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The most striking data from the survey found that 67 percent of consumers value the option of having both a live text chat and a live voice conversation to get the help they need when making online purchases. The survey also found that live help availability on Web sites is not meeting the demand that exists among consumers -- only 21 percent and 37 percent of respondents have tried click to call and click to chat respectively, despite indicating a clear preference for live help versus other online service options, such as email inquiries. As a result of these findings, ATG experts suggest that online businesses have a significant opportunity to increase sales and loyalty by offering customers proactive live help options -- both voice and text chat -- to their online channels.
Several other key conclusions of the survey of over 1,000 Internet users found:
-- Online consumers rated the availability of live help as the third most important of seven core Web site features
-- 70 percent of consumers rated click to call -- defined as a direct connection with a live voice agent without having to go through an Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) -- as "extremely useful" or "very useful"
-- Certain factors such as higher-priced products or services, complexity of questions, errors in the transaction process, and sensitivity of information were identified as main determinants for consumers choosing live call over live chat
The full results and analysis of this survey can be found in ATG's newly released research report, "Consumer Views of Live Online Help: Voice and Text Chat."
"ATG is dedicated to identifying key trends in commerce and consumer behaviors. We're using that knowledge to deliver the solutions that will best help online businesses exceed their customers' needs and expectations," said Ryan Hoppe, marketing director for ATG Optimization Services. "The results of this survey show that consumers not only prefer e-commerce sites that offer easy, instant voice and chat connections to customer care representatives; but most importantly, they reward those sites with their business. It's now more important than ever that online businesses make it easy for online shoppers to receive real-time assistance -- via both click to call and click to chat. This study shows that a toll-free number is simply not good enough to meet consumers' rising expectations for immediate online customer service."
This independent survey asked respondents about their browsing, researching, and buying behaviors for online retail products and consumer goods, financial services and banking, travel and hospitality, and online service providers such as telecommunications and cable companies.
Specific questions focused on:
-- Identifying the frequency of browsing / researching products or services online
-- Identifying frequency of purchasing products or completing applications / forms for services online
-- Reporting on the typical price range or value of orders or transactions placed online
-- Ranking specific Web site features that consumers deem most important to their online shopping experience
-- Characterizing factors that drive consumers to seek live assistance when making a purchase online
-- Identifying methods of customer service used and determining which of those methods are most useful when seeking assistance from a Web site
-- Presenting respondents with scenarios and asking whether they would choose live call or live chat for assistance, and why
-- Rating the usefulness of live call and live chat separately
-- Rating the usefulness of live call and live chat together
ATG's eStara Click to Call and Click to Chat services are interactive voice and text chat offerings that let people communicate directly with sales or customer service agents while researching, buying or getting service for products and services online. They are part of ATG's line of Optimization Services, on-demand (SaaS) offerings which help businesses lift online revenue quickly, easily and measurably by optimizing every online interaction with prospective and existing customers. ATG Optimization Services can be deployed easily and rapidly to any Web site or e-commerce platform, even those not powered by the ATG Commerce platform.
About ATG
A trusted, global specialist in e-commerce, ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) has spent the last decade focused on helping the world's premier brands maximize the success of their online businesses. The ATG Commerce application suite is the top-rated platform by industry analysts for powering highly personalized, efficient and effective e-commerce sites. The company's platform-neutral optimization services can be easily added to any Web site to increase conversions and reduce abandonment. These services include ATG Recommendations, eStara Click to Call, and eStara Click to Chat. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional locations throughout North America and Europe. For more information, please visit http://www.atg.com.
(C) 2009 Art Technology Group, Inc. ATG and Art Technology Group are registered trademarks. All other product names, service marks, and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause ATG's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important risk factors affecting ATG's business generally may be found in its periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
SOURCE: Art Technology Group, Inc.
ATG Tucker Walsh, 617-386-1159 twalsh@atg.com or Matter Communications for ATG Marisa Carullo, 978-499-9250 x320 atg@matternow.com
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