Consumers love the convenience of messaging but ‘struggle mightily’ with its experience silo, according to a new study.

Conducted by YouGov on behalf of eGain, the survey was based on responses from 1,777 consumers in the US and UK who messaged a business for customer service in the last 12 months.

When asked about their struggles when messaging businesses for customer service:

• 43% hated repeating information across agents or when escalating to other channels;
• 28% struggled with the speed of response; and
• 23% were stumped by the relevance of response.

Another interesting and somewhat expected finding was the higher adoption of messaging for customer service among younger consumers. The survey found:

• 39% adoption for the 18-34 age group;
• 32% for the 35-54 age group; and
• 20% for the 55+ age group.

Finally, younger consumers had a more positive view of messaging as a customer service channel compared to other contact channels like web chat, email, or phone.

• 37% in the 18-34 age group were more satisfied with messaging than other contact channels; versus
• 23% in the 35-54 age group; and only
• 18% in the 55+ age group.