• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 10, 2024

Gaps persist between the experience levels that consumers want and the support provided by retailers. 

This may be due to low customer experience maturity — which is at only 34% across all segments, according to the 2024 Retail Customer Experience Index from Incisiv, in partnership with Talkdesk. 

But it depends on the sector. Forty percent of home furnishings retailers are mature, versus 28% of watch retailers. 

By another measure, apparel retailers lead in the adoption of text communications and voice communications, and 100% provide live chat, compared to 85% of general industry adoption. 

In contrast, 92% of luxury retailers provide support via contact forms or emails, whereas the industry average is 71%. 

Still, gaps exist. For instance, 89% of shoppers expert retailers to provide support across multiple channels, including email, chat, IVR and phones. But only 51% of retailers offer support across more than two channels. 

Moreover, while 63% of shoppers express satisfaction when interactions are tailored to their needs, 29% of retailers offer personalized recommendation based on those requirements.

Meanwhile, AI-powered virtual assistant integration grew from 38% in 2022 to 59% in 2024, while personalized recommendations by support agents went from 27% in 2022 to 49% this year.

 “Our findings reveal that while retailers have made significant strides in customer experience, there remains a critical gap between consumer expectations and what is currently being delivered,” says Dave Weinand, chief customer officer at Incisiv. “Retailers must accelerate their adoption of advanced technologies, particularly AI and automation, to deliver the hyper-personalized, efficient service today’s consumers demand.”

Incisiv and Talkdesk surveyed 131 U.S. retailers and brands covering 11 industry segments and 5,000 consumers.