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Best Live Chat for Ecommerce in 2024

Paweł Hałabuda

14 min read

Aug 9, 2024

One of the most effective ways to enhance customer engagement and boost sales is through the use of live chat.

Businesses that implement ecommerce chat software can see Average Order Value increase by 25%, not to mention a significant improvement in customer satisfaction. In this article, I’ll explore the best live chat software for ecommerce in 2024, helping you choose the right tool to elevate your customer service and drive your business forward.

The purpose of this article is to guide ecommerce businesses in selecting the most suitable live chat solutions to meet their specific needs. Whether you are a small online store or a large enterprise, I’ll cover the key features to look for, provide an in-depth review of the top live chat tools available, and share implementation tips to ensure you get the most out of your investment.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of how live chat can transform your customer interactions, improve your sales process, and give you a competitive edge in the crowded ecommerce market.

So, let’s dive in and discover the best live chat software that can take your ecommerce business to the next level.

What is live chat in ecommerce

This tool - whether it’s a web or a mobile app - typically appears as a chat widget or window, enabling customers to ask questions, seek assistance, and get immediate responses from support agents.

Live chat software is designed to enhance the customer experience by providing quick and efficient support during their shopping journey. It can handle various tasks, such as answering product inquiries, providing technical support, addressing order issues, and even facilitating the checkout process. Live chat helps to reduce friction, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately increase sales and conversions for ecommerce businesses by offering instant communication.

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Customer engagement

Live chat provides a direct and real-time communication channel between customers and support agents, allowing businesses to address inquiries instantly. Pre chat surveys can be used to gather initial customer information, allowing for more personalized and effective engagement. This immediate engagement not only enhances the customer experience but also builds trust and loyalty, which are crucial for retaining customers in the long run.

Sales and conversions

Live chat agents provide instant support, answering questions, and guiding customers through the buying process. Your sales team can leverage live chat to provide real-time assistance and close sales more effectively. This way they can significantly reduce cart abandonment rates. According to a study by Forrester, customers who use live chat are 2.8 times more likely to complete a purchase compared to those who don’t. Live chats also enable upselling and cross-selling opportunities by suggesting relevant products based on the customer’s queries and purchase history.

Competitive advantage

In the competitive ecommerce market, offering live chat can set your business apart from others. Having human customer service representatives available can significantly enhance the customer experience and set your business apart. It demonstrates a commitment to customer service and provides a human touch that automated responses and emails often lack. Businesses that leverage live chat effectively can differentiate themselves by offering superior customer support, leading to higher customer satisfaction and repeat business.

Key features to look for in an ecommerce live chat software

When selecting a live chat tool for your ecommerce business, it’s essential to consider several key features that can enhance both the customer and agent experience:

• A user-friendly interface is crucial for both customers and support agents. The chat widget should be easy to navigate, and agents should be able to manage multiple conversations seamlessly. Look for solutions that offer intuitive dashboards and simple setup processes.
• A well-trained support team is essential for managing these interactions and ensuring customer satisfaction.
• The ability to customize your chat widget to match your website’s branding is essential for maintaining a consistent brand image. Customization options may include color schemes, fonts, and personalized greetings.
• Ensure that your ecommerce live chat integrates smoothly with your existing ecommerce platform, whether it’s Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, or another platform. Integration with CRM systems, email marketing tools, and other third-party applications can also enhance functionality.
• With an increasing number of customers shopping via mobile devices, it’s vital that your live chat solution is mobile-friendly. Ensure that the chat widget is responsive and performs well on smartphones and tablets.
• Automation features, such as chatbots and canned responses, can help manage common queries and reduce the workload on support agents. Advanced AI capabilities can further enhance the customer experience by providing intelligent and context-aware responses.
• Robust analytics and reporting tools are essential for monitoring the performance of your live chat interactions. Look for solutions that offer detailed insights into chat volume, response times, customer satisfaction scores, and other key metrics.
• Protecting customer data is paramount. Ensure that the live chat solution complies with data privacy regulations such as GDPR. Look for features like encryption, secure data storage, and regular security updates.

Comparison table of top ecommerce live chat software

Here, you can find a summary of the pros, cons, and prices of top live chat software for ecommerce.

Best live chat software for ecommerce in 2024

1. LiveChat

LiveChat is one of the best ecommerce live chat tools on the market. You can integrate it with the leading ecommerce platforms for, for example, in-chat product recommendations. This powerful tool offers a full spectrum of tools so your business can offer high-quality support. Chats for selected visitors will start as soon as they land on the page.

Tedious tasks are reduced with AI automation, and you can connect with customers across the most popular communication channels. Sign up for a free 14-day trial. Afterwards, plans range from $20 - $59 monthly or call an account manager to talk about the Enterprise package.

Features:

• Use pre-set messages to engage with people automatically.
• Communication channels that can be integrated include WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger, and more.
• Integrates with leading ecommerce platforms to send in-chat product recommendations
• Fast reply with AI Assist.
• Instant reply suggestion based on knowledge sources with Live Assistant.
• Reports backed by data to help you understand key insights.

Help Scout

Help Scout is a multi-channel support tool that quickly gives customers the answers they need. Customers can speak with live chat agents or look through help center articles in the chat window. The tools give you instant messaging and self-service FAQ on your ecommerce site. A free plan is available, but for more options, the plans start at $20 per user per month.

Features:

• Trigger-based messaging.
• Instant messaging.
• Self-service for quick answers.
• Multi-channel support options.
• Live chat tools combine email, knowledge base, live chat, and in-app messaging.

HelpCrunch

Engage with clients via various communication channels and tools that help you generate more leads and increase sales. You can migrate data from your previous live chat solution for free. Easy integration with other apps you might be using makes for a smooth transition. There are AP-powered tools that help with customer support and marketing. Monthly prices range from $15 - $29.

Features:

• Engage with visitors with auto messages and chatbots.
• Automated marketing tools.
• Screen sharing.
• Popups for engagement, including offers.
• Email and newsletter components.
• Shared inbox.
• Chatbox.
• Mobile apps.

Tidio

This is probably one of the best live chat options for ecommerces if you have a smaller budget. It’s a live chat and chatbox plugin with easy installation that works well for small businesses. Lyro is their conversational AI tool that chats to your visitors and can solve most problems. This costs $.05 per conversation. There is a 100% forever free plan for businesses starting out that want live chat on their site. The free version has limitations, so for $24.17 per month, you can get unlimited seats and 100 conversations.

Features: 

• Convert more leads and excellent support with AI-driven customer service.
• Easy installation.
• Event tracking.
• Conversation ratings.
• Automated conversations with pre-set templates.

Olark

If you’re just looking for a standalone live chat, Olark is a good ecommerce live chat tool, especially for small businesses. It’s a simple tool that offers pre chat surveys to gather information before the chat starts. There are no CRM or knowledge base management tools, but the tool has a few helpful features. It triggers messages automatically, offering suggestions and special offers you authorize to customers. When you’re not available, there’s still offline messaging so that they can leave a message and you can follow up later. There is a completely free trial available with a monthly plan of $29 per seat.

Features:

• Custom pre chat surveys.
• Automatic suggestions and special offers.
• Real-time chatting with direct messages.
• Customer data.
• Live chat insights.

Intercom

Intercom is a good option if you want a live chat tool that offers self-serve support. The Business Messenger function allows you to reach more customers personally, no matter how large the conversation volume is. The automatic live chat addresses common questions and frees up your agents. The saved responses allow you to analyze behavior and adjust for increased conversion rates.

There are proactive chat buttons that help visitors find answers. Intercom has over 300 integrations, making it a powerful tool to enhance the customer experience on your website. A free trial is available, and after that, it’s $39 per month per seat.

Features:

• Customer data platform.
• Proactive support.
• Apps and bots allow for self-service support.
• Chat directly in the product.
• Chat history is saved.
• In-app messages.

ProProfs

If you’re looking for an ecommerce live chat tool that focuses on lead generation, ProProfs is an excellent option. You can capture qualified leads through a live chat agent whether you're online or not. This allows you to market to the new leads for a greater possibility of them coming back and purchasing something.

Advanced features allow you to send announcements when you’re launching a new product or if you want to promote an upcoming sale. You can offer discount codes as well. There’s a post-chat survey, which helps you get relevant feedback to improve your business processes. There’s a free plan and a free trial available. If you want full functionality, paid plans start at $19.00 per operator per month.

Features:

• Add live chat to your ecommerce site.
• Easily transfer chat conversations.
• Canned responses.
• Self-help articles in the chat widget.
• Personalized greetings and product announcements.

Freshchat

Freshchat is a live chat widget and part of a larger company, Freshworks. Freshworks has a large suite of enterprise tools. The ecommerce live chat tool has an impressive number of features as well, so you can have optimal customer relationships while you provide chat support.

The products included with Freshworks can support over 1000 integrations, making it great for ecommerce businesses. You can connect with any tool you’re already using with Freshchat live chat. There is a free plan and trial, but getting the full package is a monthly fee of $19 per agent. The Customer Service Suite starts at $29 per month per agent.

Features:

• AI-powered chatbots.
• Language translation in real time.
• Chatting across various channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LINE, and more.
• Real-time interactions between customers and agents through live chat.
• Proactive engagement to support customers with messages, images, GIFs, and videos. 

LiveAgent

LiveAgent is one of the best ecommerce live chat solutions for those who want omnichannel communication. If you have customers who want to communicate through different platforms, an omnichannel option will work best for you. You can receive messages through a variety of channels, including social media, community forum sites, support channels, and more. They all come to a shared inbox for your team, so organizing and managing them is easy. A free trial is available, and plans start at as little as $9 per month. There are more than 130 ticketing features and over 200 integrations.

Features:

• Shared inbox.
• Proactive chat pop-ups.
• Real-time typing.
• Localization support.
• Call center software.

Chaport

If you have an ecommerce business where your team needs to collaborate, Chaport is a great live chat provider. Your team can work together easily on any support issues and conversations can be transferred. Chat agents can see what customers are typing in real time, so they’re ready to offer fast response times. There’s a free plan and trial available, with paid plans starting at $29 per month, which includes four operators.

The chatbot is programmable to answer questions that relate to your business, improving customer satisfaction. This makes it easier for your team to manage other things. In total, you can integrate more than 2000 apps.

Features:

• Free live chat plan that includes one operator.
• Group chats.
• SSL encryption technology security.
• A picture of the agent in active conversations.
• Email chat transcripts.
• On-demand reports.

Zendesk

Zendesk is one of the best live chat app options for enterprise companies. It comes with a huge bundle of tools to help your customer service and sales efforts with valuable customer insights. Zendesk helps your agents to easily upsell to customers through brand promotion. Users will have automation tools and proactive chat based on triggers and canned responses. There’s a free trial available with plans starting at $19 per agent per month.

Features:

• Personalized, proactive live chat app.
• Customizable chatbot.
• File sharing.
• Proactive communication.
• Group messaging.
• Easy interface.
• Powerful integrations.

Implementation Tips for Live Chat in Ecommerce

Implementing live chat in your ecommerce business can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and boost sales. 

Here are some tips to ensure you get the most out of your live chat software:

1. Instead of waiting for customers to initiate a chat, proactively reach out to them. For example, if a customer lingers on a product page for an extended period, trigger a chat invitation to offer assistance.
2. Customers expect prompt responses. Aim to respond within seconds to prevent frustration and potential abandonment. Use canned responses for common questions to speed up response times.
3. Address customers by their names and reference their purchase history or browsing behavior. Personalized interactions make customers feel valued and understood.
4. Ensure your live chat integrates with other customer service channels like email, social media, and phone support. This provides a seamless experience and allows customers to choose their preferred method of communication.
5. Analyze your website traffic to determine peak times for customer inquiries. Ensure you have enough agents available during these times to handle the increased volume. Consider offering 24/7 support if feasible.

Grow your ecommerce business with LiveChat

After exploring the benefits of live chat in ecommerce, the essential features to look for, and how to implement it effectively, it's clear that choosing the right solution is crucial for success. Among the various options available, LiveChat stands out as the best choice for any ecommerce business.

With its user-friendly interface, robust customization options, seamless integrations, and advanced AI capabilities, LiveChat offers everything you need to provide exceptional customer support. The platform's comprehensive analytics and reporting tools ensure you can monitor performance and continuously optimize your customer interactions. Moreover, our 24/7 customer support and mobile-friendly app make it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes.

Don't miss the opportunity to elevate your ecommerce customer service and boost your sales. Try LiveChat today and experience the difference it can make for your business.

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