Most ecommerce leaders fly blind after checkout—struggling to size the real ticket load, the cost to serve, and where the leaks start. These benchmarks give you a yardstick, then show how prevention → protection → automation shrinks the whole problem set.
| Metric (Retail / DTC) | 2025 Benchmark | Quick Take |
|---|---|---|
| Tickets per 100 orders | 6.7 (≈ 1 ticket per 15 orders) (Gorgias) | Baseline "contact-to-order" ratio for Shopify-centric brands. |
| WISMO* share of tickets | 16% of all support volume (Gorgias) | Tracking gaps still drive the lion's share of work. |
| Median first-response time | 2 hrs (Gorgias) | Shoppers call anything over 1 hr "slow." |
| Median resolution time | 8.3 hrs (Gorgias) | Same-day resolutions are now table-stakes. |
| Cost per ticket (U.S.) | $10 – $25 depending on handle time & labor market (BMC) | Every minute your team spends > 10 min pushes you to the top of that range. |
| Avg. live-chat reply | 1 min 35 sec (Opensend) | Customers define "immediate" as < 45 sec. |
*WISMO = “Where is my order?”
“On average, brands receive one support ticket for every 15 orders.”
—Gorgias pricing calculator
Why it matters: Every preventable contact is pure margin. Slashing even two tickets per 100 orders saves ~$2,000 per 100k orders at a mid-range $15 cost-per-ticket.
The reality gap: Most brands hit “good” but struggle with “great” because they’re reactive, not proactive.
The automation opportunity: Automated claim approvals and self-serve edits cut agent touch-points to near-zero—moving you from “hours” to “seconds” on routine requests.
Efficient desks keep tickets under $20; U.S. labor drives the top end ($25 for a 10-min handle). (BMC)
60-70% of ticket cost is labor. Every automation minute you claw back has a direct dollar tag.
1 minute saved per ticket × 10k tickets × $1.60 per minute = $16k annual labor delta.
Reduce ticket volume by 30% and you save $1,500–$44,000 monthly in labor costs alone.
Opportunity cost: While your team handles “Where’s my order?” tickets, they’re not:
Conservative estimate: Each WISMO ticket represents $15 in direct cost + $10 in opportunity cost = $25 total impact per preventable ticket.
Address validation and post-purchase editing solve the source, not the symptom.
Keep 100% of protection fees instead of handing 80% to third-party providers.
Fast-track low-value tickets (e.g., lost-package claims) so humans tackle CX moments that matter.
“Prevent → Protect → Automate” isn’t a slogan—it’s how you turn support from cost center to profit center.
The gap between lagging and leading represents $50,000–$200,000 annually in operational efficiency for most mid-market brands.
Most merchants discover they’re spending $30,000–$200,000 more annually than industry leaders on preventable support tickets.
Data compiled from Gorgias benchmarks (2025), BMC cost analysis, and Opensend response time studies. Individual results vary by product mix, customer base, and operational maturity, but the fundamental patterns hold across mid-market DTC brands.
