Unprecedented in speed and scale, the recent surge online puts pressure on companies to meet rising expectations as customer experience takes center stage.
Section 1
What started as a global health crisis became the accelerant in our transition to a truly digital-first world. Customers are more online than ever—e-commerce sales jumped 30 percent during the pandemic—and they’re expecting companies to match the high bar set by digitally savvy leaders that are driving engagement and innovation, and investing heavily in CX.
100020003000
Avg Weekly Ticket Volume
4000500020202019201820172016
% shows the YOY growth in 2020
2015201457%54%15%94%29%24%33%
Ecommerce
Entertainment
Gaming
Groceries
Social media
Online health
Remote conferencing & learning platform
Section 2
CX becomes the business strategy
Connections matter during times of crisis, and both customers and companies say that CX has become more important over the last year. So much so that it has vaulted to the forefront of business strategy, and with good reason:
75% of customers are willing to spend more to buy from companies that give them a good customer experience.
And the stakes remain high since customers haven’t gotten more forgiving during the pandemic. One bad experience is still reason enough for many to consider taking their business elsewhere.
Customers and companies are prioritizing CX
Half of customers say that customer experience is more important to them now compared to a year ago
0%20%
Percentage of surveyed customers that agree
40%60%80%100%
Brazil
Mexico
India
Spain
Korea
Singapore
Italy
United Kingdom
France
Germany
United States
Nordic
Australia
Benelux
Japan
0%20%
% of surveyed CX managers that agree
40%60%80%100%
India
Brazil
Mexico
Singapore
Korea
Italy
United States
Australia
Germany
Spain
United Kingdom
Nordics
Benelux
France
Japan
0%20%
Percentage of customers that agree
40%60%80%100%
Australia
Benelux
Brazil
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Nordics
Singapore
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
0%20%
Percentage of customers that agree
40%60%80%100%
Brazil
Singapore
Australia
Mexico
Spain
United States
Benelux
France
Nordics
United Kingdom
Germany
Italy
Japan
Korea
India
Section 3
Your empathy is showing
It’s not enough for companies to simply provide fast, friendly service. In a world marked by uncertainty, customers are seeking empathy and want to buy from companies that reflect their values.
Section 4
Juggling competing priorities
As companies strive to meet new customer expectations, they’re having to determine what needs the most attention now, and what they can focus on later. With so many balls in the air, fewer companies have hit key milestones to help them take their support to the next level.
Data shows that companies who perform better across key CX metrics, including faster response times and higher customer satisfaction rates, are more likely to have adopted omnichannel support. But investment in omnichannel, which integrates all of a company’s available channels into one streamlined workspace, actually dropped 10 percent last year. Companies must do what they can, with the resources they have, but there’s a risk of falling behind higher performing peers as customer expectations rise.
0%20%10%30%50%40%60%
Percentage of companies adopting omnichannel solution
High performer
Average performer
Low performer
“Customer engagement cannot always be about new sales - the best way to engage your customers is to develop an online experience that is based on customer empathy. Find out what your customers care about and design meaningful communications across all of your online channels that mirror how you would build a relationship with a customer in person. We have supported a number of brands this year moving from an in-store focused strategy to an online-only strategy and this approach has made that transition a lot easier.”