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Retail customer service has been greatly transformed in the past few years, with customers expecting very different experiences when they interact with brands. Retailers need to enthusiastically and strategically adopt AI-driven solutions to keep up with many of these new expectations. Customers want a highly human, empathetic, personalized experience while interacting with a brand, even if they aren’t conversing with a human agent.
Seventy percent of consumers spend more with companies that offer fluid, personalized and seamless customer experiences, according to a recent report from customer support software leader Zendesk, “CX Trends 2023.” The report includes data from three surveys, including a global survey of 3,700 consumers, a global survey of 4,800 business respondents and Zendesk benchmarking data from more than 99,000 companies. Together, these data sources create a story about how organizations are using AI and where they’re falling behind on customer needs. Retailers will benefit from learning about AI use cases that can inform their own customer support strategy. Here are some of the key findings from the report.
Inside Customer Sentiments
Customers speaking with chatbots expect more than they used to. The one-dimensional helper that can only understand basic direction and language isn’t enough to truly engage customers or give them the proper support. The report found that 69% of customers ask bots a wider range of complex questions than the bot might be equipped to handle, and 78% end up needing to connect with a human agent. Customers want a richer, more seamless experience with a chatbot that can understand their needs, respond quickly and communicate naturally, but reality is not currently meeting these needs.
People also expect a conversation that is more personalized, based on data from their history with the company such as purchase history and previous customer service interactions. This type of interaction provides a level of convenience that customers crave, one in which they can walk away from a conversation and return later without having to repeat anything.
For now, a majority of customers (62%) think that companies can do a better job personalizing their experiences. This highlights another serious gap in retail customer service performance. Retailers that truly wish to improve customer experience are thinking about how they can use modern tools and technology to give customers what they’re missing — and their solution of choice is artificial intelligence (AI).
AI’s Role in Solving Modern Retail Challenges
AI is a technology in which many companies have been investing over the years, but the truth is that most organizations have only begun to leverage the full power of AI. There’s much more that retailers can do to take advantage of the technology’s potential. According to Zendesk’s report, one underutilized area of AI-driven technology is using it as a predictive analysis tool that uses data to predict intent and sentiment. With these capabilities, organizations can prepare for potential customer challenges before they happen.
One factor that makes AI use cases like this challenging is the fact that siloed data stops many organizations from taking full advantage of their customer data. More than half of companies (59%) cited siloed data as something holding them back, and only 22% of business leaders say their teams share data well. These organizations need a solution that allows them to more easily integrate data from across teams and departments, so that customer service can have a fuller understanding of customers through marketing data, sales data and more.
Another huge reality in today’s retail landscape is that customers expect to be able to reach out to customer service 24/7 and get help immediately. This is only possible with an intelligent AI chatbot. When not enough agents are available, an intelligent bot can take over, clearly understand customers’ challenges and provide quick, seamless service. In the case where the challenge is truly too complicated, this type of chatbot can also ensure that a customer can talk to a human agent as quickly as possible.
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Results From the Strategic Use of AI
Most (77%) leaders surveyed said their service department could be a stronger revenue driver, and it appears that they’re planning to use AI-driven tools to improve operations — with 67% planning to increase spending on AI/bots in the next year. Their increased prioritization and focus on AI can lead to many tangible benefits.
For example, the ability to integrate data from around the organization in a single place helps customer service agents work more efficiently. There’s a strong connection between access to a single access point of data and team members’ ability to contribute to the bottom line. For retailers, these results could include KPIs such as better customer satisfaction (CSAT), more efficiency among service agents, and increased revenue.
Liberty London, a UK department store retailer, uses Zendesk’s AI solution to optimize their customer service operations, and they’ve realized these results and more. Specifically, they offer service all the time through multiple channels, carefully assign tickets based on customer intent and agent experience and use the analytics function to further understand customers. Liberty has experienced results such as a 9% rise in its CSAT score year-over-year, a shorter average resolution time and notable help center savings.
Jump Start Your Retail AI Investments
The “CX Trends 2023” report explores many trends that retailers should be following, including the rise of a seamless AI-driven experience, the importance of breaking down silos and more. Exploring this report will give readers a deeper understanding about how customers feel about the CX status quo, where their expectations are not being met and how organizations can make a stronger impression on them. Learn more by reading the report below!
