Customers and service providers appreciate live chat because it reduces ticket volume and provides immediate solutions. Consequently, companies who realize live chat’s value place an average of 1.2 mobile-friendly chat widgets on their websites for real-time and proactive chat support (more than 53% of live chats are initiated through mobile).
Tyche estimates that 22% of customers abandon their shopping carts due to a lack of real-time assistance, resulting in significant revenue losses for businesses. Live chat can solve this problem.
Instead of searching through a knowledge base or waiting for an email response, users can simply click on the chat button while browsing your site and receive immediate help.
The popularity of the communication channel is evident in the number of daily visitors (50-100), the number of messages exchanged between customers and businesses (12,000 a month), and the average number of chats per month (600). If we break down these statistics further, they equate to 50 conversations per day, with the average agent resolving 14.2 chats per day.
Typically, help desk agents spend up to two hours and 45 minutes resolving chats each day. The remaining time is usually spent solving other tickets or being idle (on average, companies pay employees one hour of idle time per shift.)
The average live chat session is 11 minutes and 15 seconds long. This includes transfers, waiting times between responses, and after-chat work time. According to our research, a total of 5 conversations are transferred per day on average. The number of transfers before ticket resolution is usually 0-1, depending on the company’s procedures. In terms of wrap-up tasks, they typically take 10 minutes on average.
By providing agents with help desk systems, companies can significantly reduce the time it takes to handle chats and complete tasks. At present, 80% of live chat representatives must access multiple systems to get the information they need, significantly affecting their productivity and efficiency.
Moreover, help desk systems also ensure chats are routed and assigned to the proper agents, reducing waiting times for customers. According to our research, live chat sessions are initiated within 10 seconds if there’s no queue. If one other person is waiting in the queue, it takes approximately 2 minutes, 5 minutes with 2-4 people waiting, and 10+ minutes if five or more people are waiting in line.
The average live chat queue length is 5 minutes and 57 seconds. However, some customers consider this too long, with 28.1% of all customers abandoning chat queues.
Live chat reps use multiple systems
#ChatRepresentatives
#MultipleSystems
80%
Average number of chats resolved by 1 agent each day
#ChatsResolved
One agent resolves an average of
14.2
chats per day
LiveChat
Chatbots can resolve most chats
#Chatbots
More than
80%
of chat sessions could be resolved by a chatbot.
Accenture
Customers abandon carts because they lack real-time assistance
#CustomersAbandonCarts
22%
of customers abandon shopping carts due to a lack of real-time assistance.
Tyche Softwares
Average live chat queue length
#ChatQueueLength
The average live chat
queue time is
5 min
and 57 seconds.
LiveChat
The time it takes to reach a live chat agent
#TimeToReachAgent
A live agent can usually be reached within 10 seconds when there’s no queue,
and in more than 10 minutes when there are five or more people in line.
LiveAgent
Live chat conversion
#ConversionRate
An average live chat conversion rate is
5%
and may be affected by the brand, the website design, or the industry market.
LiveAgent
Live chat leads
#LiveChatLeads
Live chat captures an average of
30 leads
Daily number of live chat users
#LiveChatUsers
Live chats at larger companies receive about
50-100
visits per day.
LiveAgent
Average live chat session time
#ChatSessionTime
The average chat duration is
11 min
and 15 seconds.
LiveChat
Mobile live chats
#MobileChats
53.1%
of chats are initiated via mobile.
LiveChat
Chat transfers
#ChatTransfers
#TransferPerDay
There are
5 chat
Live chat resolution rates
#ResolutionRates
Live chat has a
90%
resolution rate. The majority of the live chats are either resolved immediately or by email.
LiveAgent
Response times on live chat vs. other channels
#ResponseTimes
Live chat’s response time is often the same as call center service, usually within a few seconds if an agent is online. Social media and email support’s response time is typically
3 hours
sometimes even 24 hours.
LiveAgent
Live chat response times
#ResponseTimes
The fastest response time on chat is around
5 sec
the average is around 15 seconds, and anything above 30 seconds is considered slow.
LiveAgent
Unanswered chats
#UnansweredChats
The number of unanswered live chats is almost
zero.
LiveChat
Average number of chats per month
#ChatsPerMonth
The average number of chat sessions per month is
600
Accenture
Proactive chats that receive a response
#ProactiveChats
The conversion rate for proactive chats is around
1%
LiveAgent
Live chat response speed affecting purchases
#ResponseSpeed
#IncreasePurchase
A faster response speed can increase purchase rates by
0.5%
CCW Digital
Once a live chat is in session, agents are quick to answer customer questions. According to industry benchmarks, the fastest response time on chat is around 5 seconds, the average around 15 seconds, and everything more than 30 seconds is considered slow.
If the agent assisting a customer on live chat doesn’t know how to help them, they’ll usually follow up via email. There are generally only up to 10 requests per day to be contacted via different channels. However, chats are never left unanswered.
Compared to other communication channels, live chat is relatively faster, which is why it makes up 15% of all customer communications. If agents are available, the response time for live chat is usually within a few seconds, similar to call centers. On the other hand, social media and email support are generally slower, with customers receiving replies within 3 hours and sometimes even after 24 hours.
Due to its speed, convenience, and high-resolution rates, live chat users report an 81.2% satisfaction rate, a customer effort score of 7, and a net promoter score of +40. In addition, most customers rate their live chat experiences a 9 out of 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.
According to our data, the average live chat first contact resolution rate is 75%. The total resolution rate is 90%, and the ratio of tickets that have been opened to closed is 9.5 to 10.
Despite being a great support channel, live chat is also a highly effective lead gathering tool. On average, live chat widgets can identify 30 new, unique leads per day. However, this varies based on the number of website visits, quality of web content, CTAs, and industry.
With new leads come new sales opportunities. The live chat conversion rate is around 5% on average. Live chat also increases loyalty, which, in turn, increases sales by about 5%, with the average chat return for a single chat being 1.5. Interestingly enough, live chat response speed affects purchases marginally (by 0.5% only), and proactive chats have a low conversion rate (1%).
Despite being loved by both customers and agents, live chat is a costly communication tool. Live chat resolution costs are usually three times higher than email/social media support and two times cheaper than a call center.
However, companies can reduce live chat resolution costs through the use of chatbots. According to Accenture, more than 80% of chat sessions can be resolved by a chatbot.
Live chat boosting loyalty
#BoostingLoyalty
A live chat boosts sales by around
5%
on average, which leads to an increased sense of customer loyalty.
LiveAgent
Cost per chat
#CostPerChat
A live chat ticket price is usually
3x higher
than an email or social media ticket and around 2x lower than a call center ticket.
LiveAgent
Average chat return
#ChatReturn
The average return for a single chat is about
1.5
LiveAgent
Number of chat widgets per company
#ChatWidgets
The average number of chat widgets per company is approximately
1.2
LiveAgent
Chat time
#ChatTime
Every agent spends an average of
2h 45min
on chat each day.
LiveChat
Idle time
#IdleTime
The company pays its employees an average idle time of
one hour
per shift.
LiveAgent
Chat abandonment rate
#AbandonmentRate
#ChatQueues
28.1%
of all customers abandon chat queues.
LiveChat
Chat answer speeds
#AnswerSpeeds
The average speed of an answer is
15 sec
LiveAgent
Average after chat work time
#ChatWorkTime
It takes an average of
10 min
to do wrap-up work after a live chat session.
LiveAgent
Live chat first contact resolution rates
#ResolutionRates
The first contact resolution rate for live chat is
75%
LiveAgent
Live chat requests to switch channels
#RequestsToSwitchChannels
Each day, up to
10 live
chatters request to be contacted via different channels.
LiveAgent
The average number of answered chats
#AnsweredChats
The average number of chats answered per day is
50.
LiveChat
Number of chat transfers before resolution
#ChatTransfers
Most companies transfer live chats between
0 to 1
times before the chat is resolved.
LiveAgent
Live chat CSAT
#CSAT
#SatisfactionRate
Live chat users report an
81.2%
Live chat NPS
#NPS
The average NPS score for live chat is
+40
LiveAgent
Live chat CES
#CES
The average customer effort score for live chat is
+7
LiveAgent
Post-chat happiness ratings
#HappinessRatings
On average,
9/10
people are satisfied after a live chat session.
LiveAgent
Chats responded to vs. solved
#RespondedToVsSolved
Each day, up to
9,5
to 10
LiveAgent
Daily chats vs. tickets on other channels
#DailyChats
Chats usually make up
15%
of all communication.
LiveAgent
Number of messages exchanged on live chat every month
#MessagesExchangedViaChat
On average, there are
12,000
messages exchanged via live chat every month.
LiveAgent
Customer service statistics 
Call center statistics 
Help desk statistics 
Live chat statistics 
Knowledge base statistics 
Social media service statistics