Made.com tests live-chat with showroom staff

Online retailer Made.com is testing a feature which enables online shoppers to chat live with showroom employees, so they can get help with queries and shopping decisions. For the implementation of its live-chat, Made.com has partnered with live-chat company Hero.

The online retailer announced the new chat function during the Retail Business Technology Expo, as reported by Computer Weekly. The British company has showrooms to help customers with their purchasing decisions, but Made.com operates only online. Now, online shoppers can get in touch directly with the showroom staff, who can answer the questions customers may have about the products. Made.com currently has showrooms in London, West Yorkshire, Liverpool, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.

Same questions online as in the showrooms

“My teams in the showrooms are currently the only people in the company who have that knowledge. That’s why they’re the best people to go for it”, Rebecca Ruddle, head of showrooms at Made.com, told the audience at the Retail Business Technology Expo. “All of the questions people are asking in the showrooms are the same as we’re getting online.”

Made.com sells items such as sofas, chairs, beds and home accessories, so for consumers it’s very important to get more information about the products than just the traditional text and photo info they can find online. Many consumers ask Made.com’s staff in the showrooms about the product’s size, color or material texture, something they can now do online via live-chat.

Higher average order value

Since Made.com implemented the Hero live-chat application, the online retailer saw its average order value increase by 20 percent, while the showroom assistants are now more productive. “When they have free time in a store, which can happen at various points during weekdays, showroom assistants mark themselves as available for chatting so customers looking at products on the website can contact them directly through chat or video”, Computer Weekly writes.