Running an online store is a busy job. You're focused on products, marketing, and logistics, but your customers still expect someone to pick up the phone.
However, traditional phone support is expensive and difficult to manage.
Customers want answers right away, whether it's 2 PM on a Tuesday or 2 AM on a Saturday.
This guide is here to help with that. We're going to walk through the current options for ecommerce phone support services, from traditional call centers to new AI phone agents built for platforms like Shopify.
You'll learn how to compare them, what features matter, and how to pick a service that fits your budget while keeping your customers happy.
What are ecommerce phone support services?
An ecommerce phone support service is a solution designed to handle all the phone calls coming into your online business.
It's more than just a generic answering service. It is a specialized function that understands the unique needs of online retail.
These services handle the questions your customers actually ask: "Where's my order?", "How do I start a return?", or "Does this jacket come in blue?".
Answering these well requires more than a friendly voice; it needs a direct, real-time connection to your store's backend systems.
That integration is everything. A good phone support service can instantly access order histories, check inventory, and pull up tracking information without putting the customer on hold.
This is where we see the two main approaches split: the traditional way, powered by humans, and the modern way, driven by technology.
A look at traditional vs. modern support
The choice between a traditional and modern support model isn't just about technology. It's about different ways of thinking about cost, scale, and the customer experience.
This is where you decide if you want a system that takes calls or one that can also resolve them. This visual breakdown shows how the two approaches stack up.
Traditional approach: BPOs and call centers
The classic solution is to outsource your calls to a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company, or a call center. You pay a third-party to hire, train, and manage a team of agents to answer your phones.
The main upside is you don't have to deal with the HR side of building a support team. However, there are some challenges to consider. The costs can be high and hard to predict, as you're usually paying per agent, per hour, which makes 24/7 coverage a significant expense.
Scaling up for Black Friday can be a slow process, and you can't easily scale back down when things get quiet.
From a customer experience perspective, agents may work for multiple brands, which can make it difficult to develop deep product knowledge or fully adopt a specific brand's voice.
Because they aren’t directly integrated with your store, they have to manually look up order info, which can mean more hold time for your customers.
Modern solution: AI agents
The modern alternative is the AI phone agent. This refers to conversational AI that understands what a customer is saying and can solve their problem independently.
This model addresses many of the challenges of traditional approaches. An AI agent is cost-effective, operating 24/7 for a predictable fee. Ringly.io estimates its AI rep, Seth, costs around ~$0.38 per call to resolve an issue, while a human agent costs closer to ~$2.35.
It's also instantly scalable. An AI agent can handle one call or a thousand during a flash sale.
There are no hold times and no drop in performance. You can also train it on your brand's specific policies, product details, and tone, so every customer gets a consistent, on-brand experience.
Specialized tools like Ringly.io are designed for this purpose. Its AI agent, Seth, was built for e-commerce and is resolving an average of 73% of all support calls on its own for over 2,100 Shopify stores.
Key features of modern phone support solutions
Now that we've seen the difference between the old and new models, let's get into the details. If you're looking for a modern phone support solution, there are a few features that will directly impact your efficiency and keep your customers happy.
Deep platform integration (like Shopify)
A generic phone system may not be sufficient. A solution that integrates natively with your ecommerce platform, like Shopify, allows a support agent, human or AI, to instantly see everything they need to resolve a call.
With a native integration, order status, tracking numbers, and product details are available in real-time. This means you don't have to ask customers for information they've already given you.
This is an important consideration for general platforms like Zendesk or Dialpad. While they are powerful tools, they may require you to configure third-party apps or build custom integrations to get more ecommerce context.
That can add complexity, hidden costs, and can take weeks to set up.
In contrast, Ringly.io's native Shopify integration means its AI agent, Seth, can start handling "where is my order?" calls and processing returns automatically just minutes after you install it.
24/7 availability
Your customers don't stick to a 9-to-5 schedule, so your support shouldn't either. Today, 24/7 availability is an expectation.
Trying to offer this with a human team can be expensive and often out of reach for most online stores.
A modern AI solution provides this around-the-clock service as a standard feature. But it goes beyond just being available. The goal isn't just to answer calls, but to resolve them. This means you need automation that can handle repetitive tasks like looking up order details and processing returns without a human stepping in.
Multilingual support for a global audience
If you sell internationally, you know how important it is to speak your customers' language. With a traditional call center, offering multilingual support means hiring specialized (and more expensive) agents for every language you want to cover.
This is another area where AI has an advantage. An AI-powered solution like Ringly.io can understand and respond to customers in over 40 languages right out of the box. This lets you provide a global customer experience without having to hire additional staff.
Comparing top phone support services
So, what are your actual options? Let's break down the three main categories: the general helpdesk, the cloud contact center, and the AI-native ecommerce solution. They each serve a different purpose, and knowing their offerings is key.
General helpdesk: Zendesk
Zendesk is a well-known name in the customer service world. Its strength is bringing all your customer conversations including email, chat, social, and phone into one unified ticketing system. It's a great tool for organizing a human support team.
For phone support, its voice solution is not specifically built for an online store's needs. To get real-time order lookups, you have to find the right app in the Zendesk Marketplace and then spend time setting it up.
Zendesk is designed to make human agents more effective, not to resolve phone calls on its own.
The pricing reflects this human-centric approach. The Suite Team plan starts at $55 per agent, per month (billed annually). On top of that, you pay usage fees for Zendesk Talk, which includes a monthly fee for your phone number plus per-minute charges for every call.
Cloud contact center: Dialpad
Dialpad is an AI communications platform that focuses on assisting human agents. It offers features like real-time call transcription, sentiment analysis, and AI-powered Live Coach Cards that give agents tips during a call.
However, Dialpad's AI is designed to assist agents, not replace them. It doesn't come with ready-made workflows for order tracking or returns.
To perform those functions, custom development may be required.
Its pricing is also geared towards human teams. The AI Contact Center Pro plan costs $145 per user, per month, and requires a minimum of three users.
Keep in mind, this price is just for the software and it doesn't include the salaries of the agents using it.
AI-native solution: Ringly.io
Ringly.io is a specialized tool built to provide an autonomous AI phone agent, Seth, for Shopify stores. It's designed to resolve the most common ecommerce questions 24/7, without any human help.
Its focus is on e-commerce. The native Shopify integration means it starts working on order tracking and returns just 3 minutes after you set it up.
It already resolves around 73% of calls on its own and can speak 40 languages.
The pricing model is based on usage, not agent seats. The Grow Plan costs $349/month for 1,000 call minutes, with extra minutes billed at $0.19 each.
Ringly.io also offers a unique guarantee: you don't pay anything until Seth successfully resolves at least 60% of your first 100 calls in the first 21 days.
Understanding the strategic value of phone support can highlight why choosing the right service is so critical. For more insights on how voice communication enhances customer satisfaction in ecommerce, the following video offers a detailed perspective.
This video offers a detailed perspective on how voice communication enhances customer satisfaction in ecommerce.
The future of ecommerce phone support is autonomous
For many growing ecommerce brands, the approach to customer support is evolving. Traditional models face challenges in scalability and cost-effectiveness when compared to modern expectations.
The best ecommerce phone support services today are the ones that are deeply integrated with your store, can scale instantly, and use smart AI to deliver a consistently great experience.
They can save you money and free up your team to focus on more complex issues that need a human touch.
If you're running a Shopify store, a purpose-built AI solution is a direct path to scaling your support without scaling your costs.
Ready to see how an AI phone agent can transform your customer support?
See what Seth can do for your store. Start your free trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main benefits of using specialized ecommerce phone support services?
They offer deep integration with platforms like Shopify for instant order lookups, 24/7 availability through AI, and a consistent brand voice, which general ecommerce support services can't easily match. This leads to faster resolutions and happier customers.
How much do ecommerce phone support services typically cost?
Costs vary. Traditional call centers charge per agent, per hour, which gets expensive. Modern AI solutions like Ringly.io offer flat monthly fees based on call volume (e.g., $349/month for 1,000 minutes), making it much more predictable and affordable.
Can ecommerce phone support services handle international customers?
Yes, especially AI-powered ones. An AI agent can support dozens of languages out of the box without the need to hire multilingual staff, making it easy to offer a great experience to your global customer base.
How long does it take to set up ecommerce phone support services?
It depends on the solution. General helpdesks like Zendesk can take days or weeks to configure with third-party apps. A purpose-built AI service like Ringly.io, however, can be up and running in just a few minutes thanks to its native Shopify integration.
What percentage of calls can ecommerce phone support services resolve autonomously?
A well-trained AI agent built for ecommerce can handle a lot. For instance, Ringly.io's AI agent, Seth, resolves an average of 73% of support calls on its own by handling common questions like order status and returns.
Are ecommerce phone support services scalable for peak seasons like Black Friday?
AI-based services are perfectly suited for this. Unlike human teams that require hiring and training, an AI agent can handle one call or a thousand simultaneously without any drop in performance, ensuring you're always ready for a sales spike.
