InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

October 2, 2000

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Online Shopping With In-Store Service

LivePersons E-mail and self-help tools aim to make E-commerce more like a trip to the mall

By Beth Bacheldor

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-businesses are learning that customers want online shopping to mirror a trip to the mall. That means giving them service the minute they need it. LivePerson Inc. wants to help with its updated online customer-interaction suite.

In addition to LivePerson Chat, a real-time chat service that connects online shoppers with customer-service representatives, the suite now includes LivePerson E-mail and LivePerson FAQ. All three services are hosted at LivePerson data centers in New York or San Jose, Calif.

The E-mail service uses routing technology that delivers messages to the most appropriate operator, be it the most knowledgeable person on a particular topic or the one with the lightest load. The real-time service lets companies respond to E-mails quickly, says Robert LoCascio, LivePerson's president and CEO. Customer E-mails show up in the same queue as real-time chat queries, he says. "We built the company on the belief that the best way to service a customer is in real time," he says.

LivePerson FAQ lets companies build a self-help option for customers into their sites. The service includes a search function so customers can find information by entering a keyword.

The Wedding List, a gift and wedding registry retailer, started using LivePerson Chat in January. Adding the real-time chat, which is supported by five full-time customer-service representatives, has improved the shopping experience and ultimately boosted sales, says Gregg Renfrew, CEO of the New York company.

Before implementing LivePerson, 27% of the Wedding List's non-brick-and-mortar sales came through the Web site and 35% came over the phone. Now, 41% of the sales come from the Web and 22% from the telephone.

"It's now closer to an in-store experience," Renfrew says. She adds that the Wedding List plans to add LivePerson E-mail because it tracks where and when customers on the site initiate E-mails. "That shows us what parts of the site are most interesting, and where there may be navigational issues," Renfrew says.

Available now, LivePerson E-mail and Chat are each $350 per month per service rep. LivePerson FAQ is $1,000 per month.

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