COVID-19 didn’t create the digital transformation of retail — it accelerated it by several years in a matter of months. Consumers who had never bought groceries online found themselves doing it out of necessity. Businesses that had resisted e-commerce were forced to launch digital capabilities in weeks rather than years.
For contact centres that support retailers, this acceleration creates both challenges and opportunities. The challenge: customers who are new to digital channels often need more support than experienced digital shoppers. The opportunity: the surge in digital transactions creates rich data that can improve the customer experience for everyone.
Supporting New Digital Customers
The customer who has just made their first online purchase and is worried about when it will arrive needs different support than the experienced online shopper who has a straightforward question. Contact centres that understand this distinction can route and handle these contacts more effectively.
Telnet’s experience supporting retail clients through the COVID period demonstrated the value of agent training that goes beyond product knowledge to include digital empathy — the ability to support customers who are navigating digital processes for the first time, without condescension or frustration.
The Data Opportunity
Every digital retail transaction generates data. When a customer contacts a contact centre after a digital purchase, the agent has the opportunity to integrate that interaction data with what the customer has already done online — creating a seamlessly connected experience rather than a frustrating reset.
This integration requires technical investment and process design, but the payoff in customer satisfaction is significant. The retailers who do this well will have a durable advantage over those who treat their digital and contact centre channels as separate worlds.
