Crystallize your CX strategy to turn holiday shoppers into year-round loyal customers

A later Thanksgiving holiday isn't dampening holiday spirits as retailers braced for an unprecedented wave of shoppers over the long holiday weekend. A record 183.4 million people planned to shop during the Thanksgiving-to-Cyber Monday period, surpassing last year's 182 million and marking an 18-million increase from pre-pandemic levels, according to the?National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.?

Deloitte’s 2024 holiday retail survey also found a silver lining—with shoppers saying they would spend 8% more compared to last year. The survey highlights three key trends:??

1. Consumer optimism?
2. Multichannel shopping growth (with 48% planning to use smartphones and 13% using social media for purchases)?
3. Significant shift toward experiences with experience-related spending projected to rise 16% this year, reflecting consumers’ growing preference for activities like travel, events and social gatherings over traditional goods.?

In addition to an 80% total increase in year-over-year digital interactions for the holiday weekend, NICE reported single-day year-over-year (YOY) spikes of automated digital interactions during the weekend of 143% and 120%.?

Customer experience: The critical differentiator?

Technology, particularly AI, has emerged as a powerful customer service differentiator, helping brands enhance their customer experience capabilities. After all, retail success this year depends increasingly on the quality of customer experience (CX) rather than just pricing or product selection. Leading retail brands that have prioritized CX have seen higher customer satisfaction scores, reduced churn and improved performance.??

To avoid common holiday CX pitfalls, retailers should follow these top three tips:?

1. Keep agents informed about holiday promotions to effectively handle deal-related inquiries. Agents are often the ones who have to help “troubleshoot” promo codes or other offers, and it's even worse when they have no idea what the offers even are.?
2. Give agents more autonomy to handle sophisticated requests while letting AI manage routine calls. A?specialized AI-powered platform?makes sure businesses can have AI and human agents working together as one team on the same platform.?
3. Focus on qualitative metrics like first contact resolution (FCR) and customer satisfaction (CSAT) rather than strict operational metrics during peak seasons?

Keep the momentum going with a solid post-holiday CX strategy?

Future shoppers will notice the quality of your customer service and return as loyal customers only if you give them a reason to keep coming back. After the holiday rush, retailers should implement three key strategies to keep the momentum going:?

1. Comprehensive interaction analysis: Use AI technology to analyze all customer interactions across channels, identifying trends and opportunities to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. This data-driven approach helps optimize both immediate and long-term customer experience strategies.?
2. Smart self-service implementation: Engage generative AI-based solutions that leverage existing company knowledge with appropriate guardrails. This approach enables quick deployment of effective self-service options without the extensive development time traditional chatbots require.?
3. Proactive operations management: Focus on workforce planning and self-service optimization to streamline contact center operations. Use AI-powered planning tools to better anticipate and address future needs while enabling customers to solve problems independently.?

The future of retail CX

Today's retail environment requires a fundamental shift toward experience-centric strategies. Leveraging unified AI platforms and focusing on seamless, personalized interactions, retailers can transform traditional transactions into meaningful customer relationships.??

As consumer expectations continue to evolve, retailers must view every interaction as an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships. Through strategic use of technology and a focus on personalized experiences, brands can create lasting connections that extend beyond the holiday season, driving long-term success in an increasingly competitive market. Read the blog by NICE’s Tom Yang for more tips and insights to help guide your CX strategy.

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Forrester ’s groundbreaking report reveals that CX is declining for the third straight year. That's why 40% of leaders plan to increase overall CX investments within the next 12 months. To succeed, companies must overhaul core CX competencies. This data-driven report reveals how and can help you prepare for ultimate success. Get the guide.

Ignite the CX conversation?

We want to hear from you:?

What are the standout retail experiences you’ve had this holiday season??

Let us know in the comments.?