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Interview
Technology has evolved tremendously, and as a result, customer expectations have changed too. Today, customers seek faster, more personalized interactions with the brands and retailers they love
specifically, I specialize in retail, engaging with retailers to understand their unique challenges and provide them with solutions that help to maintain their customers’ loyalty and drive sales growth.”
Throughout the years she has spent working in communication-based roles, Michelle has seen many trends come and go. Upon looking at the current landscape and future of customer experience in retail, Michelle has concluded that e-mail is falling out of favor as a form of communication.“ Technology has evolved tremendously, and as a result, customer expectations have changed too. Today, customers seek faster, more personalized interactions with the brands and retailers they love. Although e-mail is still a common communication tool, it is quite slow and customers are frustrated with emailing their inquiries and simply hoping that someone will get back to them. Getting an automatic reply indicating that their query will be addressed within 48 hours is simply not enough anymore. This slow response time is negatively impacting retailers’ customer satisfaction scores, which are very important to them. To address these challenges, retailers are increasingly adopting solutions such as in-app messaging and communicating with their customers through platforms like WhatsApp and RCS as they come out in the UK and US. These approaches offer more personalized brand experiences, particularly for the younger consumers who are slowly but surely becoming the dominant force of this shopping environment,” she explains.
As in many industries, AI is making waves in the retail sector. Michelle elaborates on the rise of the personal AI shopper and its implications for retail.“ So much is happening in AI at the moment. Just a couple of years ago, interacting with an AI bot as a consumer often meant dealing with a monotonous chatbot on a retailer’ s website. However, that experience has evolved way beyond that now. In retail, AI is no longer limited to basic chat functionalities; it now includes features like uploading photos and receiving contextual assistance. For instance, customers can upload a photo of themselves, and an augmented reality( AR) bot can then provide personalized recommendations for outfits based on upcoming weather, events they may be attending, and regional fashion trends since after all, styles in London can differ significantly from those in New York. This tool offers a much richer contextual experience. I have also seen other examples where customers can take a photo of their lounge or dining room, and retailers will then automatically style the space and offer some decorating advice. Naturally, if the customer likes the suggested items, they can then buy them. This approach enhances the entire shopping journey,” she says.
Despite the rapid advent of AI tools and their widespread adoption in the retail sector, Michelle firmly believes that voice will remain the gold standard.“ Voice communication is still going to thrive, even if customers might be interacting with an AI voice rather than talking to a real human. I think this is because it is a lot easier and more fluid to communicate through voice just like when talking to another person than via text communication, for instance. When people
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