Customer Contact 3.0

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Since publishing our Customer Contact 2.0 report in late 2022, the customer contact landscape has undergone a substantial transformation. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI, has reshaped the customer contact landscape in ways that seemed futuristic just one year ago. This prompted us to revisit and update our research, resulting in our new 

Let's discuss some key developments that we explore in the report: 

Traditional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, with their rigid menus and robotic voices, are becoming obsolete. In their place, sophisticated Voice AI solutions are emerging that can engage in natural, contextual conversations. 

, with a total of $90m raised is at the forefront of this revolution. Its AI-powered voice assistants understand complex queries, allow interruptions, and even change topics mid-conversation - just like a human would. This technology enables brands to automate complex tasks that previously required human intervention, from troubleshooting technical issues to resolving billing errors. 

While IVR still has its place for simple customer interactions, Voice AI is emerging as the best-in-class solution for businesses handling high volumes of complex calls. 

AI isn’t just about automating customer interactions; it’s also about empowering human agents to provide better customer service. This is crucial given the high turnover rates in contact centres, which can range from 30-45% globally. 

 are leading in this space, offering AI co-pilots that support agents in real-time during customer interactions.

These systems understand customer conversations across voice and chat, coaching agents throughout each interaction. They flag important themes, suggest responses, and help agents determine the best course of action. The result? Faster resolution times, more consistent service quality, and improved satisfaction for both customers. Importantly, this technology can help reduce the stress on agents, leading to improved retention rates.

3. Bridging the Gap Between Online and In-Store

We’re seeing an increasing integration of sales and support functions. 

, for instance, lets online shoppers chat, video call, or book appointments with in-store staff. This approach recognises that every customer interaction is an opportunity not just to solve problems, but to build relationships and drive sales. It's shifting the perception of customer contact from a cost centre to a revenue generator.

4. Proactive Support Through Advanced Analytics

We're moving from reactive to proactive customer support, thanks to advanced analytics and AI. Platforms like 

 aggregate data from various customer touchpoints - from support tickets to social media comments - to identify emerging issues and sentiment trends in real-time. 

This insight allows brands to spot potential problems early, often before they become widespread. Companies can then update their FAQs, adjust their products or services, or enhance their customer communication to address these issues proactively. 

By addressing issues at a systemic level, brands can prevent many negative experiences from occurring in the first place, improving overall customer satisfaction and reducing support inquiries. 

The future of customer service has arrived, bringing with it intelligent, proactive, and highly personalised interactions. AI and advanced analytics are rapidly reshaping the customer contact landscape, becoming a competitive necessity for brands and retailers.

Successful implementation of these technologies offers significant advantages in customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and revenue growth. However, the businesses that truly thrive will be those that effectively balance cutting-edge technology with the human touch that remains crucial to exceptional customer experiences.

To dive deeper into these trends and discover the innovative companies leading the charge, explore our new Customer Contact 3.0 report. We examine these technologies in depth, highlight key players in the space, and offer insights on how to leverage these innovations to create outstanding customer experiences in this new era of customer contact. 

The customer contact landscape has undergone a substantial transformation. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI, has reshaped the customer contact landscape in ways that seemed futuristic just one year ago. This prompted us to revisit and update our research, resulting in our new Customer Contact 3.0 report. 

The AI Revolution in Customer Contact

RetailJam recently brought together the UK Retail community of thought leaders and innovators to Oakley Court in Berkshire to discuss the future of retail and celebrate innovation in the industry. We had the pleasure of being a Network Partner for the event – we curated then hosted 

 featuring four exciting start-ups from our ecosystem. These included Sociate AI, Quin Engine, Made with Intent and Aistetic.

From the talks and workshops showcasing latest trends, technologies, and strategies driving the future of retail, we’ve distilled the key takeaways into four themes: Ethical Sourcing & Sustainability, AI & Digital Transformation, Omni-channel Strategies, and Customer Insights & Engagement. To put each point into context with what we’re seeing on the Innovation Advisory side of True, I sat down and had a chat with 

Ethical sourcing and sustainability were at the forefront of discussions at Retail Jam 2024. In her talk on ‘

Leveraging a challenger mindset to strengthen your brand’

, Nicola Matthews, UKI Head of Marketing at Tony’s Chocolonely highlighted how the company uses its product as a storytelling vessel to raise awareness on important issues in the cocoa industry, like child labour and deforestation. This approach includes unique product designs that symbolise the countries of West Africa and partnerships that promote their mission, such as collaborations with events like Glastonbury.

‘What new approaches and technologies are helping to deliver sustainable supply chains?’

Zac Goodall, emphasised the importance of growing the business sustainably. Key priorities include reducing carbon emissions, improving supply chain monitoring, sustainable packaging and managing climate risks. Riverford emphasised the importance of leveraging innovative businesses to gather essential data from farmers, facilitating practices like regenerative agriculture and allowing for better comparisons across different product types through platforms like the Soil Association Exchange.

In the same panel, Finisterre’s Head of Positive Impact, Adele Gingell, discussed the trend towards circularity, highlighting their successful resale platform and the launch of circular design products that reduce the use of virgin materials and enhance product longevity. However, scaling these efforts sustainably while connecting the future product pipeline with environmental impact reporting remains a challenge.

into the broader trends we're seeing in ethical sourcing and sustainability?

 Technology, specifically a combination of computer vision, satellite data and AI models, will play a key role in providing essential data to underpin sustainability in a profitable manner, to ensure accuracy and precision of farming, pesticide control and broader agricultural practices. Having a view of supply chain activity will be increasingly important for ethical sourcing, relying upon technologies like blockchain for greater transparency and traceability.

The integration of AI into business practices was a hot topic. On the panel, ‘

The road to creating a consumer-centric, personalised, omnichannel journey’

, Ghanasham Apte, Head of Data Science at BT used the analogy of AI as "topsoil on an already fertile garden”, emphasising that AI should enhance rather than replace existing good practices. He warned against relying on AI to solve fundamental problems, highlighting the need for a solid foundation.

, Tom Betts, Group Data Director at Kingfisher, illustrated the importance of a structured approach to innovation. He shared the success of ‘Hello Casto’, a DIY assistance service built on a proprietary AI framework. This service exemplifies how AI can draw on the best features of various models to provide valuable customer support.

Commercial Director, Store Division & Pure Players

 at Clarins discussed the benefits and challenges of using AI for SEO and content creation. While AI can enhance recommendations and personalisation, maintaining brand voice and tone, especially for premium brands, requires human supervision. This underscores the need for a human-in-the-loop approach to ensure AI-driven content aligns with brand guidelines. Additionally, Clarins' personal shopping service bridges online and in-store experiences by allowing virtual try-ons and product recommendations, driving increases in Average Order Value, , Units Per Transaction, and Net Promoter Score.

Can you elaborate on how AI integration aligns with the trends discussed at Retail Jam 2024, particularly in enhancing business practices and consumer experiences, and what are the key factors for its successful implementation?

 As we cut through the noise and hype of AI, we discern the reality of AI’s potential for corporates across multiple use cases. Particularly hot topics for AI to create near-term bottom-line impact in retail (especially when first-party data requirements are limited) are new product development, marketing effectiveness and consumer insights. Although ultimately, for long-term impact, building a sound in-house data platform is key for accurate insights – especially in areas like demand forecasting. There are some exceptions – for example, with the rise of large language models and generative AI, technology tools are increasingly able to create and iterate content in line with brand guidelines even without much first-party data.

The omni-channel approach was another critical theme, with discussions on providing a seamless customer experience across all touchpoints. At the panel on 

‘The road to creating a consumer-centric, personalised, omnichannel journey’

, Emilie at Clarins highlighted the challenges of achieving a 360-degree view of the customer, particularly when selling through wholesalers. Clarins tackled gaps in the customer journey by implementing clienteling apps and personal shopping services in-store, capturing POS transactions to enhance customer insights.

 emphasised the value of in-store experiences for understanding customer behaviour, which online platforms might miss. B&Q focuses on consistency in customer experience across their marketplace, prioritising customer retention as a key measure of success. Although they see potential in generative AI, they remain cautious about its customer-facing applications, preferring to use AI throughout the value chain. Harris noted that 90% of transactions begin online, making sound data-driven decisions crucial, while ensuring a human-in-the-loop approach for customer-facing elements.

Ghanasham at BT discussed the challenge of integrating data across departments to build an omni-channel view. BT transitioned from a pure data lake to creating domain-specific data products, ensuring data cleanliness and usability before integration. Apte also emphasised the need for process alignment across different organisational domains to solve both organisational and data problems effectively.

 How do these insights about omni-channel strategies reflect the broader challenges and opportunities in the current retail landscape?

 The biggest challenge we see in our corporate partners’ businesses is online-offline attribution – closing the loop between a customer seeing an ad online and subsequently making a purchase in-store. With the rise of retail media, ‘closing the loop’ is not just imperative for retailers to understand their own return on ad spend, but also for third party brands within the retail media network to understand the return on ad spend.

Keeping the attention of existing customers while driving new customers’,

Vice President Commercial Strategy, Own Brand and Operations at Asda

 highlighted the importance of customer insights in driving business transformation. Asda employs various methods to gather customer data, such as focus groups, surveys and loyalty programmes. These insights help forecast problems and solutions, ensuring that business changes align with customer needs.

Nicola (Tony’s Chocolonely) stressed the role of product branding and partnerships in communicating their brand mission. Tony’s uses creative sampling methods and collaborations to increase awareness and engage customers, demonstrating the power of storytelling in building brand loyalty.

When it comes to customer engagement, we can’t go without mentioning TikTok Shop. There were over 33M social shoppers on TikTok in 2023, up more than 40% from 2022. According to YipItData, TikTok Shop's revenue went from $261 million in October 2023 to $349 million in December 2023, and whilst the rising fees for sellers are having an impact on growth, it is a core driver for consumer brands especially beauty and supplements. Mark Ross from Konsort Social led a workshop on TikTok Shop, emphasising the importance of building communities and leveraging viral networks for social commerce. He outlined a four-step process for scaling TikTok Shop: setting up and connecting with Shopify, getting creators, building a community, and ramping up with paid strategies. He noted the platform is ideal for products around the £10-£60 mark and increasing popularity of bundles, however there is a current focus on discount-heavy products.

2024 and beyond: driving innovation to stay ahead of the curve and deliver value to consumers

from Sainsbury’s highlighted the people challenges in innovation, particularly in the labour market. Sainsbury’s is at the early stages of AI and ML adoption, currently at a ballpark of 25% processes automated. They are partnering with DHL on their innovation roadmap with a plan to roll-out Stretch bots from Boston Dynamics later this year, for tasks like container unloading, enhancing both efficiency and colleague safety. Our winner of the Start-Up Showcase, Yasmin Topia from Sociate AI emphasised the need to create online destinations for shopping as Search continues to change rapidly. Making the consumer journey more conversational will be more engaging for customers, especially as more people are shopping via social and blogs.

Considering the diverse methods for customer engagement and insights discussed, what do you think are the most promising strategies for retailers moving forward?

: Traditional methodologies for gathering customer insights, for example focus groups, are subject to confirmation bias and response bias. Digital twin technologies, such as those offered by Native AI, create synthetic representations of your customer base. We are also seeing the rise of user-generated content and social commerce, with BuyWith particularly promising as a method by which to combine the two, offering a way for brands to connect authentically with their customer base at the same time as growing revenue.

As the retail landscape continues to transform, insights on the future of the industry and the role of technology will be crucial for businesses aiming to stay ahead.

Want to explore how innovation can help your company stay ahead in a competitive environment? Get in touch with us 

For more takeaways from the Innovation Team from the day, check out our post 

We’ve distilled the key takeaways from the Retail Jam 2024 into four main themes: Ethical Sourcing & Sustainability, AI & Digital Transformation, Omnichannel Strategies, and Customer Insights & Engagement. To put each point into context with what we’re seeing on the Innovation Advisory side of True, Danielle Le Toullec (Head of Marketing at True) interviews Gursh Mendhir (Innovation Principal). 

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Unlocking the Future of Retail: Top Innovations and Insights from Retail Jam 2024