Customer Service

Customer agents know product, but personalization lacking

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February 27, 2023

A good majority, 91%, of customer agents are offering in-depth knowledge of products, but way less, 34%, are providing a personalized experience.

Those are top findings from Incisiv's 2023 Omnichannel Customer Service Index conducted in partnership with Nuance Communications Inc.

While retailers are investing big in shoring up digital capabilities, the customer service capability isn't on par, according to a press release on the study's findings.

The report revealed retailers still need to evolve digital capabilities to meet shopper expectations:

• 95% of customer service agents can help with payment methods, while only 4% have access to cart information.
• 82% of retailers have IVR (interactive voice response), while only 29% of retailer IVRs have a self-service option for order related issues.
• Average call waiting time was under two minutes for 70% of retailers, while for 15% of the retailers the call did not connect, and for 10% of retailers the wait time was more than 20 minutes.

"Retail is a highly competitive industry, and impeccable customer service is a 'must have' to stay ahead of the curve," Gaurav Pant, chief insights officer, Incisiv, said in the release. "Our benchmark report shows that there is a significant opportunity for retailers to improve customer service capabilities, and ultimately drive customer retention. Retailers who offer the right balance of efficient self service options and empathetic human touch will win the customer retention battle. We conducted this study to help brands understand how they compare to their peers, as well as to help identify high-impact improvement opportunities for digital transformation."