Do Customers Still Phone Businesses in 2026?

Call Handling

Do Customers Still Phone Businesses in 2026?

Quick Summary

Some do and some do not, and it depends almost entirely on their age and how complicated their question is. Older customers still reach for the phone. Younger ones mostly do not, unless something goes seriously wrong.

52% of baby boomers pick the phone first, against 25% of Gen Z (YouGov, 2025)
Around 76% of people prefer to phone when the problem is complicated (Ringley, 2026)
Zendesk puts phone at just 18% of all customer interactions, while messaging and chat carry 45%
About 77% of callers expect to reach a person straight away, so hold time damages you more than not offering phone at all

Do people still ring businesses?

Yes, but far less than they used to, and not for everything. Phone now accounts for roughly 18% of all customer service interactions according to Zendesk, while messaging and chat handle about 45%. Yet phone still ranks as the single most preferred channel in several surveys.

Both of those things are true at once, which is why the question is harder than it looks.

Phone volume has fallen because simple questions moved elsewhere. Nobody rings to check delivery status anymore. What is left on the phone is the harder, more urgent and more valuable end of the enquiry range.

So, the calls you get today are fewer and worth more than the calls you got ten years ago. That changes what a missed one costs you.

Why do the surveys disagree so much?

Because they measure different things. Some count how many interactions happen on each channel. Others ask people which channel they prefer. Those two questions produce almost opposite answers, and companies quote whichever suits them.

It is worth understanding this before you trust any statistics in this area, including the ones above.

Look at the gap. Zendesk says phones are 18% of interactions. HubSpot says 61% of customers prefer messaging. YouGov says phone is the most preferred channel at 35%. All three can be correct, because volume and preference are not the same thing.

There is a third problem. Most of this research is published by companies selling one of the channels. Live chat vendors find that live chat wins. Answering, services find that phone wins. We sell phone answering, so treat our summary with the same caution.

The figures below are the ones with the clearest sources and the least obvious conflict of interest. Even so, check them against your own call logs before you act on them

Which customers still phone?

Age is the strongest single predictor. Older customers reach for the phone first, and the preference drops steadily with each younger group.

Group	Prefer phone first	What this means for you
Baby boomers	52%	Phone is essential if these are your customers
Gen X	39%	Phone matters, but offer alternatives
Millennials	30%	Phone is a backup, not the default
Gen Z	25%	They will only ring if something is wrong

This is the most useful table in the article, because you already know roughly how old your customers are.

A funeral director, a care home and a mobility equipment supplier are all serving people who phone. A tattoo studio, a barber and a streetwear brand mostly are not. Neither is right or wrong, but they should not buy the same phone setup.

See how Answerpoint handles this for UK businesses

Every call answered live, in your business name, from £19.99/month.

Which enquiries still need a call?

Complexity decides it. Around 76% of people prefer to phone when their problem is complicated, and the same people happily use chat for anything simple.

The pattern holds across almost every industry.

Emergencies, anything expensive, anything where the customer is upset, and anything they cannot describe in one sentence.
Not phoned. Opening hours, delivery tracking, prices, appointment confirmations and returns.

That split explains the falling volume and the rising value at the same time. The easy calls went to your website and your inbox. The difficult ones stayed on the phone, and difficult usually means expensive.

There is a related figure worth knowing. Roughly 77% of callers expect to be connected to a person immediately. Phones also score lower than chat for satisfaction in most studies, largely because of hold times. The phone line that leaves people waiting is worse than the phone line at all.C

When should you not invest in phone support?

Skip it if your customers are mostly under 35, your enquiries are simple and repeatable, or your website already answers the common questions well. Adding a phone line, you cannot staff properly makes things worse, not better.

Situations where phone is the wrong investment:

Your enquiries are all the same three questions. Put the answers on your website. That costs nothing and works at 3am.
You cannot answer within a few rings. Given that most callers expect an immediate answer, a slow line damages your reputation more than having no number.
Your customers actively prefer messaging. Forcing a phone call on someone who wants a WhatsApp message is not good service.

One more, said plainly. If you are choosing between fixing your website FAQ and buying phone cover, and your calls are mostly simple questions, fix the website first. It is cheaper and it removes the calls rather than answering them.

How do you decide?

Look at your own numbers rather than anyone else’s research. Your call log is more reliable than any survey, because it describes your actual customers instead of an average across thousands of businesses.

Spend a week recording three things for each call: roughly how old the caller sounded, what they wanted, and whether the enquiry led anywhere. Then check whether the callers who became customers came from a group the surveys say does not phone.

They often do. Averages hide the specific business, and yours is the only one that matters here.

If the week of notes suggests phone genuinely matters for you, our guide on what a telephone answering service costs covers what cover actually costs and where the unexpected charges come from.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is phone support still worth offering in 2026?

For most service businesses, yes. Phone handles a smaller share of interactions than it once did, but the calls that remain tend to be urgent, complex and valuable. Whether it is worth it depends on your customers’ age and what a new customer is worth.

2. Which age groups still prefer to phone?

Older customers, clearly. Around 52% of baby boomers choose phone first, falling to about 25% of Gen Z. If your customers are mostly over 55, phone is likely still their default way of getting in touch.

3. Should I offer live chat instead of a phone number?

It depends on your enquiries. Chat suits quick, simple questions and scores well for satisfaction. Complex or emotional problems still push people towards the phone, so most businesses end up needing both rather than choosing one.

4. Do I lose customers if I have no phone number?

Some, particularly older ones and anyone with an urgent problem. Many people also read a missing phone number as a sign a business is hard to reach if something goes wrong, which matters more for expensive purchases.

5. How do I know if my customers want to phone me?

Track your calls for a week and note who rings and why. Your own log beat any published survey, because it reflects your actual customers rather than an average across thousands of very different businesses.

Conclusion

The honest answer to whether customers still phone is that it depends on who your customers are. Phone is nowhere near dead, but it is no longer the default for everyone, and pretending otherwise would be selling you something.

Check the age of the people who buy from you, and check whether your typical enquiry can be answered in writing. If your customers are older or your enquiries are complicated, phone still earns its place and every missed call costs you. If not, spend the money on your website instead.

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