Retail Technical providers Genesys and others have recently identified the current and imminent retail CX trends. These echo the published summaries from other commentators and providers, such as SWL, Retail Week, TTEC, ADA, Forbes, Retail TouchPoints and InMoment. These customer experience developments provide retail businesses with exciting opportunities and constantly evolving challenges. Customer expectation has never been higher. They highlight these ten ‘big ideas’ for development:
‘The growth of conversational commerce’ – as customers become ever more familiar with voice-activated transactions
‘The evolution of “see now, buy now”’ – and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to better predict supply and demand, and indeed the expectations of the customer.
‘Investment in the in-store experience’ – physical and online shopping are not mutually exclusive; they’re friends, not enemies. The High Street is a top priority; the in-store experience is all-important.
Personalisation – the importance of accurate, real-time insights into every customer’s needs. This will engender an appropriate response.
‘Employee experience equals customer experience’ – how ‘engagement through empowerment’ of employees will enable them to adapt and improve their interactions with customers.
‘AI: opportunity or threat?’ – currently, two-fifths of retailers plan to integrate AI into their CX operations. The key to success will be the seamless blending of the efficiency of AI with ‘softer’, human customer service.
‘Responsible retail is a major differentiator’ – personal, moral and ethical factors are rising fast as employer priorities: Living Wage, employee recognition, parental leave, poverty alleviation, career opportunities, purpose and empathy.
‘Silo mentality is still alive’ – the importance of unlocking customer information from isolated departments of the business. A joined-up, holistic, customer-centric approach is all.
‘Friction-free retail’ – abolishing time wasted in the queue or making product enquiries is a major goal of many retailers. A combination of AI solutions and employee interactions could be the answer.
‘Innovation is now experience-led’ – as new technologies proliferate, the prime importance of not losing sight of the five key stages of the customer buying experience: ‘awareness, shopper consideration, engagement, service and post-purchase experience.’
These retail CX trends and Customer Experience developments present substantial challenges but enormous potential to improving customer loyalty. Retail Productivity improvement specialists SWL are ideally equipped to help your business achieve its CX and business objectives. Call us today on 01527 895020 to arrange a discussion.