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Live and immersive experiences are now heavily influencing the future of online shopping
Years after the advent of e-commerce, customers take convenience as a given. Almost anything can be ordered online and delivered to your doorstep in a matter of days (if not minutes). But consumers aren’t content with the status quo: they want more. They’re asking for conversational commerce and the ability to buy products within chat interactions. In fact, they’ll even watch live-streamed sessions to gain shopping advice.
Immediacy and engagement now rule, driven partly by the lockdowns of the pandemic and the rise of new technologies. It’s not enough for transactions to be seamless—they must also be more engaging and feature real-time guidance and tailored information. Customers need to complete a purchase with a sense of really understanding the product or service, and feel a matching level of confidence.
Now, 80 percent of consumers expect chat agents and support representatives to assist them with everything they need. The line between support and sales has begun to blur.
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Live and immersive experiences are now heavily influencing the future of online shopping
Years after the advent of e-commerce, customers take convenience as a given. Almost anything can be ordered online and delivered to your doorstep in a matter of days (if not minutes). But consumers aren’t content with the status quo: they want more. They’re asking for conversational commerce and the ability to buy products within chat interactions. In fact, they’ll even watch live-streamed sessions to gain shopping advice.
Immediacy and engagement now rule, driven partly by the lockdowns of the pandemic and the rise of new technologies. It’s not enough for transactions to be seamless—they must also be more engaging and feature real-time guidance and tailored information. Customers need to complete a purchase with a sense of really understanding the product or service, and feel a matching level of confidence.
Now, 80 percent of consumers expect chat agents and support representatives to assist them with everything they need. The line between support and sales has begun to blur.
“Our revenue per user is higher when a customer is chatting with us versus browsing the site on their own. And our conversion rate in chat is nine times higher than the standard conversion rate for customers using the site.”
Michelle Swart, Zendesk Administrator and Data Analyst
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Conversational commerce, in which customers can make seamless purchases via chat or messaging, has quickly become the new standard in online shopping. In a single conversation— and make no mistake, the word conversation is key—a customer might open a chat session to get support for a previously purchased product, and through intelligently divined suggestions, that consumer will be served relevant product options for additional purchases.
Consumers report they are only able to make purchases directly within chat-based conversations with agents 34% of the time
While companies see the potential here, they’re lagging behind in terms of implementation. Investments are being made, but as it stands, just 33 percent of businesses have implemented conversational commerce. However, 56 percent plan to explore conversational commerce and make it available to their customers in 2024.
“Our revenue per user is higher when a customer is chatting with us versus browsing the site on their own. And our conversion rate in chat is nine times higher than the standard conversion rate for customers using the site.”
Michelle Swart, Zendesk Administrator and Data Analyst
![](./assets/images/spoonflower.862c18dd8be1.png)
![](./assets/images/zendesk-spots-10.86d85ed28aa9.png)
Conversational commerce, in which customers can make seamless purchases via chat or messaging, has quickly become the new standard in online shopping. In a single conversation— and make no mistake, the word conversation is key—a customer might open a chat session to get support for a previously purchased product, and through intelligently divined suggestions, that consumer will be served relevant product options for additional purchases.
Consumers report they are only able to make purchases directly within chat-based conversations with agents 34% of the time
While companies see the potential here, they’re lagging behind in terms of implementation. Investments are being made, but as it stands, just 33 percent of businesses have implemented conversational commerce. However, 56 percent plan to explore conversational commerce and make it available to their customers in 2024.
While businesses make slow gains in offering conversational commerce, there’s another element on the rise: live-stream shopping coupled with real-time purchasing guidance. This is particularly pronounced in Asia, but it’s making inroads in other parts of the world. It's interactive and dynamic nature resonates with consumers, and with it comes a host of benefits: a more human touch, better product knowledge, immediate expert advice, and an overall more compelling shopping experience.
To take advantage of this development, businesses need to strategize. While setting up live-streaming capabilities will require financial commitments, 74 percent of CX leaders see those expenditures as justified. To get there, 72 percent of leaders say they plan to partner with external vendors and partners.
With the implementation of live-stream shopping experiences and conversational commerce comes the need for organizational changes. CX leaders told Zendesk that they expect a need for updating or modifying data privacy policies, as well as new training programs for customer service teams. And, importantly, these CX leaders see AI playing a role in handling automated responses and personalization. The evolution in online commerce will only accelerate, with conversational interactions and live-streaming events becoming the norm. And as two-thirds of CX leaders recognize, failing to embrace this change in the marketplace will mean losing valued customers to those who do.
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