Customer Service

Customer Service ​

Omnichannel Retail Index​ 2022

Live Chat Dominates, While SMS Still Lags​

 

With the growing importance of digital commerce, exceptional customer service is essential. Easy access to great customer care instills shopper confidence, especially when faced with uncertainties such as supply chain issues and delayed shipping.

While Live Chat adoption is high, there’s still room for improvement in how retailers and brands enable shoppers to easily contact customer service – from the basic inclusion of customer service information on the site to SMS communication options. Chatbots can reduce customer service requests, but can become more frustrating than helpful if not carefully implemented.

Customer Service Info
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The ability to easily contact customer service is critical when shopping online. While the majority of retailers and brands in the Index offer two or more ways for shoppers to reach and communicate with customer service, most can significantly improve how and where they highlight customer service options. Few include customer service information in the header and although SMS communication is a consumer favorite, only 23% provide customer service via SMS.

Live chat
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A popular feature among the digital consumer, Live Chat makes it easier to get quick answers to questions, and leads to a swift resolution of issues when implemented well. As expected, in 2022 Live Chat continues to gain traction and, as the technology improves, more AI capabilities are being leveraged. Chatbots will likely automate many Live Chat functions, helping consumers with basic customer service issues, including updated item arrival times and loyalty program membership/rewards totals.

Resources & products

Products:

How Do You Stack Up?​

You dedicate time, resources, and budget toward delivering the best customer experience possible. But, are you truly meeting customer expectations? How do you compare to your competition? See how you perform against the Omnichannel Retail Index to help prioritize your digital roadmap and make smarter investment decisions.