61+ Live Chat Statistics To Help Build Stronger Customer Connections in 2022 

Live chat is now the preferred support channel for customers between the ages of 18 and 49. Customers prefer to use live chat because they receive real-time support without having to wait for a live operator. They're able to get support at a time --- and in a form --- that's most convenient for them.

Companies that support customers through their preferred communication method often see more retention and loyalty than those that don't. In fact, one report suggests that companies lose billions of dollars in revenue every year from customers who switch to another brand because of problems like poor customer service.

We're taking a close look at the live chat market so you can understand customer demands and expectations. Use these statistics and your own metrics to identify areas of improvement and make informed decisions about your live chat offerings.

General Live Chat Statistics for 2022

More and more customers prefer to use live chat support to resolve their customer service issues, and as a result, more companies are now adopting live chat software.

1. The ticket volume for live chat service increased 17% from 2020 to 2021 (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

2. 52% of customers say their preferred channel is live chat, but only 31% of responding businesses currently offer it. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

3. The technology industry has the longest live chat average wait times at 82.2 seconds. The travel and hospitality industry has the shortest average wait times at 19.9 seconds. (Live Chat Benchmark Report, Comm100, 2022)

4. From 2020 to 2021, chats per agent per month increased by an average of 33%. (Live Chat Benchmark Report, Comm100, 2022)

5. Customer support agents answer an average of 17.3 chats per day. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

6. The average first response time for live chats is 47 seconds. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

7. The average duration of a live chat session is 10 minutes and 29 seconds. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

8. On average, support agents spend three hours and one minute in live chat conversations each day. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

Business Impacts of Live Chat

Live chat isn't just a convenient way for customers to contact you; it can also have an effect on your business's bottom line by increasing sales, revenue, and more.

1. Website visitors who use a chat feature are 2.8 times more likely to convert than those who don't. (Retailers Without Chat: A Missed Opportunity, Forrester, 2018)

2. 93% of customers said they would spend more money with a brand that offers their preferred customer service channel. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

3. 92% of customers say they will spend more with companies that make sure they don't have to repeat information. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

4. High-performing companies* are 6.8 times more likely to have already implemented conversational customer service methods, like making it possible for customers to switch between service channels. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

5. 86% of customers said they would shop with a brand that interacts with them in a personalized way. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

6. 74% of customers said they're more likely to do business with a company if they could message instead of call. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

7. 83% of customers said they would browse or buy products in a messaging conversation. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

8. 79% of customers said they're more likely to purchase from a brand with which they feel a personal connection. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

9. 1 in 4 customers responded to a survey saying they have purchased items that customer service agents have recommended to them. That number is even greater (4 in 10) when reported for millennials. (Customer Expectations Report, Gladly, 2022)

10. Businesses lose a total of $75 billion in revenue every year from customers who switch to another brand due to poor customer service. (Customer Expectations Report, Gladly, 2022)

11. 79% of businesses in one survey say that by offering live chat, they've seen a positive impact on "sales, revenue, and customer loyalty." (Live Chat Statistics, Kayako, 2022)

12. 60% of business leaders say that good customer service is improving their customer retention. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

13. 47% of companies say that good customer service has improved their ability to cross-sell products. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

Customer Impacts of Live Chat

These customer-related live chat statistics can help you identify areas of customer experience that increase their satisfaction. For instance, many businesses are lagging behind customer demand by not offering live chat on mobile. Some other factors leading to unsatisfied customers? Long wait times or when they have to constantly repeat themselves to multiple agents.

Customer Experience

1. 78% of shoppers said they would like the option to securely message a business. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

2. In 2020, 63% of chats took place on mobile devices, a 9% increase from 2019. (Live Chat Benchmark Report, Comm100, 2022)

3. 62% of retail businesses have adopted live chat on desktop, but only 55% offer live chat on their mobile sites. (How to Nail Customer Service, Gartner, 2019)

4. More than 70% of customers expect conversational customer service from the companies they do business with. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

5. 76% of customers say they expect to talk to someone immediately when they contact a company for support. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

6. 68% of customers say they expect all their interactions with a company to be personalized. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

7. 34% of customers said they want customer service to be able to digitally address more complex tasks than they're currently able to. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

8. An astounding 95% of customers responded that customer service has an impact on their brand loyalty and cited "easy access to digital channels," "online self-service," and "professional agents" as the most important factors. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

9. 54% of companies who offer live support say the service is "not good enough" for customers. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

Customer Satisfaction

1. The global customer satisfaction rate for live chat usage in 2021 was 84%, down from 85.6% in 2020. (Live Chat Benchmark Report, Comm100, 2022)

2. Over 60% of customers say they have higher customer service expectations after the global COVID-19 pandemic. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

3. 57% of customers want the ability to seamlessly transition from a chatbot to a live chat conversation, when necessary. (Customer Expectations Report, Gladly, 2022)

4. Almost half of customers (47%) reported that they had not had a positive chat experience in the last month. (Live Chat Statistics, Kayako, 2022)

5. 9% of customers in one survey said that their number one frustration with a live chat experience is having to repeat themselves multiple times. In the same report, 29% of customers said that getting scripted and impersonal responses from agents is the most frustrating. (Live Chat Statistics, Kayako, 2022)

6. On average, customers leave feedback on chats only 9.7% of the time. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

7. The average wait time that customers spend in the queue waiting for service is five minutes and eight seconds. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

8. Customers who wait in the queue for less than 30 seconds have a customer satisfaction rate of 88.7%, on average. Comparatively, those who have to wait longer than 10 minutes have an average 66.4% satisfaction rate. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

9. 28.3% of people drop out of a live chat queue before the conversation starts. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

10. Businesses estimated more than half of their customers (53%) are very satisfied with the self-service tools they offer, but the same report shows that just 15% of customers reported feeling "very satisfied" with the self-serve tools they're offered. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

Live Chat Agent Statistics

Agents feel they would perform better with more training and knowledge, and customers agree. It's important that they are knowledgeable and well-trained in customer service.

1. 68% of customers said they like when the agent they speak to is a "knowledgeable expert on the brand and product." (Customer Expectations Report, Gladly, 2022)

2. 76% of customers have asked an agent a question about a product. (Customer Expectations Report, Gladly, 2022)

3. Companies with 26 or more agents on their support team have the highest customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores at 86.2%. Companies with one to five agents reported the lowest CSAT scores at 80.5%. (Live Chat Benchmark Report, Comm100, 2022)

4. 62% of customer service agents feel their performance would improve if they had more skills-based training available to them. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

AI & Chatbot Statistics 

In the past year, customers have had more positive reactions to using AI and chatbots in customer service than ever before. More customers are willing to use AI & chatbots to resolve simpler issues. However, the biggest issue companies are facing with chatbots is making sure customers don't have to repeat themselves from the bot to the live agent if a transfer is needed.

1. 72% of customers "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that artificial intelligence (AI) is good for society. Only 8% of customers said they "strongly disagree" or "somewhat disagree" with this sentiment. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

2. 26% percent of companies currently offer AI and chatbot-guided self-service, while 25% plan to offer it in the near future. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

3. High-performing companies* are 2.9 times more likely to use bots to help with agent workflow. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

4. Almost two-thirds of customers (69%) said they're willing to interact with a chatbot on a simple issue, up 23% from the previous year. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

5. More than half of customers (54%) say their biggest frustration with bots is the number of questions they have to answer before getting transferred to an agent. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

6. The average chatbot satisfaction rate is 65.3%. (Customer Service Report, LiveChat, 2022)

7. 81% of consumers say they want more self-service options. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

8. Positive sentiment toward chatbots increased from 31% in 2020 to 61% in 2021 (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

9. 60% of customers said they're comfortable using a chatbot to reorder products they regularly buy. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

10. 52% of respondents said one of the top strengths of a chatbot conversation is convenience. 42% said a top strength is the ease of use. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

11. 56% of customers said the top weakness of a chatbot is that it can't answer all their questions. (Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce & AI report, LivePerson, 2021)

The Future of Live Chat 

In the future, we'll continue to see steady growth in the live chat market. Customers will expect service and support through their preferred digital channels, with experiences that are as seamless as possible.

1. The live chat software market will reach $1.7 billion by 2030, according to recent projections. (Live Chat Software Market, Allied Market Research, 2022)

2. More than half (58%) of companies plan to allocate 10% or more of their customer service technology budget to AI. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

3. 14% of companies are planning to implement conversational customer service methods this year. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

4. 46% of companies believe their customer service ticket volumes will increase by 10% or more in the next 12 months. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

5. 56% of companies say they're making "better customer experiences" their top priority in the coming year. (CX Trends Report, Zendesk, 2022)

6. 47% of companies say they plan to expand their chat offering "significantly" in 2022 and beyond. 19% say they'll expand their chat offering "somewhat" in 2022. (Digital-First Customer Experience Report, Nice, 2022)

Use Live Chat To Meet Customer Demands & Expectations

Your company needs to offer live chat to give your customers a seamless, omnichannel support experience. Offer customer communication through their preferred methods so they're more likely to engage with your brand and continue buying from you.

One tool that allows you to build and implement your own chat platform is Stream. Our live chat tool is a straightforward way to design and build any kind of messaging app for any industry --- from telehealth to edtech --- for any purpose, like social media messaging or live stream messaging. You can build a fully customizable platform without having to hire expensive external developers or invest in full-time tech teams.

Use our interactive tutorial to learn about how our chat APIs can work for you. Or, if you're ready to get started, try Stream for free.