Marchex Research Shows Spike in Calls on Cyber Monday, Yet Businesses Are Not Prepared to Answer
November 08 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Call volumes on Cyber Monday increased by 16
percent on average in 2016, but businesses were unprepared to
handle volume, resulting in lost sales and revenue
opportunities
Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX), a leading provider of call analytics
that drive, measure, and convert callers into customers, announced
new research today that suggests businesses should not only plan
for an increase in e-commerce sales this Cyber Monday, but also
prepare for a spike in inbound calls. While calls are not
traditionally top-of-mind when preparing for one of the busiest
digital shopping days of the year, phone calls play a significant
role to help drive sales opportunities and increase revenue.
Based on an analysis of more than a half million calls from
consumers to businesses in November 2016, the Marchex Institute
found that businesses experienced a 16 percent increase in inbound
phone calls on Cyber Monday compared to average Mondays in the same
month. The data also revealed that abandoned calls increased by 11
percent on average on Cyber Monday, suggesting that companies did
not adequately staff call centers. As a result, they missed out on
significant sales opportunities on one of the biggest shopping days
of the year.
The research also suggests that consumers aren’t just shopping
for toys or electronics on Cyber Monday – they’re also planning
holiday travel and time off in the New Year. Cruise lines and
hotels experienced significant spikes in call volumes on Cyber
Monday, with increases of 30 percent and 27 percent respectively.
Still, despite the potential revenue opportunities, cruise lines
and hotels seem unprepared to manage the increase in calls. Abandon
rates were 30 percent higher for both cruise lines and hotels,
compared to a typical Monday in November 2016. An overall uptick in
call duration for cruise lines suggests that customers were placed
on hold for too long and ultimately abandoned the call.
“While businesses go through significant efforts to optimize
their websites for Cyber Monday and the holiday season in general,
they are neglecting a key channel that is incredibly important to
consumers when it comes to interacting with brands,” said Guy
Weismantel, EVP of marketing at Marchex. “The data is clear:
customers prefer to buy on their own terms, not the terms of the
brand. It’s crucial for brands to invest in their frontline phone
teams, operations centers, and call analytics technology to
maintain the highest level of customer service, and ultimately
increase revenue.”
View the Marchex infographic for more details.
About Marchex
Marchex understands the best customers are those who call your
company - they convert faster, buy more, and churn less. Marchex
provides solutions that help companies drive more calls, understand
what happens on those calls, and convert more of those callers into
customers. Our actionable intelligence strengthens the connection
between companies and their customers, bridging the physical and
digital world, to help brands maximize their marketing investments
and operating efficiencies to acquire the best customers.
Please visit https://www.marchex.com/blog,
https://www.marchex.com/blog or @marchex on Twitter
(Twitter.com/Marchex), where Marchex discloses material information
from time to time about the company, its financial information, and
its business.
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Marchex, Inc.Investor RelationsTrevor Caldwell,
206-331-3600ir@marchex.comorMedia Inquiries:March
Communications617-960-8896Marchex@marchcomms.com
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