What should retailers be doing during this crucial time of year?
The festive season typically accounts for more than a fifth of annual sales (ONS Retail Sales Index), and this year it comes at an even more critical time, offering retailers an opportunity to boost revenue when it is needed most. In order to survive and succeed, retailers need to maintain a competitive edge by recognising changing shopping behaviours, taking learnings from customers’ experiences with them, and adjusting their strategy going forward.
With the closure of many brick-and-mortar stores in line with Covid-19 restrictions, retailers are having to adapt to a shift towards online shopping, by improving their online channels and ensuring they can meet heightened customer service expectations and increased web chat and call centre activity. Retailers who will thrive will be putting customer experience at the centre of their strategy, by implementing:
A Virtual Assistant with Artificial Intelligence to efficiently deal with customer queries and capture information on customer intent.
Intuitive Artificial Intelligence to guide agents, removing the need for further support, improving consistency, and helping to provide a positive experience for customers.
An app with triggered feedback channels to derive continuous insight.
A revitalised customer experience programme, which is digital-first and omnichannel integrated.
These solutions are easily implemented into online journeys and not only do they offer an improved customer experience, but can also provide relief and support for agents, leaving them better placed to deal with complex enquiries which require empathy and carry increased risk of error. The instant data on customer behaviour provided by these solutions offer retailers an all-important insight and understanding of customers in the ‘new normal’.
Retailers that have invested in AI capabilities are already seeing the benefits for customer experience – it’s now for the other retailers to catch up, in order to retain customer loyalty and remain competitive as we enter the new year.