New Report: Chat Use On The Rise, Email On The Decline Amongst US, UK

LogMeIn and the e-tailing group Release Fourth Annual BoldChat Live Chat Effectiveness Report

LogMeIn Inc. and the e-tailing group, an e-commerce consultancy, recently announced the fourth annual release of the BoldChat Live Chat Effectiveness report, a comprehensive collection of research on the effectiveness of live chat technology in eCommerce. The blinded study surveyed over 2,000 regular online shoppers in the United States and United Kingdom about their attitudes, opinions and behaviors towards live chat during their online shopping experience. The report, which shows chat adoption continuing to grow in the US and UK, also reveals declining use of email, the most prevalent eCommerce communications method, as a preferred means of interacting with merchants online.

A full copy of the report is available on the BoldChat website(https://boldchat.com/live-chat-research.asp#effect-2012).

The research found that one in five shoppers prefers live chat more than any other communication method and that these live chat "fans" typically have a higher household income than average and spend more online per year than other shoppers.

Additional key findings from the research include:

• Live chat adoption continues to grow: Nearly two thirds of shoppers (65.5%) have engaged in a live chat session while shopping online, up from 57.5% in 2011
• UK shoppers' use of chat on the rise: Use of chat amongst UK shoppers has grown significantly in the past year from 41% having engaged in a live chat session while shopping in 2011 to 59% having engaged in a live chat session in 2012
• Support and/or customer service are the most popular entry point to chat while shopping online: Of shoppers who have used chat, 42% indicated that their first use of chat was for a support or customer service question, by far the most popular response
• Follow-on use of chat suggests migration from support/service to sales assistance: While support and service was the most common entry point, use of chat to ‘inquire about product information before a purchase' was by far the most popular response when asked how shoppers most recently used chat, coming in at 52% of all chat users
• Shoppers becoming more receptive to merchant initiated chat: 39% of shoppers are now receptive to merchant initiated, or ‘proactive' chat sessions, up from 33% in 2011 and 28% in 2010
• US, UK shoppers differ on email and phone preferences: Use of telephone by UK shoppers as a preferred method is almost half of that by US shoppers, while US shoppers are far less likely to use email when compared to UK shoppers

"Our 2012 findings show that live chat continues to grow and is a powerful communication channel for both service and sales, and that the population that prefers to use chat over all other contact methods is a key one for websites," said Steve Castro-Miller, VP, Chat Products, LogMeIn, Inc. "New for the 2012 research was an explicit look at social media's role as a desirable and preferred communication channel for online shoppers. Not surprisingly, the numbers suggest a typical early adopter trend, as 2 percent of the US shoppers and 3 percent of UK shoppers cited social media as their preferred channel. We fully believe that number to increase over time at the expense of less efficient channels, like email, as both merchants and shoppers further embrace social channels."

Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing group, discussed the survey methodology and provided industry insights as part of the report's foreword. Freedman commented, "Urgency is the operative word for today's consumer as they continue to look for ways to shop smarter, find answers quickly and solve routine problems in seconds. They are looking for anywhere access and the human element (no automated bots), and when comparing chat to both email and phone find chat much more effective."

About the e-tailing group
the e-tailing group is a niche e-commerce consultancy that helps merchants deliver the right customer experience on their websites and across all of their channels while adeptly assisting technology companies to create and execute go-to-market strategies that simultaneously educate the retail community and deliver cost-effective thought leadership and lead generation. For more information, visit www.e-tailing.com.

About BoldChat
BoldChat, a LogMeIn customer care product, is a market-leading live chat offering that enables businesses to quickly and effectively engage visitors on their websites to improve online support and increase sales. The BoldChat solution is offered in different editions and includes other integrated communications technologies like click-to-call, email management, SMS management, and co-browsing. Organizations of all sizes – from small proprietorships to large ecommerce enterprises – can drive more conversions and higher customer satisfaction by using BoldChat. Customers include 3M, American Cancer Society, Corel, Dean & DeLuca and ViewSonic. For more information, visit www.boldchat.com.

About LogMeIn, Inc.
LogMeIn provides essential cloud-based services to individuals, businesses, and IT organizations for remote access, collaboration, customer care, and remote IT management. These services are used by more than 15 million people to quickly, simply and securely connect over 150 million internet-enabled devices across the globe — computers, smartphones, iPad and Android tablets, and digital displays. LogMeIn is based in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA, with offices in Australia, Hungary, India, Japan, the Netherlands, and the UK.

SOURCE: LogMeIn Inc.