Rapid advancements in mobile commerce, including voice agent support, personalised recommendations, and app-integrated assistance, mean that shopping is now both online and offline. Even today where the majority of sales still take place in a physical brick and mortar store, the influence of digital on those sales is well over 50%,” says Klein.  ”Consumers are going online to do research, they’re looking for store locations, they’re trying to find the best price, and checking availability before venturing out to a physical store. This increased convenience has fueled demands for quicker, more efficient service, with 67% of shoppers now expecting issues to be resolved within 4 hours. To keep up with rising expectations, it’s clear retailers must learn how to effectively use technology to streamline their customer service processes.

Personalisation has become an expected part of the retail experience, given that 76% of shoppers now demand personalised experiences with every purchase. Retailers can benefit significantly by fulfilling these demands, given that 54% of shoppers are more likely to complete a purchase after a personalised support session powered by AI and data analytics. To meet growing expectations, many retailers are turning to AI agents that can autonomously perform tasks on behalf of consumers. “At the foundation of anything around personalisation, it’s the data,” says Klein. By analysing vast amounts of consumer data in real-time, these agents can anticipate shopper needs and deliver personalised recommendations.