User Experience

The internet has made the world feel smaller by connecting people from all over the globe seamlessly. This accessibility has rapidly evolved the retail landscape beyond national borders, opening doors for retailers to increase their customer bases and global footprints. However, these opportunities do not come without roadblocks, with one of the biggest challenges being…

Advances in digital technology continue to transform consumer journeys, evolving everything from the way brands engage with consumers to how shoppers complete their most basic purchases. Loyalty programs have long been a tried-and-true method for brands looking to engage, offering an opportunity to reward shoppers for repeat business and grow customer loyalty. To that end,…

It’s no secret the e-commerce industry is experiencing significant growth, with 23 percent of retail purchases expected to occur online by 2027. That number should be higher, as today nearly 71 percent of online shopping carts get abandoned, often due to user experience (UX) issues such as trouble creating accounts, pauses or delays related to product…

While generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) reached peak hype and is on the radar of nearly every retailer, it hasn’t yet been employed widely by shoppers, mostly due to fear of hallucinations or perhaps because brands prefer to avoid introducing steps that could distract shoppers during their buying journey. However, this could all be changing according…

In November and December, U.S. retail industry sales rose 3.8 percent compared to the year before. Economists seemed surprised by retail results defying expectations throughout much of 2023. Unfortunately, 2024 didn’t start quite as well. Since then, retail sales have shrunk by 0.8 percent (worse than market forecasts of a 0.1 percent decline). U.S. retail…

Acquiring new customers can cost up to 5x more than retaining existing ones. This puts more responsibility on retailers to find a sustainable way to create a positive, personalized relationship that maintains engagement and inspires repeat purchases. One way to do that? Gamify the customer experience. Put simply, gamification adds gaming elements to non-gaming scenarios.…

As the war for customer attention rages on, the average consumer’s online browsing experience is starting to feel more like a battlefield than a comfortable and inviting place to seek out information. Imagine trying to navigate a website only to be bombarded with flashy visuals, confusing layouts, and no way to hear what's going on.…

Online experiences matter to shoppers. While in the past it may have been enough to simply offer consumers a breadth of merchandise and free shipping to attract them, today the stakes are much higher. In 2023, costs per visit climbed by almost 10 percent. This issue, combined with a significant decrease in traffic and site…

In the era of digitalization, today's consumers are better informed and have more choices than ever before. In fact, if just a single digital experience goes awry, consumers are one click away from switching sides and becoming your competitor’s next new customer. How can organizations provide a great digital experience across their websites and applications…

One might think that after multiple years of inflation and a scarcity mindset that consumers would have adjusted their expectations of retailers to allow for more leniency and to ensure they’re just able to get the products they want. CI&T’s 2024 Connected Retail Report told a very different story. In our fourth year collecting consumer…