Platform facilitates online help from retailers

Firefly is hoping to help online stores guide consumers through their site and offer purchase suggestions by sharing screens.

We’ve already seen Neiman Marcus roll out its NM Service App, which enabled staff to see the customer history of shoppers checking into their stores in realtime in order to better understand their needs. Now Firefly is hoping to do the same for online stores, helping them to guide consumers through the site and offering purchase suggestions by sharing screens. Similar to when browsing in a shop customers may attract the attention of a staff member when they can’t find something, have a query about a product or just want to know which one is the best to buy, Firefly adds a button to clients’ sites which connects consumers with a support member, who will be able to see their screen. After clicking the button, users enter a code given to them by their helper. Support can then highlight areas of the screen to guide customers to the place they want to be. Websites only need to add a short piece of code to their site to install the function, while customers’ privacy is secured – staff can only see their own site, not the user’s computer, and sharing can be cancelled at any time. Clients get access to analytics as well as gaining greater insight into how their customers use their site. Packages start at one-off payments of USD 10 for infrequent use and USD 29 per month per representative. The video below shows how Firefly works: Firefly aims to simplify customer-retailer interaction online, rather than relying on text or phone-based support which can lead to confusing conversations. How else can the online shopping experience be made more personal? Spotted by: Murray Orange