We do have LiveChat, Toll-Free and Support Ticket/Email Support... In the last year, we have had only 1 call to our toll free number showing that it is not necessarily needed but we keep it just in case, we average 1-2 LiveChat requests per day however the vast majority of requests still go through our ticketing system. I guess people are more used to utilizing these platforms.
Don't sacrifice security and quality. It is not ideal to jump into affordable web hosts in which in the long run can lead to many problems such as web site accessibility and, worst, shutting down of web site.
Live chat will only increase sales and only few numbers of customers prefer to solve their issue via live chat and many of serious customers always use ticket system.
My current hosting has both live chat and ticket support. In the past I have always used ticket support every time but once because I really didn't need instant help. The ticket support with my host usually take about 10-20 minutes to resolve any issues that I have needed them for so there really isn't much of a need for me to use it.
Live chat is a nice option to have available though.
Yes mine has live online chat and I have used it a few times. I don't really consider it a high priority that my host has it as long as their ticket support is quick and takes care of what I need their help with.
Most of the time any issues I have i'm able to take care of myself so I don't use support unless I really need it. Some people though utilize that feature at their hosts, so I guess it can be a very important feature for a host to have.