Addressing Customer Experience and the Future of Retail

Over the last few months, our traditional ideas of certain experiences have changed. Netflix now outranks the cinema, takeaways are the new going out and with new levels of uncertainty and strict new guidelines, many consumers are taking their shopping habits online.

Retailers are having to evolve rapidly in order to still be competitive in the market place, customer service will become the differentiator whether this is online or in person. It's time for companies to re-focus their efforts on how to best serve their customers.

It's undoubtedly a tough journey for many retailers and exceedingly tough times, but for those who adapt and are innovative, there are still many ways they can invest in their customers. It's more imperative than ever for businesses to streamline their systems and focus on providing a frictionless CX and sales experience.

Personalised Experiences

One thing that most customers will be missing from a high-street visit is the personal experience they receive in-store. But with the ability to capture and leverage customer data this can translate to the online experience too. Automatically generating product suggestions based on buying habits, related content and tailoring services to meet the needs of their individual customer are just some of the way that data can be used to personalise experiences.

AI Chatbots

Often we view AI chatbots as akin to Siri and Alexa, useful, but ultimately not a necessity. The power in leveraging chatbots comes from the ability to provide a service 24/7, keeping your customers happy even whilst you sleep. Whilst a chatbot won't replace the capabilities of a well-trained staff member, they are perfect for dealing with common issues such as account payments and returns offering a convenient element to online assistance.

Continually learning, AI is able to quickly answer customers questions, saving time, costs and adding a level of autonomy to the customers shopping experience.

Secure Data

Data is always a key consideration for customers and businesses alike. Now more than ever customers are acutely aware of the possible risks to their data. Retailers must ensure they are handling customer data in line with regulations such as GDPR and remain transparent with how and why customer data is used. This trust is critical in order to improve customer retention.

Omnichannel Experience

Embracing the omnichannel solution is key to making this move to online successful. PWC reported an increase in omnichannel deployment to over 80% this year compared to just 20% in 2019, highlighting the increase in demand from customers.

Omnichannel solutions not only give the customer the flexibility to purchase items across a variety of channels with no time constraints but also enable a better and more natural means of communication between customer and retailer. Omnichannel builds a brand in ways that a single channel can't.

As many retailers move more of their services online to cope with the increase in demand, seamless CX is critically important for these businesses to survive. Retailers who embrace omnichannel solutions, provide tailored shopping experiences and communicate effectively with their customers will reap the rewards.

Why Wavenet?

In the world of communications there is no one size fits all approach. We adapt services based on need and support our customers to evolve for the future.

We understand business, so Wavenet has an established voice services portfolio to ensure we deliver the right solution, managed properly. As we are partnered with all major networks, we offer cost effective, customer focused, and locally supported service.

Make your business brilliant, today and tomorrow, with unified communications and voice from Wavenet.