Most eCommerce websites are built on the assumption that a customer’s ideal experience is to complete their purchase independently, at any time of day. While that’s true in the vast-majority of cases for low-complexity or consumer retail products, it’s a dangerous generalisation for many other sectors, especially traditional industries and b2b environments.

Automation and self service are attractive paradigms not least because of cost and scale but there’s also an assumption that customers prefer to avoid, or don’t need, human contact and guidance. Much has been written about phone-call reluctance, digital first behaviour and aversion to live conversations, particularly amongst the millennial generation and younger. This has led to industry wide pushes for frictionless purchasing: free delivery, one-step checkouts and even the creation of artificial urgency. The truth is many of these optimisations are based on behavioural trends and research from specific sectors, and too many businesses implement them without considering the specific needs of their customer base.

In pursuit of seamless transactions and self-service efficiency, many businesses have over-committed to automation and online checkout processes without asking a critical question: is this actually what our customers want? The side effect of this is that more critical improvements, often as simple as clearly listing a phone number, are often overlooked.

What the Data Says...

Now none of the narrative above refutes research which shows millenials and younger hate picking up the phone. Not every buyer wants to speak to someone but many still have to do so. Some may even need samples of products or want to arrange site visits. In a recent survey YouGov asked how Americans prefer to contact businesses and unsurprisingly phone came on top with nearly 70% of people saying they tend to use phone support, yet only 35% prefer it. With phone calls remaining a top way of contacting a business, the data also supports the generational divide which we all anecdotally know about - older generations strongly favour phone interactions (52% of Baby Boomers) while only 25% of Gen Z and 30% of Millennials would select it as their preferred method. Knowing this we should be asking how we can reduce friction for a maximum number of customers keeping in mind varied preferences.

By focusing too narrowly we overlook foundational customer needs: clarity, confidence, connection. Features like “Request a call back” buttons, direct contact details, and clear quotation workflows are often undervalued or omitted entirely. In their absence we mistakenly assume customers need to be moved down online checkout flows they cannot actually progress without specific product information or assurances. A Gartner Sales Survey recently looked into this and found that although generally B2B customers like self-navigated ordering and paying online, digital buyers report buyer regret more often. They often get pushed through a sales funnel by both the online store set up and sales reps when what they would truly benefit from is a better product/service learning experience with a mix of human-led and online components. To increase sales and decrease regret you need to combine seamless online process and real human expertise on hand to guide and educate you about the best product for your specific needs.

The latest B2B Pulse Survey by McKinsey shows us without a doubt that e-commerce is indispensable but it also highlights ‘the rule of thirds’. The data shows, regardless of country or sector, at any given stage of the buying journey, one-third of customers hope for in-person interactions, one-third want remote communications, and one-third prefer digital self-serve options. Offering different paths for customers to get to you is just good business.

What should we do?

The consequences if a business doesn’t take a more rounded view on sales are clear: missed high-value deals, abandoned carts and higher customer acquisition costs in traditional and b2b niches. To correct course, we need to restore balance between digital efficiency and traditional customer engagement, and ask how our websites can reduce friction with both online and offline sales processes, and encourage customers to move from research into the sales process however they choose.

Technologists and product leaders have spent years building what’s efficient for them: streamlined online payment systems, elegant checkout flows, and automated upsells. These systems are scalable and cost-effective, but they’re often based on internal priorities rather than actual customer demand. The fact is in many industries, particularly those with complex products, long lead and delivery times, regulatory constraints, customised pricing or multiple stakeholders, human interaction is still critical to conversion. Customers need to specify requirements, discuss options or plans, or verify what they’re ordering meets needs or schematics.

1. Re-introduce direct communication channels

If you’ve removed the ability of customers to email or phone you, consider if that was the right decision. Evaluate whether your website visibly offers a dedicated contact method; not every business can or should offer phone contacts, but customers still use phone when stakes are high, especially in B2B. Discouraging customer email enquiries puts you at a disadvantage in even knowing what information customers are looking for. Live chat offers the immediacy of telephone without the phone-fear. Visibility of these sorts of contact methods directly correlates with trust.

2. Provide low-friction contact requests

Integrate product-linked forms for requesting callbacks or email follow-ups. These capture interest from hesitant buyers, linked to specific products, who may resist initiating contact themselves but are open to a response. Callback requests benefit both sides: customers avoid waiting, and you manage time more effectively. Optimising these callback requests and making them as complete and frictionless as possible should be as important, and quite similar to, optimising checkout conversion.

3. Clarify your alternative sale processes

In their State of Business Buying report, Forrester summarised that buyers want to be able to find quick answers to their questions and be able to easily interact with someone with expertise once they feel ready to find out even more. The split Forrester found was even between personal and self-guided interactions during the process of buying, once again reminding us how important a blend between digital and human-led communication is.

When clients want quick answers this can be about anything from information about products themselves to payment methods. Payment methods is a particularly crucial one because consumer and B2B e-commerce often diverge here and more flexibility and clarity is needed for digital B2B sales. This is why it is so important to ensure your FAQ and product pages explain your sales workflows. Can customers request quotes, negotiate pricing, or pay by invoice? If so, state it clearly because many won’t assume it's an option if you don’t say so. You leave customers asking the less committal “Can I get a quote?” rather than “I would like a quote” at the very least, and at worse you miss sales entirely as they go to clearer competitors.

4. Track and leverage human interactions

Customer service doesn’t have to sit outside your analytics. Treat callback requests, contact form submissions, and phone number clicks as trackable events. These often signal high intent and can inform CRM and remarketing strategies like direct online sales, and can more broadly tell if your strategies are working in multi-step sales processes which may be broken up into multiple stakeholders. Leverage email, live chat and phone enquiries to improve your information and available resources – if one customer has asked, you can assume others wondered but didn’t contact.

Final thought...

Online purchasing should be a tool in your belt, not an overriding doctrine. For many businesses, a hybrid approach, blending digital convenience with human availability, is what actually drives conversion and builds long-term loyalty. If your current eCommerce process assumes silence equals satisfaction, it may be time to reassess.