E-commerce and live chat glossary
AOV — Average Order Value
The average value of each order: revenue divided by number of orders. It grows with upselling, cross-selling and the right advice at the right time: in-chat assistance can lift it by up to +10% (industry benchmark — source iAdvize).
Learn moreAssisted selling
The agent actively guides the visitor to the right product during the conversation, like a good in-store salesperson would. It is the difference between answering and driving sales.
Learn moreBounce rate
The share of visitors who leave the site after seeing a single page, without interacting. A high value signals the page does not retain or does not match intent.
Cart abandonment
When a visitor adds products to the cart but does not complete the purchase. On average about 70% of carts are abandoned (source: Baymard Institute). A real-time intervention can recover a share of them.
Learn moreCart recovery
The set of actions to bring back to purchase those who left their cart: a chat intervention while they are still on the site, or an email reminder shortly after.
Learn moreCheckout
The final stage of purchase, where the customer enters details and pays. It is the most delicate point of the funnel: any friction here costs sales.
Learn moreChurn rate
The share of customers who stop buying in a given period. It is the flip side of retention: keeping it low protects the value built through acquisition.
Learn moreCLV / LTV — Customer Lifetime Value
The total margin a customer generates over the whole relationship, not just the first purchase. Conversions, fewer returns and more repeats grow it: up to 3x with a well-managed relationship (industry benchmark — source iAdvize).
Learn moreConversational commerce
The set of sales that happen through a conversation — in on-site chat, in messaging — where dialogue guides product choice and closes the purchase.
Conversion funnel
The path that takes a visitor from landing on the site to purchase, through successive stages (discovery, evaluation, checkout). At each step some users drop off: the goal is to reduce friction.
Learn moreConversion rate
The share of visitors who complete a purchase. In Italy the average e-commerce value is about 1-2% (source: Casaleggio Associati). It measures how much traffic turns into sales.
Learn moreCRM
The system that collects and organizes contact and customer data (profiles, conversations, orders). Keeping chat and orders connected to the CRM lets you recognize returning customers and personalize selling.
Cross-selling
Suggesting products that complement the chosen one (e.g. the case with the phone). It increases order value when it stems from a real customer need.
CSAT — Customer Satisfaction
A measure of customer satisfaction with an interaction, usually collected with a direct question after the conversation. It indicates the perceived quality of the relationship.
Customer journey
The customer’s full journey, from first visit to purchase and beyond. Mapping it helps understand where customers get stuck and where a conversation makes the difference.
Learn moreFirst response time
How long passes between the visitor’s question and the first reply. In a sales context it matters a lot: a fast reply while the customer is still on the page can close the purchase.
Learn moreGo-live
The moment a new tool or a new version of the site goes into operation for real customers. It must be planned so you do not lose conversations and sales in the transition.
Learn moreLead
An interested contact who left their details (e.g. an email for a report). It becomes a customer when the sales path guides it to purchase.
Live chat
A real-time conversation window on the site, run by human agents. For an e-commerce it is a sales channel: the agent sees the visitor, suggests the right products and guides them to purchase.
Learn moreOmnichannel
An approach where contact channels (site, chat, email, social) are connected and share context, so the customer has a single experience and does not have to repeat themselves.
Payback period
The time it takes for the return generated to cover the initial investment. A short payback means the tool pays for itself quickly.
Learn moreProactive chat
A chat message that opens based on visitor behavior (time on a page, a stalled cart, a return visit) instead of waiting for the visitor to write. It starts the conversation at the moment that matters for the sale.
Learn moreProactive message
A message the e-commerce sends first to the visitor, based on context (page, time, cart). Well calibrated, it opens the conversation without being intrusive.
Learn moreProduct catalog
The store’s set of products with prices, availability and attributes. Connecting the catalog to the chat lets the agent suggest and link the right products without leaving the conversation.
Learn moreRetention
The ability to bring customers back to buy again. A well-managed relationship can increase it by up to +60% (industry benchmark — source iAdvize), and keeping a customer costs less than acquiring a new one.
Learn moreReturning visitor
Someone who returns to the site after a first visit. Recognizing them lets you pick up the conversation where it left off and suggest the right product without starting over.
Learn moreROI — Return on Investment
The ratio between net gain generated and cost incurred. For a live chat it is measured by comparing sales and savings (fewer returns, fewer tickets) with the cost of the tool and the agents.
Learn moreSLA — Service Level Agreement
The commitment on service times and quality, for example the maximum first response time. It defines what the customer can expect and makes quality measurable.
Touchpoint
Every point of contact between customer and brand along the buying journey: a product page, an email, a chat conversation. The right touchpoints, at the right time, move conversion.
Learn moreUpselling
Offering the customer a higher or more complete version of the product they are considering. In chat it works when the suggestion is relevant, not forced.
WISMO — “Where Is My Order?”
The most frequent category of post-purchase requests: customers asking about shipping status. Handling it well frees time for the conversations that sell.
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