8 Best Helpdesk Software for eCommerce Stores & Small Businesses for 2023
Selling a great product is only one small piece of being successful in eCommerce. For this reason, it’s also vital to provide great customer service, and the best helpdesk software can help you to do just that.
Providing a great customer service experience is essential for success, whatever type of products you’re selling. Research shows that 50% of US consumers have abandoned a purchase due to poor service. 70% of shoppers also say they would spend more money with a company that consistently provides great service.
Helpdesk software helps you to provide better service to your customers by improving and communication. Rather than having to hunt through your inbox for orders and previous conversations, everything is kept in one place.
These tools also save you time by allowing you to manage all your support requests from multiple platforms in one place. This means no more flicking between emails, live chat, and social media.
We’ve rounded up some of the best and most popular helpdesk tools that are compatible with Shopify, BigCommerce, & other major eCommerce platforms. All of them include some kind of ticketing system to manage help requests and many offer live chat and chatbots, knowledgebase builders, and other useful tools. Read on to find out which one is the best option for your online store.
1. Gorgias
Gorgias is a helpdesk app for Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce that boasts some big-name clients including Fjallraven, RadioShack, and Steve Madden.
More than a basic customer service tool, Gorgias integrates with your customer database to enhance customer experiences, personalize communications, automate customer support tasks, and boost your marketing efforts.
Here are some of the things you can do with Gorgias:
- Access to customer order history and ticket history at a glance
- Automatic customization of emails
- Update orders or issue a refund from within the helpdesk
- Automate up to 40% of customer service tasks
- Use AI to detect customer intent and prioritize tickets automatically
- Connect all social media accounts, email, and tickets to provide support in one place
- Live chat with auto responder
- Access support and revenue statistics
- Respond to comments on social media ads and posts
- Centralize tickets from multiple stores in one place
- Integrates with over 30 social media, email marketing, and ecommerce apps
Pricing: Accounts start from $60 a month ($50 if you pay yearly upfront), which includes 350 monthly tickets and unlimited agents. Additional tickets are charged at $25 per 100 tickets
Note: if you’re currently using Zendesk for your customer support and want to switch to Gorgias, you can get free access to Gorgias until your contract expires.
2. Re:amaze
Re:amaze allows you to manage multiple support channels including email, website chat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp in one place. It integrates with multiple eCommerce apps including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento.
It also includes a chat system with automated and targeted messages, or chat with your customers in real-time even when you’re not at your desk.
A real-time dashboard allows you to see customer location and activity when they’re browsing your site and message them directly.
Other features include:
- Customized messages and CTAs based on automatic triggers
- Customer satisfaction surveys
- Automated workflow
- “Peek” feature allows you to see exactly what the customer is looking at on their screen
- Manage support for multiple brands in one place
- Targeted push campaigns to communicate with customers who are on or offline and boost sales
- Customizable FAQ center for self-help
- Status page for incidents, scheduled maintenance, and outages
- Comprehensive reporting
Pricing: Re:amaze starts at $29 per team member, per month. There’s a 14-day free trial available
3. HelpCenter
HelpCenter is helpdesk software for eCommerce sites that includes a ticketing system, live chat, and a user-friendly FAQ builder.
The multichannel helpdesk integrates support requests for multiple stores from several platforms including email, live chat, and Facebook messenger. From the helpdesk, you can access customer purchase history, communication history, and more.
Some of the other benefits of using HelpCenter on your eCommerce website include:
- Build your own FAQ with integrated contact form and live chat
- Automated responses
- Live chat with a contact form for out of hours support
- Unlimited agents, inboxes, and chat accounts
HelpCenter doesn’t include the advanced features of some of the other services such as an AI chatbot or the ability to direct-message a customer browsing your sit. However, it’s simple and it works well as a basic support tool. It’s also very affordable for those just starting out in eCommerce.
Pricing: Free for a basic account, which supports up to 50 tickets a month. Paid accounts start from $4 a month for 1,400 tickets a year and unlimited agents. A 14-day free trial is available.
4. HappyFox
HappyFox is helpdesk ticketing software for eCommerce and other websites that is trusted by some big brands including Lowes, Whirlpool, and Leap Frog.
The system allows you to pull all your customer service requests from email, phone, chat, and web into one ticketing system and easily assign ticket priority and see at a glance which tickets are pending, escalated, or unresponded.
You can also automate workflows, analyze your helpdesk metrics, and customize your helpdesk to your own needs.
Main features include:
- An omnichannel platform that keeps all your support requests in one place
- A ticketing system with categories, notes, templates, and actions
- Canned responses
- Online knowledgebase for self-service help
- AI-powered chat bots
- Cross-platform workflow automation with smart rules
- Customer support metrics analytics
- Custom fields and workflows
- Comprehensive support center and “HappyFox University” to onboard new support agents
Pricing: HappyFox doesn’t publish the pricing of their helpdesk software (you can request a quote) but their live chat tool starts at $29 a month for up to 500 chats.
5. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is one of the most popular helpdesk software solutions used by eCommerce businesses all over the world. It’s been around for over a decade now and was founded with the intention of basically being a cheaper and user-friendlier version of Zendesk.
The company consistently gets great reviews and this helpdesk software is used by companies including Disney, Panasonic, HP, and Skechers.
With the Freshdesk helpdesk system, you can access customer order history directly from their ticket. You can cancel and refund orders directly from the support platform, and you can connect multiple stores to a single Freshdesk account.
Some extra features of Freshdesk include:
- Collision detection to avoid multiple agents working on the same ticket
- Canned responses
- Scenario automation
- Intelligent ticket assignment
- Freddy AI-powered chatbot
- Help widget for your website
- Custom reporting and analytics
- Support across email and multiple social media channels
Pricing: Free accounts with unlimited agents are available that include the basic ticketing system. Paid accounts with additional features start at $15 per agent per month. A 21-day free trial is available.
The Freddy chatbot is priced separately at $100 for 1,000 sessions.
6. Zendesk
This platform is pretty much considered the gold standard when it comes to helpdesk software and is used by some huge brands including Ford, Xerox, Vodafone, Instacart, and many more.
Zendesk is an omnichannel customer support and engagement platform with a widget for eCommerce sites that displays a pop-up support menu and allows customers to ask questions and request support via live chat.
Zendesk helpdesk software integrates fully with all major eCommerce platforms including Shopify, BigCommerce, and PrestaShop to display all customer data to support agents and enable refunds and cancellations directly from the help desk.
Other features of Zendesk include:
- A ticketing system built for teams with intelligent routing and automation
- Live chat with bot that integrates with social media messaging platforms
- Smart knowledge base with team publishing option
- Community forum software
- Custom reports and analytics
Pricing: A basic Zendesk support account starts from $19 per agent, per month. Zendesk Suite, which includes more advanced features such as automations, live chat, and a self-service help center starts from $49 per agent, per month. A 30-day free trial is available.
7. Help Scout
Help Scout is used by over 12,000 companies in 140 companies to provide help and support to their customers.
The system includes shared team inboxes for email support, a knowledge base, and live chat. Help Scout isn’t an omnichannel tool, but it does integrate with social media and you can use a service like Zapier to send information between the apps.
It’s important to note that Help Scout doesn’t use the term “ticket” like most helpdesk software systems. Instead, it refers to these as “conversations”. Customers also don’t see a ticket number, although all communications are linked together at the backend.
Noteworthy features include:
- Create multiple mailboxes for different teams or brands
- Collision detection and private notes for collaboration
- All customer information easily accessible in sidebar
- Automated actions and workflow
- Knowledge base available from anywhere on your site and customizable to match your brand
- Live chat with instant articles that re-directs to email if an agent isn’t available
Pricing: Plans start from $20 per user, per month for 3 mailboxes. Discounts are available for social and environmental enterprises and startups in their first two years of business. A 15-day free trial is also available
8. Kayako
Kayako is a cloud-hosted help desk that enables you to provide customer support in multiple languages through live chat, email, Facebook, and Twitter. It’s used by some major brands including MTV, Acer, and Toshiba.
With Kayako, you get a platform to respond to all your support requests from multiple platforms in one place. Team members can collaborate and leave private notes to provide better service.
Kayako also includes a live chat tool and a customer self-help knowledge base.
Some useful features of Kayako include:
- See at a glance all the actions a customer took before requesting help
- Customizable live chat software that directs to email if no agent is available
- Targeted live chat messages
- Automated workflows and standard responses
- Easily reply to social media conversations
- Integrate with other apps via Zapier
Pricing: Kayako starts at $15 per agent, per month. A 14-day free trial is available
Which is the Right Helpdesk Solution for Your Shop?
All of these helpdesk software services will help you to provide a better experience for customers shopping on your eCommerce site. So how should you decide which one to use for your online store?
Start by thinking about your budget and needs. If your business is still on a small scale and you don’t have a huge customer service team, you probably won’t be able to afford the customer support solutions aimed at large enterprises.
You won’t need all the extra functionality either. Stick to a basic ticketing system that is free or has affordable plans such as HelpCenter or the free version of Freshdesk.
Once you can afford to invest a little more into customer service, you can choose a monthly plan that offers more features. Freshdesk and Kayako both offer very affordable monthly plans, but Help Scout is even cheaper if you’re a new business. Also note that the cheaper Freshdesk plans don’t include the chatbot.
However, keep in mind that the cost of these services can quickly add up if you’re paying for more than a couple of agents.
Gorgias plans offer unlimited agents for a single price, and it’s one of the best all-round services with lots of useful features like auto-detection of customer intent.
Re:amaze is a little more expensive but it offers some unique features such as their “peek” feature to see the customer’s screen, so it’s worth considering for this alone.
Larger enterprises with big customer service teams may need the power of Zendesk, but most small businesses agree it’s overkill for their needs.
If we missed your favorite helpdesk software for eCommerce, please feel free to add it in the comments.
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