Contact Centers

According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, in-store sales are anticipated to increase 7.9 percent this holiday shopping season, with an estimated 4.2 percent increase in online sales. A survey by Deloitte predicts an even stronger e-commerce increase of between 12.8 percent and 14.3 percent. This growth points to an expected increase in shoppers contacting retailers for different…

While the explosive growth of digital shopping in 2020 led to more sales, it also caused a spike in returns as shoppers discovered some of their online purchases didn’t fit, were defective, or failed to meet expectations. For most retailers, an influx of returns expose costly operational weaknesses for processing returns, as well as untapped…

Over the last few years, retailers have grappled with legacy on-premises software that does not equip them to meet today’s customers’ expectations, limiting their ability to scale quickly, adopt maturing AI products, and deploy representatives remotely. In a recent study, Talkdesk Research™ found that 62% of retail customer experience (CX) professionals agree that legacy contact center technology is limiting their ability to improve customer experience

With brick-and-mortar retailers continuing their shift towards e-commerce and digital interactions, the contact center has become the most prevalent customer touchpoint and the de facto face of many retail brands. By not utilizing the latest generation of contact center solutions — with purpose-built capabilities including practical artificial intelligence (AI) and machining learning applications — to…

Off the heels of the busy holiday season, digital consumers are continuing to rewrite the rules of retail in 2022. To keep up with evolving demands, the industry will see the rise of a “digital workforce.” A digital workforce is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and can work alongside retailers’ sales and service reps to…

Some of retail’s busiest days are coming up fast, and contact centers everywhere are going to be stretched to their breaking point as shoppers log on and call in to ask about offers, seek recommendations, chase packages, and organize returns. Whether it’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday or the first day of January sales, the contact…

There’s a common misconception that technology in general and artificial intelligence (AI) in particular will disrupt retail customer service the same way it disrupted manufacturing. Fear not. Technology is certainly contributing to contact center evolution, but uniquely human traits like empathy and situational dexterity are so central to the customer experience that robots will never…

The pandemic has accelerated a shift in the mindset of the workforce. Millions of people are now looking for jobs that offer more flexibility, not just in terms of working from home, but also in scheduling. Today, many people who were formerly in the workforce don’t want to go back to a regular 9–5 schedule,…

The arrival of COVID-19 in early 2020 posed serious challenges for many contact center operations. Safety concerns forced organizations to limit staffing in their physical call centers. Some shut down, some managed to reduce shift sizes or distance operators from one another by repurposing additional space, and others sent agents home to work remotely. While…

Many national retailers began announcing their 2020 holiday season plans and shopping promotions much earlier than in years past. The holiday shopping season was particularly different considering the COVID-19-induced drastic shift from a traditional brick-and-mortar shopping experience to an even more robust online environment. While stores ponder their physical store operations, retailers understand that 2021…