How to Keep Your Business Flourishing Past the Holiday Shopping Season with a Live Chat Platform

It’s not surprising to hear that consumer spending and the volume of inbound inquiries and requests generally peaks for businesses during the holiday season. In fact, the holiday Ecommerce sales were record-breaking this year with $3.7 billion spent on Thanksgiving Day, $6.2 billion on Black Friday, and $7.9 billion on Cyber Monday.[1] Most retailers are familiar with the term consumer confidence – a sense of optimism and enthusiasm that clients feel about the state of the economy, which is then reflected in how liberally they will spend. In 2018, consumer confidence was recognized for being at the highest it’s been in almost 20 years.[2] With this in mind, retailers have an undeniable advantage, and can expect more sale conversions and an increase in average order value all year round, especially with the knowledge of how to leverage a live customer engagement platform.

Solely relying on a thriving economy or the influx of seasonal sales during the months of November and December to hit yearly targets makes for a risky business plan. Retailers must fully comprehend the market demands, customers’ expectations and behavior patterns during each and every month throughout the year. One universal expectation from customers that stays consistent throughout the year is the demand for superior online customer service.

Ecommerce is growing 23% year after year and providing an excellent online experience is the surest way to retain business.[3] Most businesses do offer some form of online support, whether that is through a basic text chat feature or a “contact us” form. You can take it a step further by offering an in-person experience to your online customers with live video chat support, where customers can have a personalized, face-to-face experience with one of your live agents. It doesn’t get much more human than that in the digital world. Due to improved online service, retailers who deploy Vee24’s AI enabled live engagement software receive an average NPS rating of 85 and convert 4x more customers than companies who rely on just text or phone support.

According to a 2018 Ecommerce study, many people still prefer to go into a brick and mortar store during the holidays.[4] Customers are shopping for family members and friends and need the assistance of a store associate more than ever. If you are exclusively an Ecommerce institution, you understand the significance of offering live video assistance now. Without it, you will likely lose business to a brick and mortar store. Vee24’s retail client, Schuh, concluded that live video helps them to achieve the same conversion rate that they would in their physical stores.[5] As a company who has a developed online presence and brick and mortar locations, you can offer your clients the best of both worlds with personal engagements from the comfort of their own home and on their own time.

Online customers find it extremely valuable to actually see a product in the same or greater level of detail than they would be able to in person. In fact, 88% of shoppers characterize detailed product content as being extremely important to their purchase.[6] Think about a time when you were looking at a piece of furniture or decorative piece, such a table runner, and the website didn’t list the product dimensions or material. Or, even worse, the company only provided 1 or 2 images of the product. How frustrating! Now imagine a website that offers the opportunity to speak to a live agent who can not only answer every question you have, but also has a mobile camera to show you the actual product and how it appears in a staged room over a live video stream. This is the type of online experience that will build up your brand loyalty and keep your business flourishing year-round.

The holiday season may be the most prosperous time of year for your company in terms of sales and traffic, but it doesn’t need to be limited to those few months. Vee24’s live video chat software is designed to bring your online customers the most personalized, efficient and enjoyable experience possible. By stepping up your online customer service, you can keep your business thriving well beyond the holidays.

[1] https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/holiday-ecommerce

[2] https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2018/01/14/holiday-season-ecommerce-analysis/

[3] https://www.disruptiveadvertising.com/ppc/ecommerce/2018-ecommerce-statistics/

[4] https://www.disruptiveadvertising.com/ppc/ecommerce/2018-ecommerce-statistics/

[5] https://www.vee24.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SCHUH-CASE-STUDY.pdf

[6] https://www.disruptiveadvertising.com/ppc/ecommerce/2018-ecommerce-statistics/