The Polish e-commerce market has reached a stage of maturity – in 2025, 78% of internet users declared that they shop online, and according to PwC, the gross value of this sector is expected to reach approximately PLN 162 billion in 2026.
Since it's no longer possible to attract many new shoppers, retaining those who already shop online becomes more crucial. The level of customer service in e-commerce today determines whether a consumer returns to a store or switches to a competitor after an initial unsuccessful experience.
What does customer service in an online store include?
Customer service in an online store covers every point of contact between a buyer and a brand – from the first question about product availability, through assistance in finalizing the order, to after-sales contact and efficient handling of returns or complaints.
In a brick-and-mortar store, a salesperson sees the customer, reads body language, and reacts 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.
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The difference between brick-and-mortar and online retail is particularly evident in two areas. First, in a physical store, help is available during opening hours, and customers know it. Online stores operate around the clock, and shoppers—especially those shopping in the evenings or on weekends—expect even the simplest questions to be answered automatically.
Customer service as the first and last line of defense
Secondly, in traditional retail, a seller 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, customer service in e-commerce 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.
- 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 faster responses than a year ago, while the HubSpot State of Customer Service 2025 study confirms that 90% of shoppers 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 aren't enough, of course—they need to 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.
Transparency as the third pillar
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
Klarna's 2025 case became a cautionary tale for the entire industry. The company replaced approximately 700 customer service positions with artificial intelligence. AI reduced average handling 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 is effective in front-line contact (order statuses, simple product questions, generating return labels), while difficult cases – complaints requiring individual assessment, emotionally charged 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.
Returns analysis and repeat purchases
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 Customer Experience in e-commerce
CX is the totality of experiences, impressions and emotions that accompany a customer throughout their interaction with an online store – from the first visit to the website, through the purchasing process, to after-sales service and returns.
A high-quality customer experience directly translates into higher conversion rates, greater customer loyalty, and more frequent return visits. A satisfied customer is more likely to recommend the brand to others, which lowers the cost of acquiring new customers.
The main errors include: a slow-loading website, a complicated and lengthy shopping cart (checkout) process, a lack of transparent information about delivery costs and times, hidden fees, and a website that is not adapted to mobile devices (no RWD).
It is worth implementing shopping without mandatory registration (as a guest), minimizing the number of fields in the form, offering popular and fast payment methods (e.g. BLIK, Apple Pay/Google Pay) and clearly informing about the order fulfillment stage.
Loading time is the first test of a customer's patience. If a store takes longer than 3 seconds to load, the bounce rate increases dramatically. A fast website is the foundation of good CX and better SEO results.
Yes, and it's huge. Product recommendations tailored to previous purchases, personalized discounts, and emails that rescue abandoned carts make customers feel valued, making it easier for them to make a purchasing decision.
The customer experience doesn't end with payment. A transparent returns policy, easy customer service contact (e.g., via live chat), and proactive delivery status updates build trust and encourage repeat purchases.
It's best to start with a UX/SXO audit and data analysis (e.g., Google Analytics 4). It's worth identifying where users most often leave the site (so-called bottlenecks) and implementing improvements based on that.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- High-quality customer service has become crucial for retaining buyers in the mature Polish e-commerce market.
- Modern e-commerce customer service is based on quick response, multi-channel consistency and full transparency.
- Effective e-commerce customer service relies on self-service, AI-human collaboration, personalization, seamless returns, and mobile accessibility.
- CRM systems, helpdesk platforms and analytical tools effectively support and optimize the work of customer service teams in e-commerce.
- Regular analysis of key indicators of satisfaction, response time and loyalty allows you to objectively assess the effectiveness of customer service.
- The future of e-commerce belongs to a hybrid customer service model in which artificial intelligence and human empathy work together to build shopper loyalty.
