Study Shows Live Chat Increase During Lockdown

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• Study Shows Live Chat Increase During Lockdown

10 July 2020 | Updated 13 July 2020

Live chat has become the communication method of choice for business enquiries during lockdown.

With face to face customer service on pause and many large businesses’ phone lines struggling to cope with the huge call volumes, businesses have had to adapt their forms of communication for the lockdown, resulted in a big boost for live chat features.

Moneypenny, the outsourced communication provider, analysed their internal data which showed how the lockdown led to an increase in live chat. Moneypenny data highlights that there were more live chat users in April or May compared to February.

The busiest times also saw a shift during the lockdown, mirroring the number of people having to switch to working from home as isolation rules became more strict. 

Picture: A graphic showing statistics relating to the volume of chats by sector

More Live Chat Users in April and May Compared to February

During the peak of the lockdown, the study shows how the most popular time was 1pm for live chats, lunchtime for many working from home. However, in the week commencing the 11 May, after the Prime Minister’s announcement that some employees can return to work, the data shows an even higher increase in live chats at 10am, by 37 per cent and 1pm by 41 per cent.

The amount of time customers spent on the chat also saw an increase. With the average being around 491 seconds since the lockdown, chat times soon saw an increase to 508 seconds. 

The larger businesses’ live chats saw the highest uptake with nine per cent increase in chat length. This is followed by the Automotive sector with seven per cent increase. 

With lockdown affecting businesses across all industries, the study also focused on the changes to specific industry enquiries. 

The figures showed a huge spike when it comes to enquiries around letting and property. This industry saw a massive increase in live chat messages, reaching a 94 per cent increase in usage during the lockdown. 

Moving house and buying property has been on pause in the past few weeks, but with lockdown slowly easing up, it would appear that more people are starting to think about moving. 

Letting agents transitioned to virtual viewings as lockdown rules were relaxed and in the week commencing 11 May, Moneypenny saw an increase in letting viewing enquiries by 210 per cent and sales viewings by 184 per cent. 

Picture: A photograph of a person working on a laptop, sitting on the floor, holding a cup

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 10 July 2020

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