DialogTech Study Finds 2018 Online Holiday Shoppers Calling Retailers at Record Rates

CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DialogTech, the world leader in call attribution and conversation analytics for marketers, released a new study highlighting the impact consumer phone calls have on driving revenue for retailers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

"Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday are known for being big drivers of in-store and online sales, DialogTech's call analytics data found that on both days, people are calling retailers more often and speaking longer," said Kelley Schultz, Senior Director of Digital Research & Analytics at DialogTech. "As online shopping continues to rise, our data shows consumers still need personal and helpful experiences that only calls can provide. It's critical for retailers to understand what marketing channels drive those calls and provide positive call experiences that lead to loyal customers."

The study—which includes insights from examining millions of consumer calls to retailers tracked, routed and analyzed by the DialogTech platform—found that retailers saw an increase in call volume of 27% and 14% on Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2018 compared to 2017.

Additional findings from the study include:

• Calls from online shoppers on the rise: In 2018, Black Friday saw 55% of calls to retailers being driven by paid search ads—a 5% increase compared to the rest of November. Cyber Monday saw a 12% increase in calls from shoppers who visited retailers' websites directly and from organic search compared to the rest of November.
• Consumers on Black Friday talk longer: The average Black Friday call duration was 3 minutes and 9 seconds—a 19% increase when compared to calls throughout the month of November 2018 and a 5% increase compared to calls on Black Friday in 2017. Longer conversations are often key indicators of a more engaged lead.
• Consumers calling more about how to purchase: Since the beginning of November 2018, consumers calling with questions concerning financing options—including rebates and down payments—have increased by 41%. Questions about the delivery date of a purchased item increased by 165%. Calls inquiring about Black Friday specials increased over 344% the week of Black Friday, when compared to the week prior.
• Unanswered call rates decline: Retailers also made answering these valuable calls promptly a priority during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Unanswered call rates (voicemails and abandoned calls) declined 19% from the month prior.

Many of the world's largest brands use DialogTech's call analytics platform to attribute calls driven by marketing, dynamically route callers to the best destination and analyze conversations at scale for marketing insights using AI and machine learning.  

Retail marketers and agencies can learn how to take a data-driven approach to consumer calls by visiting the DialogTech website or downloading the new eBook, The Secret to Retail Marketing ROI: Inbound Calls. 

About DialogTech
DialogTech's proprietary technology provides marketers with transparency into the voice of their consumers through AI-driven conversation insights. DialogTech's analytics suite helps marketers identify key behaviors that lead to conversion events, deliver deeply personalized consumer experiences, and improve effectiveness across channels by linking every consumer activity, from click to conversion to loyalty. Consistently recognized as the leader and pioneer in call analytics, DialogTech is the trusted voice management platform for leading brands and agencies.

Media Contact
Blair Symes
DialogTech
[email protected]

SOURCE DialogTech

Related Links

http://www.dialogtech.com