Companies starting to nix phone numbers on their websites, JU’s Dr. Angela Mattia tells Florida Times-Union

Finding a reliable phone number on a business’ website is getting more difficult, Angela Mattia, a Jacksonville University assistant professor of information management, told The Florida Times-Union for a story published in its Sunday, Feb. 17, edition.

Chat windows are starting to replace the phone numbers as a way to find a “middle ground” because it provides the customer interaction with a human being, she said.

Here’s a snippet from the article:

“This is a new trend that has been slowly coming forward probably for the past five years,” said Angela Mattia, a Jacksonville University assistant professor of information management.

Local, national or international, businesses are starting to get rid of phone numbers on their websites, Mattia said.

There have been no studies that she’s aware of that track the impact of reducing phone number access on websites because the trend is so new.

“I guess it’s a retraction in one sense because it’s a reduction in visibility in a phone number,” Mattia said. “In the other sense, it’s just a shift in how we’re communicating.”

Mattia said the trend is a reaction to more people getting accustomed to using computers and email.

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