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Press Release

Need for AI-powered personalised customer service increases amid dip in consumer confidence

London, UK, May 18, 2022: With the rising cost of living and the ongoing war in Ukraine, consumer confidence has continued to decline. With the tightening of budgets, brands need to invest in AI-powered digital solutions such as proactive, personalised support to deliver compelling online customer service, sales and marketing experiences for consumers. 

Insights from the British Retail Consortium’s recent Retail Sales Monitor [1] reveal sales growth has continued to slow for the second consecutive month. In March, sales increased by just 3.1% on a total basis, against an increase of 13.9% in the same month last year. Expectations of consumers’s personal finances over the next 12 months have reached depths not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.

Alberta Bosco, Product Marketing Director at customer service platform Puzzel, comments: “Now more than ever, personalised experiences remain crucial for building trust and winning customers. We’ve all heard of the 15-second rule – that’s the average time spent on a website. And that’s how long you have to capture someone’s attention before they leave.

In this hybrid world, brands need to invest in a digital engagement solution that allows them to understand who their visitors are and why they’re on their site straight away, so they can nurture and upsell them with proactive, personalised messaging.

It’s not just personalised service, people are craving human-led service too.”

Despite a 3.1% increase demonstrating much slower growth than in March 2021, high street sales have not stalled completely or declined. With restrictions being lifted, many consumers are hungrier than ever for personalised in-person shopping – an experience that many brands are not providing today online.

Discussing it’s recent Retail Sales Monitor, the British Retail Consortium commented:
“Although online sales fell across all categories compared to March 2021, penetration rates remain high confirming the ‘locked in step up’ in online purchasing. This continues to force retailers to focus on finding the most effective mix between physical and online retailing. The best retailers will continue to balance attention on areas that can yield cost and efficiency gains with a clear understanding of their customer and what they want to buy and how.”

Advanced digital engagement tools now enable companies to gain a much deeper understanding of their customers and deliver more proactive and personalised service. They work by building a visitor profile of every customer who visits a company’s website, based on their interactions and browsing behaviour. With this information, companies are able to proactively deliver a service or offer support before the customer initiates a request for assistance This is the power of today’s most advanced contact centre as a service (CCaaS) solutions and the foundation of Puzzel’s mission and vision.

Alberta Bosco adds: “It’s clear the future of retail will need to be powered by smart experiences that span both the physical and digital worlds. Whether it’s offering personalised offers or video consultations, brands that find ways to provide personalised high-end shopping experiences both online and instore will come out on top.”

[1] https://brc.org.uk/retail-insight/content/retail-sales/retail-sales-monitor/reports/202203_uk_rsm/

About Puzzel

Puzzel is the leading European provider of cloud contact centre solutions. Every day, more than 1,100 organisations across 40 countries use our software to deliver smart customer experiences, blending the powers of people and technology to serve customers efficiently, effectively and with empathy. The Puzzel Platform enables organisations to create rich journeys for their customers, with a mix of live and self-service experiences that give people the freedom to choose when, where and how they get help. Artificial intelligence is harnessed at every touchpoint to automate tasks, provide insight, and personalise service and support. Puzzel also includes a suite productivity and planning tools to empower managers and agents to reach their goals and continuously improve performance. With 20+ years of experience in the industry, Puzzel is the CCaaS provider organisations trust when every moment matters. For more information, visit www.puzzel.com

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