Times Have to be Quick

People who are opting for live chat are already looking for a quick answer.

The conversation can go downhill fast if a live chat agent isn’t prompt with their response times.

Aside from that, live chat is still much faster than other mediums.

Where the average response time for live chat is two to three minutes, email is 17 hours, and social media is 10 hours.

Comparing these numbers is a no-brainer, as I’d rather get an answer in two minutes than wait for a response to come through tomorrow.

Unfortunately, most companies aren’t up to speed with their live chat systems.

Many of them have staggering response times or make customers go through an annoying list of prompts before they’re able to reach an actual agent. 

Those first few minutes can make or break the experience for the customer, but it requires a system and a workforce that’s able to take on the workload.

Many people would assume that live chat is the best option for customer support no matter what, but this isn’t always the case.

(SuperOffice)

10. What are the Downsides?

Customers don’t always leave with a good impression after dealing with a live chat agent.

Sometimes this is inevitable, given the nature of the situation.

However, statistics show that there’s a general consensus surrounding certain issues regarding live chat services.

This goes for both customers and live chat agents, as both face their own struggles when it comes to dealing with a live chat interaction.

• 11% of website users aren’t a fan of chats with proactive prompts
• 29% of live chat users are annoyed by scripted responses
• 80% of live chat reps had to access numerous systems to find particular information
• One-third of companies surveyed agreed that their knowledge base isn’t updated or the easiest to use, inevitably making the jobs of live chat agents more difficult

Live chat has its struggles, but data highlights that it can do wonders for conversion rates.

This isn’t always a guarantee, but live chat has the ability to give consumers more confidence in a product or service before they buy.

(LiveAgent)

Live Chat Can Improve Conversion Rates

When people are shopping online, they generally want as much information about a product as possible before they click the buy button.

Although product descriptions are generally stacked with information, people are commonly left with unique questions that need specific answers.

This is where live chat can be extremely helpful.

If properly executed, live chat agents can answer questions directly on the spot, which has been shown to improve conversion rates for purchases.

Once consumers have everything they need to feel confident in their purchase, nothing is holding them back from spending money.

11. The Influence on Spending More

Statistics show that customers who utilize live chat features are bound to spend 60% more per purchase compared to those who don’t.

This is very telling about how live chat affects the buyer’s journey, and it shows that it’s effective more often than not.

There’s even more of a chance that a customer will make a purchase after having a positive experience with a live chat support agent.

Data tells us that this figure comes out to 38%.

Regardless of how much this affects your company’s revenue, it’s more than enough incentive to look into live chat integrations.

If you look at this from another angle, 57% of customers would abandon their online cart if they weren’t able to receive a prompt answer for their inquiry.

However, among those surveyed, 63% of consumers would happily return to an eCommerce sight if they were to implement a live chat support feature.

(99Firms)

12. Success Stories aren’t Hard to Find

For those skeptical about the importance of live chat, numerous success stories and case studies highlight the benefits it can offer organizations.

There are a few prime examples we can use.

Conversion rates for Intuit climbed to 190% thanks to the help of a live chat feature.

Moreover, Virgin Airlines saw their conversion rates jump by 23% with the support of live chat, and Rescue Spa saw a whopping 286% increase.

Live chat is able to do this by connecting with each customer on a personal level.

Other forms of contact feel disengaged, and many people end up feeling like their time was wasted.

All of these issues are eliminated with live chat, as people can get the answer they need within minutes.

This breath of fresh air alone will motivate many consumers to click the buy button.

(99Firms)

13. Where Live Chat Supports the Customer Journey

You can break down exactly where in the live chat timeline the feature aids the buyer’s journey the most.

On top of that, a study found that if live chat agents focus on a few key aspects, they’ll have a better chance of organically and methodically driving sales.

The following focus areas have been shown to supplement the customer journey:

• Post-sales customer support = +39%
• Early stage sales development = +32%
• Marketing awareness = +29%

Of course, live agents want to directly address the customer’s concerns, but the conversation can be navigated in a way that helps to drive the shopper toward a purchase.

So, what does this mean for revenue? With an increase in conversion rates, you can assume revenue is benefiting from this as well.

(SuperOffice)

14. How Live Chat Affects Revenue

Industry experts are still looking at how live chat benefits revenue, but what they’ve found so far is promising.

It’s known that the use of live chat leads to an increase in revenue per chat hour of 48%.

This is quite significant and just another fact that puts live chat integrations on a pedestal.

You’ll find that this figure will change over time, but it holds enough weight to catch the attention of business owners.

Live chat agents aren’t actively working as a salesman; in most cases, they aren’t even using salesman or marketing language.

They’re simply answering questions and guiding the customer to where they need to go.

Of course, where they need to go just so happens to be the checkout page.

Nevertheless, this occurs more often with the presence of live chat, as it gives buyers confidence in the decisions they want to make with their purchase.

(LiveAgent)

The Bottom Line

Live chat features are still finding their way into organizations all over the world, even if the technology has been around for decades.

It’s an aspect of customer support that many business owners are just now considering, especially with plenty of data to solidify its benefits.

Eventually, live chat will be a core part of modern customer service, and I think most customers would be on board with this.

Throughout this article, you dove into a range of unique live chat statistics that highlight its benefits and its current state within the market.

Sources