Shopify Chat - feature ideas

[InteriorStudio]

Hi,
I just gave Shopify Chat a test run and really appreciate the very simple way for customers to quickly interact with a merchant.

However, a few things threw me off, and with this post I was hoping to see if others are missing the features I am missing.

1. Current url / chat trigger
A customer starts the chat from a product, say “Red sneakers”. They immediately ask customer service: “Is this available in other colors?”

Currently, customer service has to ask what product the user is referencing to.

Idea: Let customer service see what page/product/url the chat was started from.
This way, we can immediately respond with “Yes of course, here’s the link to the blue sneakers”.

2. Link to start chat
Currently the link to start a chat, that can be embedded in newsletters, sms and other places, opens the home page on Shopify, i.e. store.myshopify.com/?chat

Idea: Let /?chat work on any page, so that the link can be used to open chat within pages/products on Shopify, without redirecting users to the home page.

3. Other suggestions
- I would love if merchants could have more control over the button, both styling and ability to hide the default button and using the link trigger mentioned above.
- I would also love if the chat window itself could be styled to suit the theme colors.
- I would also like if merchants could have a setting for asking the user to input their email, prior to starting the chat.


Hope to hear from the community and see what other suggestions there are. :)

[Allen_McBroom]

I'd love it if the app worked on devices other than Apple, such as Android (Google) phones.

[MarkOnArt]

Agree with the original poster.

I had my first chat from a customer today using the App - or I should say I received a notification that there had been an attempt by a customer to chat but I was doing housework and missed it. 

I was surprised there was no way to see WHAT product/page they were viewing when they asked their question.  Makes the shop owner seem goofy to not know something quite so basic. There should also be some sort of "away" message to let the customer know there's another way to contact when someone is not sitting there. I think most of them understand it's a small business they are dealing with. But I hate the idea that someone out there was left hanging. 

Hopefully they try again but not an outstanding first impression for me. I can't tell from their question what they were even viewing.

I also wish there was a desktop page or app that can be used to chat with the customer as well. I am keeping my iPad close at hand but most of my day is spent in front of my laptop and it would just be way easier for me to type responses than peck them out on the screen. A mobile app is nice but shouldn't be the only way to use this. 

Mark