Free Live Chats: Channel Talk vs Shopify Inbox
Anna • Content Marketing Manager US Team
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Free Live Chats: Channel Talk vs Shopify Inbox
When deciding on a live chat for your e-commerce store, the best option is to choose a free software so you can test out the functionality without spending any money.
Whether or not you choose to move on to a paid version is dependent on your business needs.
With around 2.5 million businesses using Shopify, starting off with Shopify Inbox, a free live chat tool offered by the e-commerce platform is a great starting option.
There are other completely free live chat options as well, such as Channel Talk, which offers social media integrations and customer insights. But most importantly, offers features to support your growing business if you need it.
Shopify Inbox: Free but Limiting
If you just started your business, have only a few customers, and are not interested in talking to them, Shopify Inbox is a great starting point.
Pros:
Free
Unlimited chats
Unlimited seats
Easy set up with Shopify store
Great for testing live chat for the first time
Cons
No external messenger integrations (for ex: Instagram messenger)
No customizability of chat interface
No customer event history
No calling feature
No features to support growth
While using Shopify inbox is the easiest choice, especially for those who are on Shopify, people often find the platform limiting.
Integrations
As customer experience folks know, not every customer inquiry comes through the support email. Some inquiries come through calls or social media. Shopify Inbox only supports handling inquiries through email and rolled back its social media integrations last summer.
Branding
Branding is also a key part of building your online storefront.
There are a lot of add-on features for your website such as pop-ups, testimonials, live chat, and more. While these are designed to enhance your customer experience, when these extra tools obviously are an add-on with the lack of branding, it can make your website look less professional.
With Shopify Inbox, you can choose your color and that’s about it.
Customer Information
The basics of customer info are covered with Shopify Inbox - contact info, order history, and conversation history. More advanced data like event history which includes product page views is not included.
Advanced Features
Shopify Inbox is also exclusive to just live chat, no calling features are available.
Free platforms' biggest pro is that they are free. Since there is no cost, they are unable to support advanced features that some businesses may need as they start to grow.
A free option is a great option to start off by testing live chat but you may want to consider a platform that has stronger features for when your business grows.
Channel Talk: The Better Free Option
Shopify Inbox is the easy choice. Channel Talk is the better choice and here’s why:
Channel Talk’s free plan offers more features than Shopify Inbox
Take a look:
Pros:
Free
Unlimited chats & seats
Team messenger
External messenger integrations (for ex: Instagram messenger)
Customizable chat interface
Customer event history
Calling feature
Features to support growth
Cons
Features to support growth are paid
Channel Talk’s free plan features include all of Shopify Inbox’s features and more.
With Channel Talk, you’ll also have unlimited chats and seats.
Team Messenger
Many businesses use Slack or Microsoft Teams to handle internal communication which can cost money and is also a separate tool.
Channel Talk offers a free internal team messaging tool that’s within the same platform so you can switch easily between talking to your team and customers.
Integrations
Channel Talk offers integrations with external social media apps like Instagram Messenger and Line so you can funnel all the places your customers are talking to you into one platform.
Creating an experience that matches your brand elevates the user experience.
Branding
The free plan allows you to update the basics like colors and logo as well as add header images and integrate with your Instagram feed for an aesthetic chat interface.
Customer Information
The free plan also includes customer information outside of basics and allows you to view event history such as product page view.
Understanding their journey on your website allows you to give more personalized help to your customers.
Advanced Features
Calling through the chat interface is a recently released feature to help you connect with customers when a problem is easier solved over a voice call.
Most importantly, Channel Talk has additional features on the higher plans like early stage, growth, and enterprise for when your business is ready to level up.
Conclusion
Both Shopify Inbox and Channel Talk are great free options for live chat tools on your website.
Shopify has the easiest integration with stores on Shopify platforms but ultimately is limited on its offerings.
Channel Talk is available as a free app on the Shopify app store and has more features than Shopify on the free plan including customizability, event history, and calling.
Most importantly, Channel Talk has additional features on the higher plans like early stage, growth, and enterprise for when your business is ready to level up.
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