Online shopping help

I found this rather interesting; LivePersonalShopper.com is a service that will offer advice to customers on ideas for buying gifts. Part of LivePerson Inc, which offers chat services to online retailers such as banks and mobile phone companies, the company is now heading into mainstream retail. So, the next time you can't think of what to buy your aunt for her birthday, log on and get some suggestions. The service will cover segments such as apparel, accessories, gifts, home furnishings, wine and cosmetics. According to CEO Robert LoCascio, LivePerson is driving traffic to this new shopping advice site, which is already getting 10,000 visitors a month. The company has 4.5 million chats a month of which 25% convert to sales.

The personal shoppers at LivePersonalShoppers.com can recommend any retailer, LoCascio says, although “they have a familiarity with our base of customers.” He says consumers who choose to use the chat service may want to deal with retailers the same way, and the personal shoppers can transfer a customer to one of LivePerson’s retail clients to continue the dialogue.