Customer story · Brimston
Brimston lifts conversions 35% and recovers $120k in carts monthly with Chatref
An eco-friendly sneaker brand with 1M monthly visitors automated 80% of support in 5 languages – without growing its 10-person team.
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Brimston, a direct-to-consumer sneaker brand selling in 40 countries, used Chatref to automate 80% of customer support across its Shopify store and WhatsApp. The chatbot answers sizing, shipping, and returns questions in English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. Within 6 weeks, Brimston recovered $120,000 in abandoned carts monthly, lifted conversions 35%, and cut support cost per ticket by 65%.
E-commerce / Footwear · 100 employees · Austin, TX
At a glance
Brimston in a nutshell.
35%
Higher conversion
80%
Queries automated
$120k
Carts recovered
6 wks
Payback period
- Brimston ships plant-based rubber sneakers to 40 countries, with 1M monthly visitors and a lean 10-person support team.
- Cart abandonment hovered near 70% and weekend support waits stretched past 4 hours before Chatref.
- Chatref plugs into Shopify, syncs stock in real time, and nudges idle carts 30 minutes after abandonment.
- The bot speaks English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese, handling 80% of tickets without an agent.
- Conversions rose 35%, $120k in carts are recovered monthly, and ROI landed in 6 weeks.
The story
How it played out.
About Brimston
Brimston sells eco-friendly sneakers with plant-based rubber soles to style-conscious shoppers in 40 countries. The Austin-based brand attracts 1M monthly visitors to its Shopify store and runs customer support with a 10-person team across web chat, Instagram DMs, and WhatsApp.
- Industry. E-commerce / Footwear
- Size. 100 employees, 10-person support team
- Location. Austin, Texas
- Using Chatref since. February 2026
The challenge
Cart abandonment hovered near 70%. Shoppers left without buying when they could not get quick answers on fit, shipping windows, or returns. Support wait times stretched past 4 hours on busy weekends, and seasonal surges during Black Friday froze the live chat queue entirely.
The team also juggled emails, Instagram DMs, and WhatsApp pings across three time zones, making consistent answers nearly impossible. Brimston needed one tool that could speak 5 languages, guide shoppers to the right shoe, and scale instantly without hiring.
The solution with Chatref
Brimston ran a two-week pilot and went live across its website and WhatsApp within 15 days. The team uploaded FAQs, sizing charts, return policy, and past support transcripts – no code needed.
- Shopify-aware answers. Real-time stock levels, order status, and shipping ETAs pulled straight from the store.
- Multi-channel coverage. One Chatref agent answers on web chat and WhatsApp with a consistent voice and knowledge base.
- 5-language support. English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese replies in under 2 seconds, any time of day.
- Cart recovery nudges. Personalized messages fire 30 minutes after cart abandonment and close 28% of idle carts.
- Human handoff. Complex returns or VIP conversations escalate to the support team with full transcript context.
Results after 90 days
Chatref now resolves 80% of tickets without an agent, lifting CSAT to 94% and cutting cost per ticket by 65%. Recovered carts alone add roughly $120,000 in monthly revenue, while the overall conversion rate climbed 35%.
During Black Friday, Chatref handled 5x the normal chat load while keeping responses under 3 seconds. Shipment-tracking questions – the team's single biggest ticket driver – dropped 70%.
Support cost savings reach $45,000 per month, paying back Chatref's pay-as-you-go spend inside 6 weeks.
What the team says
Chatref paid for itself in the first month. We give faster answers, close more sales, and our team is no longer burning out on repetitive questions. The multilingual coverage alone changed what we can do internationally.
Explore
More customer stories.
What does Brimston do?
Brimston, a direct-to-consumer sneaker brand selling in 40 countries, used Chatref to automate 80% of customer support across its Shopify store and WhatsApp.
What problem did Brimston solve with Chatref?
Cart abandonment hovered near 70% and weekend support waits stretched past 4 hours before Chatref.
What results did Brimston see?
Brimston reached 35% higher conversion, with 80% queries automated. The bot speaks English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese, handling 80% of tickets without an agent.
How long did it take Brimston to go live?
Brimston launched quickly and started seeing results within the first weeks. Chatref trains on your existing content, so most teams go live in days, not months.
How much does Chatref cost?
Chatref is pay-as-you-go. You start with $50 of free credit, then pay only for what you use. There is no subscription, no per-seat fee, and every feature is included.
Can I get results like Brimston?
Yes. Train a chatbot on your own docs, FAQs, and past tickets, deploy it on your website and other channels, and let it answer the routine questions. Start free with $50 of credit.
Ready to run your own Brimston story?
Build a Chatref agent on your own store content in 5 minutes. $50 free credit, all features included, no subscription.
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