First contact resolution (FCR) for live chat and email: formula, benchmarks and how to raise it (2026)

In short: First contact resolution (FCR) is the share of customer issues you solve in the first conversation, so the customer never has to write again about the same thing. Call centers measure it with a survey. For live chat and email in an online store, the practical formula is conversations where the same customer did not come back about the same issue within 7 days ÷ all eligible conversations × 100. The call center average was 69% in 2024 and 80% counts as world class (SQM Group, published 2025). For a small store, aim for 80% and work on the reasons customers come back, not on reply speed.

Almost everything written about FCR is about phone queues: one call, one agent, a post-call survey. A store that answers chat and email has different problems. Conversations stay open for hours, customers switch from chat to email when they get impatient, and an auto-close setting can make an unsolved problem look solved. This guide covers how to count FCR in that setting, what the published numbers really measure, a worked example, and the six reasons customers of online stores write twice.

What counts as "resolved on first contact" in chat and email

In chat and email, the contact is the conversation, not the message. A chat with 14 messages that ends with a solved problem is one contact, resolved. An email thread where you reply once and the customer says "thanks" is one contact, resolved.

The edge cases decide whether your number means anything. Here is how we would count them:

SQM Group's own definition also leaves out abandoned and very short contacts and only counts what it calls eligible contacts (SQM Group, 2026).

The formula, with a worked example

FCR = (eligible conversations − conversations followed by a repeat contact on the same issue within 7 days) ÷ eligible conversations × 100

Why 7 days: in an online store, most repeat contacts come within days ("it still hasn't arrived", "you said you'd check"). A 30-day window starts catching new problems with the same order. Seven days is our choice, not a standard. Pick one window and keep it, so months stay comparable.

Example. A small shoe store with two people answering chat and email closed 600 conversations in October.

1. Leave out the ineligible ones: 25 spam, 10 "hi" with no question, 5 abandoned before a reply. That leaves 560.
2. Find repeats: 98 of those customers wrote again about the same issue within 7 days.
3. FCR = (560 − 98) ÷ 560 × 100 = 82.5%.

The total looks fine. The split by reason is where the work is:

Two reasons cause 76 of the 98 repeats. Reading ten of those conversations showed the pattern: replies said "your parcel is on the way" without the tracking link or a date, and return replies said "send it back to us" without the steps. The fix was two better saved replies, not more people.

Three ways to measure it

Call Centre Helper's poll of support professionals found that tracking repeat contacts within a set timeframe is the most common method, and also argues it is not a true measure on its own (Call Centre Helper, updated January 2026). We agree with both points. Use the repeat check for the monthly number and the sample to find out why.

Benchmarks: what the published numbers measure

The most cited source is SQM Group, which benchmarks inbound call centers with a two-question customer survey run within one business day of the call, with at least 400 surveys per center. Its 2024 results (published February 2025):

• 69% average across industries, with centers ranging from 43% to 88%.
• 70–79% is "good", 80% or more is world class, and only 5% of centers reach it.
• Retail is among the leading industries, at 73–75%. SQM's August 2026 update puts the retail average at 77% (SQM Group).

FCR also depends on why people get in touch:

Source: SQM Group, 2024 data.

Two cautions. These are phone figures from surveys, while your repeat-contact number will usually come out higher, because some unhappy customers simply leave. And we could not find a public FCR benchmark for live chat or email with a clear method behind it. Compare yourself with your own last three months, and use 80% as a sensible starting target.

Why customers write twice: six causes in an online store

SQM attributes unresolved contacts 49% to the organization, 38% to the agent and 13% to the customer (2024 data). In other words, most repeat contacts come from processes and missing information, not from people working badly. These are the six we see most in online stores:

1. An answer without a date. "Your parcel is on the way" brings the customer back two days later. Give the tracking link, the expected delivery date and what happens if it hasn't arrived by then. Our where is my order templates are written this way.
2. "I'll get back to you" with no time. Say when ("by 3 pm today"), then put the conversation aside until that time so it can't be forgotten. Snooze and send later does exactly that.
3. Asking for details one at a time. Order number, then a photo, then the size. Ask for everything you need in the first reply.
4. The person answering can't decide. If every refund over a small amount needs the owner, the customer waits and writes again. Write down limits: for example, refunds or vouchers up to €30 without approval.
5. The same question on two channels. A slow chat turns into an email and then a marketplace message. Keep channels in one inbox, answer once, and close the duplicates.
6. Vague return instructions. "Send it back" is not an answer. Give numbered steps, the label or address, and when the refund arrives.

A monthly FCR check you can copy

Once a month, 45 minutes:

Month: ________   Window for repeats: 7 days

Closed conversations:                ____
Left out (spam, no question, abandoned): ____
Eligible conversations (A):          ____
Repeats on the same issue (B):       ____
FCR = (A - B) / A x 100 =            ____ %
Solved later after "I'll check" (C): ____

Reason          Conversations   Repeats   FCR
Where is my order   ____          ____     ____ %
Returns             ____          ____     ____ %
Pre-sale            ____          ____     ____ %
Payment             ____          ____     ____ %
Other               ____          ____     ____ %

10 repeat conversations read. Most common cause: ______________
One reply, page or rule we change this month: ______________

When not to chase FCR

• Don't make it a personal target. People judged on FCR keep conversations open longer, avoid handing over, or quietly merge new contacts into old ones. Use it for the team and for reasons, not for rankings.
• Some issues need two contacts. A damaged item that waits on a carrier claim, or a pre-order with a fixed date, can't be closed in one go. Tag these and leave them out, or report them separately.
• Don't count your own follow-ups. If you write to the customer proactively ("your replacement has shipped"), that is good service, not a repeat contact.
• Read it next to satisfaction. FCR going up while CSAT goes down usually means conversations are closed too early. Our guide to the CSAT score covers how to read small samples, and the customer service KPIs article shows where FCR fits on a weekly scorecard.

Doing this in Shopxare

• Find the reasons. Topics labels conversations by subject with Are AI, with trends and examples, so you can see which subjects bring people back.
• Complete answers on order questions. With your shop connected (Stores and orders), your team sees orders next to every chat, customers can track orders in the Messenger, and Are AI can answer "Where is my order?" with the actual order.
• Keep promises. Snooze a conversation until the time you promised, or schedule the reply. Be careful with auto-close: it closes conversations that went quiet, which is not the same as solved.
• Ask the customer. Surveys can ask CSAT or your own question, such as "Was your problem solved?", in the Messenger, by email or with a link.
• One inbox. Messenger, email, Telegram and marketplace messages land in the same inbox, which makes a chat-then-email duplicate easy to spot.

Shopxare has a free plan. You can install the Messenger, run your first monthly check from the template above, and see which two reasons cost you the most repeats.

FAQ

What is first contact resolution?

The share of customer issues solved in the first contact, without the customer having to get in touch again. In chat and email the contact is the whole conversation, not a single message.

What is a good first contact resolution rate?

SQM Group's 2024 call center data puts the average at 69%, with 70–79% rated good and 80% or more world class. Retail is among the best industries at 73–75%. For an online store's chat and email, 80% is a reasonable first target.

How do you calculate FCR?

Take the eligible conversations in a period, subtract those followed by a repeat contact on the same issue within a fixed window (we use 7 days), divide by the eligible conversations and multiply by 100. 560 conversations with 98 repeats gives 82.5%.

What is the difference between first contact resolution and first call resolution?

First call resolution is the phone version. First contact resolution covers every channel, including chat, email and messaging. The calculation is the same.

How can you improve first contact resolution?

Split it by contact reason, read the repeat conversations for the two worst reasons, and fix what they have in common. Usually that means replies with dates and links, asking for all details at once, and written limits so the first person can decide.