The Polish e-commerce market has reached a stage of maturity – in 2025, 78% of internet users declared that they shopped online, and according to PwC, the gross value of this sector is expected to reach approximately PLN 162 billion by 2026. Since attracting too many new shoppers is no longer possible, retaining those who already shop online becomes more crucial. The level of customer service in e-commerce today determines whether a consumer will return to a store or switch to a competitor after an initial unsuccessful experience.
What does customer service in an online store include?
Customer service in an online store encompasses every point of contact between a shopper and a brand – from the first inquiry about product availability, through assistance in finalizing an order, to post-sales contact and efficient handling of returns or complaints. In a brick-and-mortar store, the salesperson sees the customer, reads body language, and responds intuitively. In the digital environment, chat, email, phone, and social media take over, and the lack of a face-to-face presence must be compensated for with speed, clarity, and consistency of communication across all channels.
The difference between brick-and-mortar and online retail is particularly evident in two areas. First, in a brick-and-mortar store, help is available during opening hours, and customers know it. Online stores operate continuously, and buyers—especially those shopping in the evenings or on weekends—expect even the simplest questions to be answered automatically. Second, in traditional retail, sellers can immediately demonstrate the product, provide advice, and address any concerns. Online, these functions are fulfilled by detailed descriptions , photos, reviews from other buyers, and FAQ sections. If these elements fail, e-commerce customer service becomes the first (and often last) line of defense against cart abandonment.
E-commerce customer service standards worth implementing in 2026
Growing customer expectations mean that e-commerce customer service standards cannot be based solely on responsiveness. Online stores face the challenge of reconciling automation with empathy. They should base their operations on the following three pillars.
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- Response time – the speed of first contact as an indicator of professionalism.
- Omnichannel consistency – a consistent experience regardless of channel.
- Transparency – clear purchase, delivery and return conditions, visible before the customer asks.
The first of these pillars – response time – deserves special attention. The Zendesk CX Trends 2026 report shows that 88% of consumers expect a faster response than a year earlier, and the HubSpot State of Customer Service 2025 study confirms that 90% of buyers consider immediate response important or very important. It's worth establishing internal standards: maximum first response time for chat (up to 60 seconds), email (up to 4 hours on weekdays), and phone (less than 3 rings). Standards alone are not enough, of course – they must be measured and enforced.
The second pillar is omnichannel consistency . A customer who starts a chat conversation and then calls the hotline shouldn't have to repeat the entire story over and over again – yet 74% of consumers cite repeating information to different agents as an irritating experience (Zendesk CX Trends 2026). A central CRM system is essential, with the entire contact history accessible regardless of the channel the conversation takes place on.
How much is the hidden fee in the shopping cart?
The third pillar is transparency. According to the Baymard Institute, 48% of shoppers abandon their carts when unexpected shipping costs, taxes, or additional fees appear during checkout. Clearly presenting prices, shipping times, returns policies, and privacy policies—ideally on the product page—builds trust more effectively than the most efficient complaints department.
How to care for customers in an online store? Actions that bring results
Knowing how to provide high-quality customer service in an online store should translate into specific, measurable actions. Which of these deliver visible results? Here are our top 5.
1. Self-service as a priority
Over 69% of customers prefer to resolve issues themselves before contacting support (Zendesk CX Trends 2025). A well-built knowledge base—one with intent-based search, not just word matching—reduces the workload on your team while increasing satisfaction. It's important to ensure that support articles include screenshots, short instructional videos, and the date of the last update.
2. AI + human hybrid model
What does the Klarna case teach us?
The Klarna case in 2025 became a cautionary tale for the entire industry. The company replaced approximately 700 customer service positions with artificial intelligence. The AI reduced average service time from 11 minutes to less than 2 minutes and captured two-thirds of all chats within the first month. However, over time, satisfaction rates dropped so much that Klarna had to rehire humans – customers were stuck in automated loops with no way to escalate to a live agent.
The conclusions are clear: AI works well in the first line of contact (order statuses, simple questions about products, generating return labels), while difficult cases – complaints requiring individual assessment, emotionally burdensome situations, unusual problems – should be handled by a human.
3. Data-driven personalization
According to a 2019–2024 report by research firm Forrester, companies that prioritize CX as a growth driver achieve revenue growth up to 5,5 times faster than others. Personalization in customer service means, among other things, leveraging purchase history to proactively inform about promotions on complementary products or remind customers about expiring warranties, as well as a communication tone (formal or casual) tailored to individual needs based on previous interactions.
4. After-sales service and returns policy
From the buyer's perspective, the returns process is the so-called moment of truth – as the Gemius report "E-commerce in Poland 2025" points out, this is when a brand demonstrates how much it truly cares about the relationship. Elements that reduce tension and build loyalty for subsequent transactions include:
- a simple returns form available online, without the need to contact customer service,
- automatically generated label – no printing on the client side,
- possibility of sending a parcel at a parcel machine or collection point,
- automatic notifications of any change in refund and refund status.
5. Mobile support availability
Mobile commerce already accounts for 59% of global e-commerce sales (Mordor Intelligence, 2025), and in Asian markets, this proportion is even higher. In Poland, mobile devices account for a growing majority of transactions – so live chat, knowledge bases, and contact forms must function as efficiently on smartphones as on computers.
Technology at the service of customer experience
Technological tools don't replace a good team, but they do enhance its capabilities. In the context of customer service in e-commerce, three categories deserve particular attention.
- CRM Systems, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, allow you to gather a customer's purchase history, preferences, and previous requests in one place. This gives the agent full context before the conversation begins, reducing turnaround time and eliminating frustrating "what was the last thing they asked about?" questions.
- Helpdesk platforms (Zendesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk) allow for automatic assignment of tickets to appropriate agents, monitoring established timelines, and generating performance reports. Helpdesk integration with a sales platform—for example, Gorgias with Shopify—allows agents to view a customer's order without switching between systems.
- Voice of Customer (VoC) analytics tools leverage AI to process reviews, social media comments, and phone call transcripts. They can help identify recurring issues—like unclear size descriptions in a specific category—before they become a wave of returns.
How to measure whether service is actually improving?
Without measurement, it's difficult to assess whether implemented actions are delivering results. Among the indicators worth monitoring regularly, the most important are:
- CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) – measured after each interaction with the service; according to CX Index data, the best e-commerce brands achieve an average of 82/100 points, while average stores only achieve 65,
- NPS (Net Promoter Score) – showing willingness to recommend the brand to others, which reflects overall satisfaction with the shopping experience,
- average first response time and ticket closure time – two indicators that most quickly reveal bottlenecks in the service process,
- customer retention rate – directly related to the quality of after-sales contact,
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – total revenue from one customer throughout the entire period of the relationship with the brand, allowing for the assessment of long-term return on investment in CX.
What do phrases say about product descriptions?
Monitoring repeat purchase rates and analyzing returns data is equally important. If returns are consistently increasing in a specific category, the problem is usually not with service, but with product descriptions or images , and the service department should report such trends to the merchandising team.
Customer service in e-commerce – what lies ahead?
Forecasts for the coming years paint a picture in which automation and human empathy don't compete, but complement each other. American research and analytics firm Gartner estimates that by the end of 2026, 70% of customer service interactions in e-commerce will be handled by AI – but the value of these interactions will be limited to simple, repetitive queries. In more complex situations, a human conversation will still be the optimal solution.
For Polish online stores, this means investing in two areas simultaneously: next-generation chatbots capable of conducting multi-threaded conversations and analyzing sentiment, and training teams to handle matters requiring a personalized approach. Brands that are already building this hybrid service structure will gain an advantage that will be difficult to regain in a single quarter.
Customer service in e-commerce has ceased to be a cost center – it has become an investment with a measurable return. Companies that treat it as a strategic element, rather than simply a department that responds to problems, will be able not only to retain customers but also to turn them into brand ambassadors. And in a mature market, where the battle is not for new buyers but for the loyalty of existing ones, it is the quality of service that determines the outcome.
Frequently asked questions about e-commerce customer service
Every point of contact between a shopper and a brand: inquiries about product availability, assistance in finalizing an order, post-sales contact, and processing returns or complaints. In a brick-and-mortar store, the salesperson reads customer reactions in real time, while in e-commerce, this role is taken over by chat, email, phone, and social media. The lack of face-to-face presence must be compensated for with speed, clarity of information, and consistency of communication across all channels.
It's worth establishing internal standards: chats up to 60 seconds, emails up to 4 hours on weekdays, and phone calls with less than 3 rings. Expectations are rising – according to the Zendesk CX Trends 2026 report, 88% of consumers want a faster response than last year. Standards alone aren't enough; they need to be measured and enforced.
Not entirely. AI performs well in front-line contact: order statuses, simple product inquiries, and generating return labels. Complaints requiring individual assessment and emotionally charged situations should be forwarded to a human. This was demonstrated by the case of Klarna, which, after replacing approximately 700 full-time positions with AI, had to rehire consultants because customer satisfaction declined.
Most often, it's due to unexpected costs – according to the Baymard Institute, 48% of shoppers abandon their purchases when unexpected shipping costs, taxes, or additional fees appear at the last stage. Therefore, it's important to display prices, shipping times, and return policies on the product page, not just in the shopping cart.
It is worth tracking several metrics at once:
- CSAT – satisfaction measured after each interaction with service,
- NPS – willingness to recommend the brand to others,
- average first response time and ticket closure time,
- customer retention rate,
- Customer Lifetime Value, i.e. total revenue from one customer.
Two time metrics reveal process bottlenecks the fastest, while CLV shows the long-term return on CX investment.
So the customer can complete the process without contacting customer service: a simple online form, an automatically generated label without printing on the customer's end, the ability to drop off a parcel at a parcel machine or a collection point, and automatic notifications of any changes to the return status and refunds. The return is the moment of truth – it's when the brand demonstrates the true value of its commitment to caring for the relationship.
Three categories: CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) collect purchase history, preferences, and previous tickets in one place. Helpdesk platforms (Zendesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk) distribute tickets among agents, monitor timelines, and report performance. When integrated with a sales platform, they display the order without switching systems. Voice of Customer tools analyze reviews, comments, and call transcripts to identify recurring issues.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- The scope of customer service in an online store and differences from stationary retail.
- Three pillars of standards for 2026: response time, omnichannel consistency and transparency.
- Five actions to improve service quality, including self-service, a hybrid AI-plus-human model, and an efficient returns policy.
- Team support tool categories: CRM systems, helpdesk platforms, and voice of the customer analysis.
- Service quality metrics, from CSAT and NPS to retention and Customer Lifetime Value.
- Forecasts for the coming years and the division of tasks between automation and the human team.
