Does an auto open chat after 45 seconds lift conversion?
On desktop, our chat only opened when a shopper clicked it. We tested opening it on its own after 45 seconds on product, collection and cart pages. Conversion rose 5.2% over 27 days, short of our confidence bar.
Not significant Desktop 27 days Not called
The hypothesis
By opening the chat after 45 seconds on product, collection and cart pages, we will start more conversations with shoppers, resulting in more orders, since shoppers who use chat already convert at about 13%.
Shoppers who used chat converted at about 13%. We wanted more shoppers to start a conversation, so we tested opening the chat window for them.
The 45 second delay meant chat only opened for shoppers who had already spent time on a product, collection or cart page.
What we changed
Chat opened on its own after 45 seconds on key shopping pages.
In the control, the chat window stayed closed until a shopper clicked the chat button. In Var A, the window opened by itself once a shopper had been active for more than 45 seconds on a product, collection or cart page. The test ran on desktop only.
- Chat window opens after 45 seconds of activity
- Runs on product, collection and cart pages
The result
Auto opening chat raised desktop conversion 5.2% in 27 days.
Conversion rose 5.2% and revenue per visitor rose 9.6% against the control, but the lift did not reach our confidence bar. Orders that start in chat often take longer to close, so some of the effect may fall outside the test window. The open chat did not hurt conversion, which cleared the way for a full test of a dedicated chat sales tool.
What we would do next
Run a longer test with a chat tool built to drive sales.
The auto open chat did no harm and pointed toward larger orders. Because chat orders take longer to close, a longer run with a purpose-built chat sales tool is the better way to measure its real effect on revenue on this site.