Looking for some customer support statistics to develop your business strategy for 2023? You’re in the right place.
Understanding customer expectations and their impacts on your business is a great way to improve your company’s customer service. For example, it can help you:
- Make your request for more support resources more compelling and data-backed
- Inform your strategy, including deciding where to invest
- Benchmark your performance against similar companies
In this post, we’ve gathered tons of customer support statistics all in one place so you can understand the objective numbers behind the state of customer service as it stands now.
Customer service stats takeaways
Technology has driven the evolution of ecommerce in many ways, and the same trend rings true when it comes to customer service. Some of the biggest takeaways from this data include:
- Customer expectations are growing. 79% of businesses believe that customers are smarter and more informed now than in the past. They expect A+ service from every brand. Bad customer service experiences will even cause shoppers to look for alternative options.
- Seamless cross-channel journeys are challenging, but essential. 53% of consumers say customer support interactions feel “fragmented.” This is a critical challenge, as customers expect the same experience regardless of when and how they’re interacting with brands and service teams.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is here. 64% of service professionals who use AI believe it allows them to personalize and improve the service they provide. AI technology is a cost-effective way for brands to keep up. And modern consumers are warming up to the idea, easing concerns about AI leading to bad experiences and issues with privacy, trust, and ethics.
Recommended reading: 8 Customer Service Trends for 2023
{{lead-magnet-1}}
The state of customer service in 2023
Excellent customer service is becoming both more challenging and a bigger competitive advantage than ever before. To deliver on that, brands have to overcome the challenge of high-effort, disconnected experiences.
- 85% of businesses believe that customers are more likely to share both positive and negative experiences in 2022 than in the past. This could have a huge impact on your company’s word of mouth — a big concern if you’re offering poor customer service experiences. (Source: HubSpot Annual State of Service in 2022)
- 27% of customers who place an order reach out to support at some point in the buying journey, based on data from 12k ecommerce brands. (Source: Gorgias data)
- Brands receive an average of 882 monthly tickets, based on data from 12k ecommerce brands. (Source: Gorgias data)
- 61% of customer care leaders have experienced an increase in total calls in 2022. They cite “increased contacts per customer” and a growing customer base as the leading causes. (Source: The State of Customer Care Survey 2022, McKinsey & Company)
- Brands’ top four customer service priorities in 2022 are creating a great customer experience (45%), customer success (37%), customer retention (35%), and customer engagement(33%). (Source: HubSpot Annual State of Service in 2022)
- 88% of customer service leaders say customer expectations have soared to an “alltime high” in 2022. (Source: HubSpot Annual State of Service in 2022)
- 83% of customers expect to be able to resolve their complex issues with just a single customer support representative. (Source: The State of Customer Care Survey 2022, McKinsey & Company)
The top 10 reasons customers reach out to (ecommerce) support teams (based on a Gorgias survey of 12,000 ecommerce sites) are:
- Order status
- Returns
- Pre-sale product questions
- Shipping questions when deliveries aren’t received
- Order change
- Order cancellation
- Missing an item from an order
- Marketing
- Negative customer feedback
- Warranty questions
Customer service benchmarks
Customer service is increasingly important, and average response times are decreasing. Benchmarks are helpful to keep in mind to ensure you’re competitive, but it’s equally important to set your own benchmarks and compete against yourself.
- Ecommerce businesses have an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 50. (Source: Retently)
- The customer satisfaction rating (CSAT) on Gorgias is 4.55. (Source: Gorgias data)
- Customer support agents handle an average of 1 ticket per hour. (Source Gorgias data)
- Brands have an average of 3 active agents at any given time. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average resolution time is 18.1 hours. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average first response time is 11.4 hours. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average first response time on Facebook is 10 hours. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average first response time on email is 7 hours and 34 minutes. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average first response time via contact form is 11 hours and 25 minutes. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average first response time on live chat is 42 minutes. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The average first response time on SMS is 35 minutes hours. (Source: Gorgias data)
- The recommended average resolution time is same-day for email. (Source: Gorgias)
- The recommended average resolution time for SMS tickets is 10 minutes. (Source: Gorgias). (Source: Gorgias)
- Live online chat support queries are typically resolved in under 10 minutes. (Source: Gorgias)
- Customer support interactions over the phone are best resolved in 1 call. (Source: Gorgias)
- Social media queries should ideally have a same-day resolution for comments and a 10-minute resolution for DMs. (Source: Gorgias)
Want to get better at measuring your service? Check out our guide to customer service metrics.
The importance of great customer service (and danger of poor customer service)
Customer service impacts the bottom line, and customers are willing to share their experiences — good or bad. It also builds trust with shoppers, making them more eager to make a purchase and build a lasting relationship with your brand.
- 74% of customers say it’s more important now than before the pandemic for brands to communicate honestly and transparently. (Source: State of the Connect Customer report, Salesforce)
- 62% of customers feel an emotional connection to the brands they buy from most, which is amazing for customer loyalty. Impersonal interactions, including irrelevant offers or waiting on hold, damage those relationships. (Source: State of the Connect Customer report, Salesforce)
- Repeat customers account for only 21% of customers, but generate 44% of revenue and 46% of orders. (Source: Gorgias)
Customer service teams and employees
Challenges with employee retention have led to reduced quality in terms of service standards. Brands with strong customer service training and strong, loyal service teams stand to gain a competitive advantage.
- According to 54% of customer service professionals, peer relationships are the best way to learn. 50% learn by attending conferences and 39% from formal mentors. (Source: HubSpot Annual State of Service in 2022)
- Service professionals actively learn new skills for their roles “a few times a month or more often” (32%), “about once a month” (30%), or “a few times a year” (28%). (Source: HubSpot Annual State of Service in 2022)
Personalization in customer service statistics
Customers continue to expect more relevant messaging and promotion from brands, including personalized customer support. And their hesitations around data privacy and related technologies are waning, making them more open to sharing information to receive improved customer service interactions.
Customer service tools and platforms
Technology is key to delivering exceptional customer service experiences. The right tools, from helpdesks to live chat support apps, are essential to meeting today’s customer expectations.
Multichannel customer service statistics
The number of communication channels customers can use to interact with brands (and vice a versa) is constantly increasing. This number is only going to grow, so brands need to understand not only how to leverage each customer service channel but also how to integrate all the touchpoints into a single synonymous customer experience.
Synergy across an omnichannel support experience is the new baseline for good service.
AI and automation in customer service
Artificial intelligence (AI) enables more self-service options, as well as automations. Effective use of support automation technology can boost efficiency and reduce resolution and response times.
- 79% of customer service professionals believe AI is “somewhat to very important” to their jobs. (Source: HubSpot)
- 64% of service professionals who use AI believe it allows them to personalize and improve the service they provide. (Source: HubSpot)
- 88% of consumers expect brands to have self-service support tools. (Source: Statista)
The future of customer service
Anticipating future trends and advancements can help you stay ahead of the curve. Customer expectations will continue to rise, touchpoints will become increasingly complex, and AI will play a growing role in delivering top-notch service.
- AI-powered self-service options are also going to grow. Nearly 80% of businesses have experienced an increase in customer adoption of self-service customer support channels, including chatbots. (Source: State of the Connect Customer report, Salesforce)
Are you ready to improve your customer service in 2023?
Now that you know the latest customer experience statistics in 2023, check out our list of customer service best practices to put this knowledge into action and become a more customer-centric company to attract and retain loyal customers.
{{lead-magnet-2}}