Customer Experience (CX) Revolution in Retail, a new research report by Talkdesk, reveals the accelerated change in customer shopping behaviour and expectations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report shows the line has officially blurred between digital and in-store experience, with 58% of retail customers saying their expectations with their preferred brands are higher than a year ago. Customers cite ease, speed and ability to transition across channels of choice during interactions as their top priorities.
This increase in customer expectations poses a significant risk for retailers, as only 14% of customer strongly agree that retails are committed to delivering the best possible CX. To make the situation more serious, 68% of customers say they would reduce their loyalty to a brand after a single negative customer service experience.
The report analysed more than 180 responses from full-time professionals, such as leadership and management for customer service, customer experience, and IT, as well as 1,200 retail customers.
Paulo Silva, Senior Vice President, Client Solutions at Alorica, said:
“Just as shopping has become an omni-channel, on-demand experience, so must customer service.”
“As Talkdesk Research data confirms, fostering consumer affinity and loyalty toward a brand in today’s anytime, anywhere environment starts with the contact centre. The speed, agility and customer-centricity it offers are essential to ensuring CX remains seamless across any commerce touchpoint, be it buy online pick-up in store, curbside, online or in-store”, adds Silva.
Tiago Paiva, Chief Executive Officer at Talkdesk, said: “This sea change in consumer behaviour has been on retailers’ collective radar for years, but the pandemic accelerated it. In-store and digital experiences are, for many retailers, still treated as two distinct, separate channels. The mere fact that consumers now want one simple, holistic interaction creates a major challenge for retailers who thought they had a few more years of runway to implement.”
“Cloud-based contact centres will play an outsized role for retailers to meet this challenge, as they are more flexible, more secure, and by using AI can facilitate the personalisation and experience that customers now expect”, comments Paiva.
The Talkdesk CX Revolution in Retail report highlights key CX concerns and priorities among customer and CX professionals, such as:
Customers
- 58% of customers felt their last retail experience was not personalised for them
- 72% of customers say that their preferred channel for communicating with a company varies depending on the context
CX professionals
- 62% of CX professionals report that legacy contact centre technology is limiting their ability to improve customer experience
- 72% of CX professionals are experiencing an increased demand for customer data analytics
