Removed live chat widget: about $28,000 a month recovered
Test run byOliver KenyonConversionwise
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsRemoving a live chat feature recovered an estimated $28,000 a month in revenue for an ecommerce brand. Oliver Kenyon ran this test. The conversion and revenue-per-visitor figures behind that estimate were not shared.
- The test estimated the chat feature was costing about $28,000 a month in lost revenue.
- After it was removed, revenue recovered, according to the post and a client review shared alongside it.
- Conversion rate, revenue per visitor, sample size and test length were not shared.
The change
The live chat widget is removed; everything else stays the same.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The site showed a live chat feature to visitors.
Variant
The live chat feature was removed from the site.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- chat widgets can cover buttons or content, especially on mobile.
- pop-up chat prompts can distract shoppers who were about to buy.
- chat scripts can slow page loads, which tends to hurt conversion.
Caveats: Only a monthly revenue estimate was shared, with no metrics, sample size or duration. Treat it as a directional result from one store.
Who ran it
Oliver Kenyon (@oliverkenyon) shared this test on X. The numbers and screenshots are theirs.
View the original post on X
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we remove the live chat widget, then more visitors will buy because the page has fewer distractions and loads faster.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Support ticket volume
- Refund rate
- Conversion rate on high-price products
- Who should test it
- Stores whose chat gets little real use or pops up automatically. Stores selling complex or high-price products, where shoppers often ask questions before buying, may lose sales without chat.
Questions
Can live chat hurt ecommerce conversion?
In this test it did. Oliver Kenyon's test estimated the chat feature was costing the brand about $28,000 a month.
Should every store remove live chat?
Not without testing. This is one store, and the detailed metrics were not shared, so run your own split test.
What should I watch if I remove chat?
Keep an eye on support emails and refund requests, as well as revenue per visitor.