Celery just released their API on Github, currently in beta. Here are some of the cool stuff you can do with it in Gorgias.

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Display customer information

When you receive an email from a customer, you can connect your Celery account and see customer information (orders, shipping address, etc.). Here’s what it looks like:

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To configure it, grab your Celery access_token, head to integrations, and add an HTTP integration using this URL:
https://api.trycelery.com/v2/orders?buyer.email={ticket.requester.email}

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Then you can customize the sidebar to only show the Celery data you need to respond to customers. Click the cog and simply drag and drop elements you want to show.

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Refunds, order change... without leaving tickets

Celery’s API enables you to perform a few actions from your favorite helpdesk:

• Edit an order
• Cancel an order
• Issue a refund
• Create a coupon

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Here’s an example of how you can cancel an order from Gorgias itself. Say you already have a macro to cancel an order. Add an HTTP action to it, in this case:
https://api.trycelery.com/v2/orders/{ticket.requester.customer.data[0].number}/order_cancel

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Then, when you use this macro and send it to the customer, it will automatically cancel the last order at the same time:

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We hope this integration with Celery can save you time. If you'd like to try Celery with Gorgias, shoot us a note! At support@gorgias.com.

TLDR: https://github.com/xarg/pghoard-k8s

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This is a small tutorial on how to do incremental backups using pghoard for your PostgreSQL (I assume you’re running everything in Kubernetes). This is intended to help people to get started faster and not waste time finding the right dependencies, etc..

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pghoard is a PostgreSQL backup daemon that incrementally backups your files on a object storage (S3, Google Cloud Storage, etc..).
For this tutorial what we’re trying to achieve is to upload our PostgreSQL to S3.

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First, let’s create our docker image (we’re using the alpine:3.4 image cause it’s small):

FROM alpine:3.4

ENV REPLICA_USER "replica"
ENV REPLICA_PASSWORD "replica"

RUN apk add --no-cache \
   bash \
   build-base \        
   python3 \
   python3-dev \
   ca-certificates \
   postgresql \
   postgresql-dev \
   libffi-dev \
   snappy-dev
RUN python3 -m ensurepip && \
   rm -r /usr/lib/python*/ensurepip && \
   pip3 install --upgrade pip setuptools && \
   rm -r /root/.cache && \
   pip3 install boto pghoard


COPY pghoard.json /pghoard.json.template
COPY pghoard.sh /

CMD /pghoard.sh

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REPLICA_USER and REPLICA_PASSWORD env vars will be replaced later in your Kubernetes conf by whatever your config is in production, I use those values to test locally using docker-compose.

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The config pghoard.json which tells where to get your data from and where to upload it and how:

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{
   "backup_location": "/data",
   "backup_sites": {
       "default": {
           "active_backup_mode": "pg_receivexlog",
           "basebackup_count": 2,
           "basebackup_interval_hours": 24,
           "nodes": [
               {
                   "host": "YOUR-PG-HOST",
                   "port": 5432,
                   "user": "replica",
                   "password": "replica",
                   "application_name": "pghoard"
               }
           ],
           "object_storage": {
               "aws_access_key_id": "REPLACE",
               "aws_secret_access_key": "REPLACE",
               "bucket_name": "REPLACE",
               "region": "us-east-1",
               "storage_type": "s3"
           },
           "pg_bin_directory": "/usr/bin"
       }
   },
   "http_address": "127.0.0.1",
   "http_port": 16000,
   "log_level": "INFO",
   "syslog": false,
   "syslog_address": "/dev/log",
   "syslog_facility": "local2"
}

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Obviously replace the values above with your own. And read pghoard docs for more config explanation.

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Note: Make sure you have enough space in your /data; use a Google Persistent Volume if you DB is very big.

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Launch script which does 2 things:

1. Replaces our ENV variables with the right username and password for our replication (make sure you have enough connections for your replica user)
2. Launches the pghoard daemon.

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‍

#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -e

if [ -n "$TESTING" ]; then
   echo "Not running backup when testing"
   exit 0
fi

cat /pghoard.json.template | sed "s/\"password\": \"replica\"/\"password\": \"${REPLICA_PASSWORD}\"/" | sed "s/\"user\": \"replica\"/\"password\": \"${REPLICA_USER}\"/" > /pghoard.json
pghoard --config /pghoard.json

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Once you build and upload your image to gcr.io you’ll need a replication controller to start your pghoard daemon pod:

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apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
 name: pghoard
spec:
 replicas: 1
 selector:
   app: pghoard
 template:
   metadata:
     labels:
       app: pghoard
   spec:
       containers:
       - name: pghoard
         env:
           - name: REPLICA_USER
             value: "replicant"
           - name: REPLICA_PASSWORD
             value: "The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over. But it can't. Not with out your help. But you're not helping."
         image: gcr.io/your-project/pghoard:latest

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The reason I use a replication controller is because I want the pod to restart if it fails, if a simple pod is used it will stay dead and you’ll not have backups.

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Future to do:

• Monitoring (are you backups actually done? if not, do you receive a notification?)
• Stats collection.
• Encryption of backups locally and then uploaded to the cloud (this is supported by pghoard).

Hope it helps, stay safe and sleep well at night.

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Again, repo with the above: https://github.com/xarg/pghoard-k8s

At Gorgias we recently switched our flask & celery apps from Google Cloud VMs provisioned with Fabric to using docker with kubernetes (k8s). This is a post about our experience doing this.

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Note: I'm assuming that you're somewhat familiar with Docker.

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Docker structure

The killer feature of Docker for us is that it allows us to make layered binary images of our app. What this means is that you can start with a minimal base image, then make a python image on top of that, then an app image on top of the python one, etc..

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Here's the hierarchy of our docker images:

• gorgias/base - we're using phusion/baseimage as a starting base image.
• gorgias/pgbouncer
• gorgias/rabbitmq
• gorgias/nginx - extends gorgias/base and installs NGINX
• gorgias/python - Installs pip, python3.5 - yes, using it in production.
• gorgias/app - This installs all the system dependencies: libpq, libxml, etc.. and then does pip install -r requirements.txt
• gorgias/web - this sets up uWSGI and runs our flask app
• gorgias/worker - Celery worker

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Piece of advice: If you used to run your app using supervisord before I would advise to avoid the temptation to do the same with docker, just let your container crash and let k8s handle it.

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Now we can run the above images using: docker-compose, docker-swarm, k8s, Mesos, etc...

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We chose Kubernetes too

There is an excellent post about the differences between container deployments which also settles for k8s.

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I'll also just assume that you already did your homework and you plan to use k8s. But just to put more data out there:

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Main reason: We are using Google Cloud already and it provides a ready to use Kubernetes cluster on their cloud.

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This is huge as we don't have to manage the k8s cluster and can focus on deploying our apps to production instead.

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Let's begin by making a list of what we need to run our app in production:

• Database (Postgres)
• Message queue (RabbitMQ)
• App servers (uWSGI running Flask)
• Web servers (NGINX proxies uWSGI and serves static files)
• Workers (celery)

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Why Kubernetes again?

We ran the above in a normal VM environment, why would we need k8s? To understand this, let's dig a bit into what k8s offers:

• A pod is a group of containers (docker, rtk, lxc...) that runs on a Node. It's a group because sometimes you want to run a few containers next to each other. For example we are running uWSGI and NGINX on the same pod (on the same VM and they share the same ip, ports, etc..).
• A Node is a machine (VM or metal) that runs a k8s daemon (minion) that runs the Pods.
• The nodes are managed by the k8s master (which in our case is managed by the container engine from Google).
• Replication Controller or for short rc tells k8s how many pods of a certain type to run. Note that you don't tell k8s where to run them, it's master's job to schedule them. They are also used to do rolling updates, and autoscaling. Pure awesome.
• Services take the exposed ports of your Pods and publishes them (usually to the Public). Now what's cool about a service that it can load-balance the connections to your pods, so you don't need to manage your HAProxy or NGINX. It uses labels to figure out what pods to include in it's pool.
• Labels: The CSS selectors of k8s - use them everywhere!
• ‍

There are more concepts like volumes, claims, secrets, but let's not worry about them for now.

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Postgres

We're using Postgres as our main storage and we are not running it using Kubernetes.

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Now we are running postgres in k8s (1 hot standby + pghoard), you can ignore the rest of this paragaph.

The reason here is that we wanted to run Postgres using provisioned SSD + high memory instances. We could have created a cluster just for postgres with these types of machines, but it seemed like an overkill.

The philosophy of k8s is that you should design your cluster with the thought that pods/nodes of your cluster are just gonna die randomly. I haven't figured our how to setup Postgres with this constraint in mind. So we're just running it replicated with a hot-standby and doing backups with wall-e for now. If you want to try it with k8s there is a guide here. And make sure you tell us about it.

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RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ (used as message broker for Celery) is running on k8s as it's easier (than Postgres) to make a cluster. Not gonna dive into the details. It's using a replication controller to run 3 pods containing rabbitmq instances. This guide helped: https://www.rabbitmq.com/clustering.html

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uWSGI & NGINX

As I mentioned before, we're using a replication controller to run 3 pods, each containing uWSGI & NGINX containers duo: gorgias/web & gorgias/nginx. Here's our replication controller web-rc.yaml config:

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apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
 name: web
spec:
 replicas: 3 # how many copies of the template below we need to run
 selector:
   app: web
 template:
   metadata:
     labels:
       app: web
   spec:
     containers:
     - name: web
       image: gcr.io/your-project/web:latest # the image that you pushed to Google Container Registry using gcloud docker push
       ports: # these are the exposed ports of your Pods that are later used by the k8s Service
         - containerPort: 3033
           name: "uwsgi"
         - containerPort: 9099
           name: "stats"
     - name: nginx
       image: gcr.io/your-project/nginx:latest
       ports:
         - containerPort: 8000
           name: "http"
         - containerPort: 4430
           name: "https"
       volumeMounts: # this holds our SSL keys to be used with nginx. I haven't found a way to use the http load balancer of google with k8s.  
         - name: "secrets"
           mountPath: "/path/to/secrets"
           readOnly: true
     volumes:
       - name: "secrets"
         secret:
           secretName: "ssl-secret"
And now the web-service.yaml:apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
 name: web
spec:
 ports:
 - port: 80
   targetPort: 8000
   name: "http"
   protocol: TCP
 - port: 443
   targetPort: 4430
   name: "https"
   protocol: TCP
 selector:
   app: web
 type: LoadBalancer

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That type: LoadBalancer at the end is super important because it tells k8s to request a public IP and route the network to the Pods with the selector=app:web.
If you're doing a rolling-update or just restarting your pods, you don't have to change the service. It will look for pods matching those labels.

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Celery

Also a replication controller that runs 4 pods containing a single container: gorgias/worker, but doesn't need a service as it only consumes stuff. Here's our worker-rc.yaml:

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apiVersion: v1
kind: ReplicationController
metadata:
 name: worker
spec:
 replicas: 2
 selector:
   app: worker
 template:
   metadata:
     labels:
       app: worker
   spec:
     containers:
     - name: worker
       image: gcr.io/your-project/worker:latest

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Some tips

• Installing some python deps take a long time, for stuff like numpy, scipy, etc.. try to install them in your namespace/app container using pip and then do another pip install in the container that extends it, ex: namespace/web, this way you don't have to rebuild all the deps every time you update one package or just update your app.
• Spend some time playing with gcloud and kubectl. This will be the fastest way to learn of google cloud and k8s.
• Base image choice is important. I tried phusion/baseimage and ubuntu/core. Settled for phusion/baseimage because it seems to handle the init part better than ubuntu core. They still feel too heavy. phusion/baseimage is 188MB.

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Conclusion

With Kubernetes, docker finally started to make sense to me. It's great because it provides great tools out of the box for doing web app deployment. Replication controllers, Services (with LoadBalancer included), Persistent Volumes, internal DNS. It should have all you need to make a resilient web app fast.

At Gorgias we're building a next generation helpdesk that allows responding 2x faster to common customer requests and having a fast and reliable infrastructure is crucial to achieve our goals.

If you're interested in working with this kind of stuff (especially to improve it): we're hiring!

We've released a new version of the Chrome Extension, with sharing features and a new navigation bar. We hope you'll love it!

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Share templates inside the extension

Before, the only way to share templates with your teammates was to login on Gorgias.io.

If you're on the startup plan, when you create a template, you can choose who has access to it: either only you, specific people, or your entire team.

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The account management section is now available in the extension, under settings.

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New navigation

Tags are now available on the left. It's easier to manage hundreds of templates with them.
You can also navigate through your private & shared templates. Shared templates include templates shared with specific people or with everyone.

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We hope you'll enjoy this new version of our Chrome Extension. As usual, your feedback & questions are welcome!

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve raised a $1.5 million Seed round led by Charles River Ventures and Amplify Partners, to help build our new helpdesk.

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We’re incredibly grateful to early users, customers, mentors we’ve met both at and Techstars.

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We started the journey with Alex at the beginning of 2015 with our Chrome extension, which helps write email faster using templates. We’ve been pleased all along with customers telling us about how helpful it was, especially for customer support.

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While building the extension, we’ve realized that a big inefficiency in support lies in the lack of integration between the helpdesk, the payment system, CRM and other tools support is using. As a result, agents need to do a lot of repetitive work to respond to customer requests, especially when the company is big.

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That’s why we’ve decided to build a new kind of helpdesk to enable customer support agents to respond 2x faster to customers. You can find out more and sign up for our private beta here.

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When a company has a lot of customers, support becomes repetitive. We want to provide support teams with tools to automate the way they treat simple repetitive requests. This way, they have more time for complex customer issues.

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We'll now focus on this helpdesk and on growing the team, oh, and if you'd like to join, we're hiring! We're super excited about this new helpdesk product. If you’re using the extension, don’t worry.

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Romain & Alex

We've been busy, but not deaf!

Last few months we got lots of feedback about our extension and found to our delight that most people are satisfied, but still a few recurrent issues came up:

• The HTML/WYSIWYG editor sucks.
• No support for Outlook.com.

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We listened and now we're presenting:

• A brand new editor
• Support for outlook.com
• More on the Rich-Text editor

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WYSIWYG editors for the web are notoriously buggy and are just difficult to develop.

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I have yet to see one that is bug free. There are few venerable editors that do a good job like TinyMCE, FKEditor or CKEditor.. but they are big and all have edge cases that break the intended formatting and add a lot of garbage html.

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There are newer good quality editors in town such as Redactor. The one that got my attention and finally landed in Gorgias is this wonderful editor called which is super lightweight, uses modern content-editable (no i-frames) and 'just works' most of the time. That's not to say it's perfect, but it's good enough and I'm satisfied with it's direction in terms of development.

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Enjoy it and as always send us bug-reports or feedback on: support@gorgias.com

TL;DR:

• Best for Shopify stores: Gorgias
• Best for enterprise teams: Zendesk
• Best for conversational marketing: Intercom
• Best for budget-conscious teams: Freshdesk
• Best for small businesses: Help Scout
• Best for personalized service: Gladly
• Best for combining CRM and support: Kustomer
• Best for multi-brand management: Re:amaze
• Best for self-service support: Richpanel
• Best for adding live chat quickly: Tidio

The help desk you choose shapes every customer interaction your brand has. For ecommerce brands, the wrong choice has real consequences: a slow response loses a sale, a missed message loses a customer, and a tool that doesn't connect to your store creates the kind of friction your team can't afford.

This guide compares 10 help desk solutions through a strict ecommerce lens, focusing on Shopify integration depth, automation intelligence, and features that move the needle on retention and revenue, so you can cut through the noise and find the right fit.

How we evaluated help desk software for ecommerce

Not every help desk is built for ecommerce. To narrow the field, we evaluated each platform against the criteria that matter most to online stores: how deeply they integrate with Shopify and other selling tools, how intelligently they handle automation, and whether they're designed to drive revenue, not just resolve tickets.

10 help desk software tools compared

The best help desk software for ecommerce brands

1. Gorgias

Gorgias is a help desk built specifically for ecommerce brands. This means every feature is designed around the needs of online stores, from order management to revenue tracking.

As Shopify's only Premium Partner for customer experience, Gorgias offers the deepest integration available. Your agents can view order details, process refunds, update shipping addresses, and even create new orders without leaving the help desk. This saves time and reduces errors.

The platform's AI Agent handles both support and sales tasks. It can answer "Where is my order?" questions while also recommending products and offering discounts to increase sales. Most help desks focus only on solving problems, but Gorgias turns every conversation into a potential revenue opportunity.

Main features:

• Native Shopify integration with real-time order management
• AI Agent that automates up to 60% of tickets
• Revenue tracking and attribution reporting
• 100+ ecommerce app integrations
• Self-service flows for returns and exchanges

Pricing: Starts at $10/month for 50 tickets

2. Zendesk

Zendesk is a powerful help desk platform built for large organizations across all industries. This means it has extensive features but requires more setup to work well for ecommerce.

The platform excels at handling complex workflows and offers advanced reporting capabilities. You can customize almost everything, from ticket fields to automation rules. However, this flexibility comes with complexity that smaller teams might find overwhelming.

For ecommerce integration, Zendesk relies on third-party apps rather than native features. This works but requires additional setup and often means switching between different interfaces.

Pricing: Starts at $55/agent/month

3. Intercom

Intercom focuses on conversational marketing and proactive customer engagement. This means it's designed to start conversations with website visitors, not just respond to incoming support requests.

The platform's strength is its advanced chatbot capabilities and proactive messaging features. You can set up automated campaigns to engage customers based on their behavior, like offering help when someone spends time on a product page.

For pure customer support, Intercom can feel over-engineered. The platform works best when you want to blend marketing, sales, and support into one conversational experience.

Pricing: Starts at $39/seat/month

4. Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers a comprehensive help desk solution at an affordable price point. This makes it attractive for small to medium-sized businesses that need basic functionality without a large budget.

The platform includes all standard help desk features: ticket management, knowledge base, live chat, and phone support. It also offers a free plan for up to 10 agents, which is rare among full-featured platforms.

However, Freshdesk's ecommerce capabilities are limited compared to specialized platforms. You'll need to rely on integrations for order management and customer data access.

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $15/agent/month

5. Help Scout

Help Scout prioritizes simplicity and human connection over advanced features. This means the platform feels more like email than a traditional ticketing system.

The interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy for new team members to learn quickly. Help Scout focuses on creating personal conversations rather than processing tickets efficiently.

For ecommerce brands, this approach works well for smaller teams that want to maintain a personal touch. However, you'll miss out on advanced automation and ecommerce-specific features.

Pricing: Starts at $20/user/month

6. Gladly

Gladly organizes everything around the customer rather than individual tickets. This means agents see a complete conversation history across all channels in one timeline.

The platform excels at providing context for complex customer relationships. Agents can see every interaction a customer has had with your brand, making it easier to provide personalized service.

However, Gladly's pricing is significantly higher than most alternatives, and its customer-centric approach may be overkill for straightforward ecommerce support needs.

Pricing: Starts at $150/agent/month

7. Kustomer

Kustomer combines CRM functionality with help desk features. This means you get detailed customer profiles alongside traditional support tools.

The platform provides a timeline view of each customer's journey, including purchases, support interactions, and engagement history. This comprehensive view helps agents provide more personalized service.

Kustomer works best for brands that want to merge their customer relationship management with support operations. The platform requires custom pricing, which typically means higher costs.

Pricing: Custom pricing only

8. Re:amaze

Re:amaze is designed specifically for small ecommerce businesses and agencies managing multiple brands. This means it offers ecommerce features at a more accessible price point.

The platform includes live chat, social media integration, and basic automation features. You can manage multiple brands from one account, which is useful for agencies or businesses with multiple stores.

Re:amaze works well for growing businesses that need ecommerce-specific features without enterprise-level complexity or pricing.

Pricing: Starts at $29/month

9. Richpanel

Richpanel focuses heavily on self-service capabilities for ecommerce customers. This means the platform is designed to help customers solve their own problems without contacting support.

The main feature is a customer portal where shoppers can track orders, initiate returns, and find answers to common questions. This approach can significantly reduce ticket volume for routine inquiries.

Richpanel works best for brands that receive many repetitive questions and want to deflect them through self-service options.

Pricing: Starts at $9/month

10. Tidio

Tidio combines live chat with basic help desk functionality in an easy-to-use package. This means you can add chat to your website and manage conversations without complex setup.

The platform's AI chatbot, Lyro, can answer customer questions based on your FAQ content. Setup is straightforward, and you can be live with chat support in minutes.

Tidio works well for small businesses that want to add live chat quickly and affordably, but it lacks advanced features for larger operations.

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $29/month

What is help desk software?

Help desk software is the operational core of any customer experience team. It's where every conversation with your customers happens, from the moment they're evaluating a product to post-purchase questions and long-term retention. Getting that infrastructure right matters.

At a functional level, help desk software organizes customer conversations from multiple channels into one shared inbox. It creates "tickets" for each interaction, a record that tracks the conversation from start to resolution, including who's handling it and what actions have been taken.

Modern help desk software goes beyond organizing messages. It connects to your other business tools, automates repetitive tasks, and surfaces insights into your support performance, making it easier for teams to keep up with volume without sacrificing quality.

Must-have features for ecommerce help desk software

Not all help desk features matter equally for online stores. You need tools that connect directly to your selling operations, not just generic support capabilities.

The most important features for ecommerce help desks include:

• Order management integration: View and edit orders directly within the platform, so agents can resolve issues without switching tabs.
• Customer purchase history: See what a customer has bought and when, giving agents the context they need to personalize every interaction.
• Revenue attribution: Track which support interactions lead to sales, so you can connect your team's work to business outcomes.
• Automation for common inquiries: Handle high-volume, repetitive questions like "Where is my order?" automatically, freeing agents to focus on more complex conversations.

Generic help desk software treats every business the same. Ecommerce-focused platforms understand that your support team needs access to order data, inventory information, and customer purchase history to do their job effectively.

Help desk software benefits for ecommerce brands

The right help desk software delivers measurable improvements in both efficiency and revenue. Your team works faster, customers get better service, and support interactions drive sales instead of just solving problems.

Operational efficiency gains:

• Faster response times: Automation and templates reduce response time from hours to minutes
• Lower cost per ticket: AI handles routine inquiries without human intervention
• Better agent productivity: All tools and customer data in one screen eliminates tab-switching

Revenue and retention impact:

• Higher sales rates: Proactive chat and instant answers remove purchase barriers
• Increased order values: Upsell and cross-sell opportunities during support interactions
• Better customer retention: Exceptional service encourages repeat purchases

The best help desk platforms for ecommerce don't just solve problems — they actively contribute to business growth by turning every customer interaction into an opportunity to build loyalty and drive sales.

How to choose help desk software for Shopify and ecommerce

Choosing help desk software requires looking beyond feature lists to understand how the platform will fit into your daily operations. Use this checklist to narrow down your options before committing.

Ticket volume. How many customer conversations does your team handle daily? Volume is one of the clearest signals for which tier of tool you need. Some platforms are built to handle thousands of tickets across large teams. Other platforms are better for smaller teams who just need the basics.

Preferred channels. Where do your customers actually reach you? Email, live chat, Instagram DMs, and SMS all have different support requirements. Make sure the platform you choose handles your highest-traffic channels natively, and not through custom workarounds.

Integration needs. A help desk that doesn't talk to your store creates more problems than it solves. Identify the tools your team relies on, including your ecommerce platform, loyalty program, returns software, and shipping tools, and confirm the help desk integrates with them before you sign anything.

Budget, for today and the future. The advertised per-seat price is rarely the full picture. Factor in costs for additional channels, AI features, and overages as your ticket volume grows. A platform that's affordable at five agents can get expensive quickly at fifteen.

Implementation time. Some tools take weeks to configure and require ongoing maintenance. Others can be ready to use in hours. If you're switching from an existing tool, factor in migration time and the learning curve for your team, not just the monthly fee.

Try before you commit. Most platforms offer free trials, so take advantage of them. Run the trial against actual customer conversations and workflows rather than demo scenarios, so you get a real sense of how the platform performs under real conditions.

Help desk software pricing and total cost of ownership

Help desk software pricing varies widely based on features, team size, and usage patterns. Understanding the true cost means looking beyond the advertised per-agent price to identify all potential fees.

Common pricing models:

• Per-seat pricing: Fixed monthly cost for each team member
• Usage-based pricing: Pay for tickets or conversations handled
• Hybrid models: Base price plus usage overages

Hidden costs to watch for:

• AI conversation fees: Many platforms charge extra for automated responses
• Channel add-ons: SMS, voice, and social media support often cost extra
• Integration costs: Connecting to other tools may require paid plans
• Implementation fees: Setup and data migration services

Budget for growth. A platform that works for three agents might become expensive as you scale to 10 or 20 team members. Look for pricing tiers that make sense for your projected growth.

Do you need to add AI to ecommerce help desk software?

Most modern help desks come with AI built in, so the real question isn't whether to use it. It's whether the AI on offer is actually built for ecommerce, or just a generic chatbot dressed up with a new name.

The upsell pressure around AI is real, and it's easy to pay for capabilities your team doesn't need yet. Before evaluating AI features, it helps to understand what ecommerce AI is actually good at.

Handling repetitive inquiries at scale. The majority of ecommerce support tickets are some variation of "Where is my order?" AI handles these well, resolving high-volume, straightforward questions without human intervention and freeing your agents to focus on conversations that actually require judgment and empathy.

Turning support into a sales channel. More advanced AI can recommend products, offer discounts, and recover abandoned carts within a support conversation. Not every brand needs this out of the gate, but it's worth knowing whether the platform supports it as you grow.

Getting smarter over time. The best AI systems learn from resolved tickets and agent feedback, expanding what they can handle without requiring constant manual updates from your team.

The most important thing to evaluate is whether the AI is trained on ecommerce-specific scenarios. Generic AI that hasn't been built for online retail will struggle with order management, returns, and the nuance of customer conversations around purchasing decisions. That's where purpose-built platforms have a real advantage.

Rvery great customer experience starts with the help desk

Your help desk touches every customer interaction, from the first question about a product to post-purchase support that keeps them coming back. Getting it right matters.

If you're ready to see what a purposeful ecommerce help desk can do, book a demo with Gorgias.

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TL;DR:

• B2B customer service handles complex, multi-stakeholder relationships with longer sales cycles than B2C
• Success requires specialized tools like unified helpdesks, self-service options, and AI automation
• Key differences from B2C include deeper relationships, longer resolution times, and higher revenue impact per account
• Best practices focus on proactive support, customer-specific SLAs, and cross-functional collaboration
• Modern B2B service directly impacts revenue growth, churn reduction, and competitive advantage

Wholesale accounts, retail partners, and corporate buyers represent some of the highest-revenue relationships your brand manages. So why are so many ecommerce teams still supporting them with the same inbox they use for everything else?

B2B customer service is its own discipline. Your buyers are juggling multi-stakeholder approvals, complex order workflows, and expectations shaped by dedicated account managers. They're not looking for a chatbot. They want a partner who actually knows their business and can keep up with it.

If you're building out a B2B support operation, or fixing one that's been held together with spreadsheets and good intentions, you're in the right place. This guide covers the real differences between B2C and B2B support. You'll also find proven team structures and the tools top brands use to turn their most valuable accounts into long-term partners.

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What is B2B customer service?

B2B customer service is support provided by one business to another business that purchases its products or services. This means helping wholesale partners, corporate clients, and other business accounts that buy from your ecommerce store.

B2B service focuses on managing complex, high-value relationships rather than individual transactions. A single B2B account can represent thousands of dollars in recurring revenue, making the quality of support critical for retention and growth.

The nature of B2B service differs from consumer support because the stakes are higher and the needs are more specialized. Your B2B customers have different expectations, longer decision-making processes, and more complex operational requirements.

B2B customer service typically involves:

• Account-based support: You coordinate service across multiple contacts within a single client company, such as procurement officers, technical users, and finance departments
• Complex order management: Your team handles bulk orders, custom pricing negotiations, and specialized payment terms like net 30 or net 60
• Longer relationships: Support is built around multi-year contracts and renewals, requiring a deep understanding of the client's business goals
• Technical requirements: B2B clients often need help with product integration, API access, or custom implementations that require specialized knowledge
• Higher stakes: Each account represents significant revenue, so a single negative experience can have major financial impact

How is B2B customer service different from B2C?

B2B and B2C customer service aim for customer satisfaction, but their execution differs significantly. The core distinction comes from the nature of the customer: a business with complex operational needs versus an individual consumer.

B2B issues are more complex

B2B support inquiries often involve technical troubleshooting, custom configurations, or multi-system dependencies. A client might need help integrating your product's API with their internal software or managing a custom product catalog for their employees.

These issues require agents with deep product knowledge and problem-solving skills. In contrast, B2C issues are typically simpler and more repetitive, such as questions about order status, return policies, or product sizing.

B2B support involves more stakeholders

A single B2B support ticket may involve communication with multiple decision-makers within the client's organization. The procurement team might have questions about invoicing, the IT department may need technical specifications, and the end users might require product training.

Support agents must navigate these internal dynamics and provide clear, consistent information to all relevant stakeholders. This level of coordination is rarely seen in B2C, where the agent typically interacts with just one person.

B2B relationships are deeper

B2B customer service is built on long-term partnerships, not one-time transactions. The goal is to support the client's success over the entire lifecycle of a contract, which can span several years.

This long-term focus encourages proactive support and deep investment in understanding the client's business. It leads to higher retention and opportunities for account expansion.

B2B resolutions take longer

The complexity of B2B issues and involvement of multiple stakeholders naturally lead to longer resolution times. A simple request might require internal approvals from the client, technical investigation from your engineering team, or coordination with a third-party vendor.

B2B support teams often work with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that set clear expectations for response and resolution times. These acknowledge that a quick fix is not always possible or desirable.

Why B2B customer service matters for ecommerce brands

For ecommerce brands with wholesale or corporate sales channels, excellent B2B customer service is not just a cost center. It's a powerful engine for growth that directly influences revenue, retention, and market position.

Revenue growth

Each B2B account represents significant, recurring revenue. That alone should change how you think about support.

When service is exceptional, trust follows. And trust opens doors: upsells, expanded contracts, new product lines your client wouldn't have explored otherwise. A well-supported B2B buyer doesn't stay static. They grow with you, becoming a source of predictable revenue rather than a transaction you have to chase again next quarter.

Churn reduction

Acquiring a new B2B client is expensive. Losing one is worse, because you're not just losing a contract. You're losing the compounding value of everything that account could have become.

Proactive, responsive support makes it genuinely difficult for competitors to get a foothold. You're not just solving problems. You're making the relationship too valuable to walk away from.

Brand reputation

Business leaders talk to each other, and in B2B, word-of-mouth travels fast and lands hard. A reputation for dependable, personalized service becomes part of your brand identity in ways that marketing spend simply can't replicate.

Done right, those relationships turn into case studies, testimonials, and referrals. The kind that do the selling for you.

Competitive advantage

When products and pricing are similar across competitors, customer service becomes the key differentiator. A support experience that is personalized, efficient, and proactive creates relationship stickiness.

It raises the switching costs for your clients because they are not just buying a product. They are invested in the partnership and the quality of support they receive.

Best practices for B2B customer service in ecommerce

Delivering exceptional B2B service requires a strategic approach that goes beyond standard support tactics. Leading ecommerce brands build their B2B operations around deep understanding of their clients and commitment to proactive, collaborative support.

Know your customers

You cannot provide great service without deep understanding of your client's business. This means going beyond their order history.

Map out the key contacts in each account, understand their business goals, and document their specific workflows and technical requirements. This information allows your team to provide context-aware, personalized support that anticipates needs.

Start by creating detailed customer profiles that include:

• Business objectives: What are they trying to achieve with your products
• Key contacts: Who makes decisions, who uses the products, who handles billing
• Technical setup: How they integrate your products into their operations
• Communication preferences: Do they prefer email, phone calls, or chat support
• Historical context: Past issues, successful solutions, and relationship milestones

Enable cross-functional collaboration

B2B customer service is a team sport. Support agents need to work seamlessly with sales, account management, and even product teams to resolve complex issues.

Break down internal silos by using shared tools, like a unified helpdesk, and establishing clear communication protocols for escalating issues or sharing client feedback. When your sales team knows about a support issue, they can proactively address concerns during their next check-in.

Sign customer-specific SLAs

Not all B2B accounts are the same. Create tiered Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that define response time commitments and support channels based on the client's contract value or strategic importance.

This manages expectations and ensures your most valuable accounts receive the priority attention they require. Your enterprise clients should have faster response times and more direct access to senior support staff than smaller accounts.

Offer self-service options

Empower your B2B clients to find answers on their own. A comprehensive knowledge base with technical documentation, API guides, and troubleshooting articles can deflect a significant number of tickets.

For more advanced needs, a customer portal can allow clients to manage their account, track orders, and access exclusive resources without needing to contact an agent. This is especially valuable for B2B customers who often work outside standard business hours.

Self-service options should include:

• Technical documentation: API guides, integration instructions, troubleshooting steps
• Account management tools: Order tracking, invoice downloads, contact updates
• Product resources: User manuals, training materials, best practice guides
• Policy information: Terms of service, return procedures, warranty details

Make service proactive

The best B2B support teams solve problems before the client even knows they exist. Use data to monitor account health, identify potential issues like declining usage, and reach out proactively.

Schedule regular business reviews to discuss their goals, gather feedback, and ensure they are getting the most value from your products. These conversations often reveal opportunities for additional sales or prevent churn before it happens.

Which tools power modern B2B customer service?

Scaling high-quality B2B support is impossible without the right technology stack. Modern tools are designed to manage complexity, provide deep customer context, and automate repetitive tasks.

A unified helpdesk centralizes every channel

B2B communication happens across email, phone, chat, and social media. A unified helpdesk brings all these conversations into a single inbox.

This gives your team a complete, chronological view of every interaction with an account, regardless of which contact reached out or which channel they used. No more searching through different systems to understand the full context of a client relationship.

A self-service knowledge base reduces ticket volume

A robust knowledge base is your first line of defense. Use it to host detailed documentation for common B2B needs, such as integration guides, API documentation, and bulk order instructions.

This not only reduces ticket volume but also positions your brand as an expert resource. B2B customers appreciate having access to comprehensive information when they need it, especially outside business hours.

AI and automation accelerate resolutions

Artificial intelligence and automation are critical for B2B efficiency. Use AI to automatically tag and route incoming tickets to the right agent or department based on topic or client tier.

Automation rules can handle repetitive workflows, such as sending order status updates or assigning tickets from VIP accounts to a dedicated manager. This ensures nothing falls through the cracks while freeing up your team for higher-value work.

Ecommerce integrations bring context into the inbox

To provide effective support, your agents need data. Integrating your helpdesk with your ecommerce platform, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems is essential.

These integrations pull critical account information directly into the support inbox. Agents can see order history, contract details, and custom pricing without switching tabs, enabling faster and more accurate responses.

Top 5 B2B customer service tools

The right tools make the difference between a support team that's constantly putting out fires and one that runs like a well-oiled machine. Here are five platforms worth considering for your B2B operation.

1. Gorgias

Starting price: $10/month

Best for: Ecommerce brands managing B2B and DTC support in one place.

Key features:

• Deep integrations with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento for full order context in every ticket
• AI Agent can automate up to 60% ticket inquiries and upsell, recommend, and boost pre-sale engagement
• Centralized inbox pulling in email, chat, social, and SMS

May not be the best fit if: You're not running on an ecommerce platform or have no DTC channel at all.

2. Zendesk

Starting price: $55/agent/month

Best for: Mid-to-large B2B operations that need flexible, highly customizable ticketing workflows.

Key features:

• Advanced ticket routing and multi-tiered support structures
• Extensive integration marketplace with 1,000+ apps
• Robust reporting and SLA management tools

May not be the best fit if: You're a smaller team. The pricing and complexity can be overkill without dedicated admin resources.

3. HubSpot Service Hub

Starting price: $15/seat/month

Best for: B2B teams already using HubSpot for sales and marketing who want everything under one roof.

Key features:

• Native CRM integration giving agents full account and deal history
• Customer portal for self-service ticket tracking
• Feedback and survey tools built into the platform

May not be the best fit if: You're not in the HubSpot ecosystem. Standalone, it's harder to justify against more specialized tools.

4. Intercom

Starting price: $29/seat/month

Best for: B2B teams that prioritize conversational support and proactive account engagement.

Key features:

• Behavior-based messaging to reach out to accounts at the right moment
• AI-assisted live chat that scales without losing a personal feel
• Onboarding flows and product tours for new wholesale accounts

May not be the best fit if: Your support volume is high and ticket-based. Intercom's conversational model can get expensive and hard to manage at scale.

5. Salesforce Service Cloud

Starting price: $25/user/month

Best for: Enterprise B2B operations with complex account hierarchies and large support teams.

Key features:

• Multi-stakeholder account management built into the core product
• Deep integration with Salesforce CRM for full pipeline and service visibility
• AI-powered case routing and resolution recommendations

May not be the best fit if: You're a small or mid-sized team. Implementation is heavy and the cost adds up fast without a dedicated Salesforce admin.

Build B2B support that actually scales

B2B customer service isn't just a support function. It's how you protect your highest-value accounts, reduce churn, and turn good clients into long-term partners.

The brands that get this right invest in the right tools, train their teams to think in relationships rather than tickets, and are ready before problems escalate.

Ready to streamline your B2B support operation? See what Gorgias can do for your B2B business.