40+ Call Center Stats in 2024: Facts & Forecasts

Call centers are the key resource for insights into the changing service landscape. Companies can use these call center stats and insights to improve their service strategy to better meet customer and employee demands by employing data rather than hypotheses, but it has become increasingly difficult for businesses to understand these statistics due to market complexity, ever-changing customer expectations, and the high volume of emerging technologies used in call center operations.

This article compiles 40+ up-to-date call center metrics sourced from expert analysis and industry research to help companies better assess their service needs.

1- The state of the call center market & forecasts

1. The global market for call centers, valued at US$339 billion in 2020, is expected to rise to US$496 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6%.¹

Source: Statista²

2. The U.S. had the most number of call centers that were opened or expanded in 2022.³

2- Call center customer expectations

3. ~70% of customers prefer organizations to provide customized experiences, and ~75% are upset when this does not occur.⁴

4. ~85% of customers expect to reach out to a customer service team instantly when they call a company.⁵

5. ~60% of the customers prefer to call the company via phone to complete a transaction.⁶

6. ~55% of surveyed customers say interacting with a live agent delivers the quickest solution, and ~75% believe that first-contact resolution is the most important factor in improving customer experience.⁷

7. ~70% of customers demand natural, conversational experiences.⁸

8. ~40% of customers expect call agents to know who they are and the context of their inquiry right away.⁹

9. 65% of customers prefer to solve their issues from a self-service portal.¹⁰

10. ~30% of millennials prefer to use the phone channel to contact brands in the U.S. The same was true for ~30% of Generation Z.¹¹

3- Emerging technologies in call centers

11. 55% of leading companies view technology as an enabler—rather than a replacement—for live or in-person interactions.¹²

12. 25% of respondents in the U.S. say they are thrilled to connect with an AI service when calling a business, however, ~45% stated they are not thrilled to do so.¹³

13. ~70% of customers who constantly engage with support believe AI or chatbots contribute to faster responses.¹⁴

14. 65% of leaders believe their AI or chatbots are evolving into more natural and human-like.¹⁵

15. ~55% of companies implement digital phone transcription to increase productivity.¹⁶

16. More than three-quarters (77%) of leaders state that they will dramatically change their technology and customer interaction approach.¹⁷

4- Call center customer satisfaction

17. ~70% of customers will be more loyal to a brand that provides a personalized experience.¹⁸

18. ~70% of those who use customer service bots regularly report noticeable enhancements in quality, and dissatisfaction levels continue to fall.¹⁹

19. ~80% of respondents state that they have recommended a company based on top-notch customer service.²⁰

20. ~45% of customers report feeling annoyed or upset when they are kept in the queue for 5-15 minutes.²¹

21. The average call center customer satisfaction percentage for financial services is ~80%.²²

22. ~95% of the customers say a positive customer service experience makes them more likely to purchase again.²³

23. 80% of polled respondents indicate that using chatbots increased their dissatisfaction, and ~70% said they were a waste of time.²⁴

24. ~75% of business leaders realize that deeper customization contributes to increased customer retention (and ~60% feel it decreases acquisition costs).²⁵

25. Compared to shopping online, 85% of respondents said chatting to a person on the phone to address concerns made them feel more confident when making purchases.²⁶

26. The average customer satisfaction rating in the U.S. is  ~75%.²⁷

27. ~80% of these leaders see customer satisfaction and customer feedback management as growing priorities.²⁸

5- Call center challenges

28. Call center and contact center customer service teams are included in the 12 high-turnover jobs in 2021.²⁹

29. The average agent turnover period in call centers is 15 months in sales roles and 13.7 months in support roles.³⁰

30. ~30% of customer service agents and supervisors are currently seeking a new career, with only 60% looking for another call center role.³¹

31. ~55% of CX leaders believe hiring and keeping talent is their most difficult task.³²

32. ~60% of agents believe they get no value out of the training provided by their call centers or contact centers.³³

7- Call center performance metrics

33. 02:02 minutes is the time for a caller to quit the call that was placed on hold.³⁴

34. The average hold time for a call is 3.13 minutes.³⁵

35. Callers spend 4.22 minutes on average on the phone waiting to contact an agent.³⁶

36. The average incoming call abandon rate of global call centers is ~6%.³⁷

37. The average talk time for a customer is 3.35 minutes.³⁸

38. ~80% of the callers are rerouted at least once.³⁹

39. A typical caller gets routed 2.6 times before the issue gets resolved.⁴⁰

40. The average number of customer calls answered per day is 200.⁴¹

8- Future of call centers

41. 50% of companies are likely to invest in technologies that shorten customer service response time and improve their call center performance.⁴²

42. One-third of leaders say that developing next-generation digital platforms to enable customer-facing teams to perform more effectively is a top digital investment objective.⁴³

43. Gartner predicts a five times growth in interaction automation with conversational AI, reaching 10% by 2026, a significant increase from the 1.8% noticed in 2022.⁴⁴

44. It is predicted that there will be ~8 billion voice assistants in use globally, which is twice the number of voice assistants in use in 2020.⁴⁵

For more on customer service

Find the Right Vendors

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2. ”Size of the call center market worldwide in 2020 with a forecast for 2027”. Statista. August 22, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
3. ”Number of call centers opened or expanded from 2016 to 2022, by region or country”. November 13, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
4. ”The value of getting personalization right—or wrong—is multiplying”.  McKinsey. November 12, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
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29. ”12 High Turnover Jobs”. Indeed. June 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
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36. ”2021 Talkdesk Global Contact Center KPI Benchmarking Infographic”. Talkdesk.  2021. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
37. ”2021 Talkdesk Global Contact Center KPI Benchmarking Infographic”. Talkdesk.  2021. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
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42. ”Customer Service Excellence 2022”. Deloitte. June, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
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44. ”Gartner Predicts Conversational AI Will Reduce Contact Center Agent Labor Costs by $80 Billion in 2026”. Gartner. August 31, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
45. ”Number of digital voice assistants in use worldwide from 2019 to 2024”. Statista. March 14, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.