The Future of the Customer Experience is Differentiation & Personalization.

Customer experience used to be something big businesses would talk about, but did little about. Relying on automatization alone seemed to be the answer for the greatest return on investment. While this solution was economical for businesses, It was a Band-Aid solution and not the answer to building brand loyalty. Over the past year, we’ve seen a huge change in the prioritization of the customer experience. While only focusing on automatization can be more efficient, customers now require a more personalized and automated experience.

No businesses were better equipped to face this challenge than companies like Amazon. Because simple purchases have become table stakes in 2021, Amazon has been a key player in this digital revolution, mostly because the company set a precedent for other retailers in regard to their model of purchasing --search an item, purchase the item, & check your doorstep in a few days. Consumers prefer to buy what they need in as few clicks as possible. Amazon, like other large online retailers, can scale indefinitely to accommodate this model. 

It’s more than just the efficiency that keeps Amazon customers happy. The company has other features that play into creating an optimal experience. Features like “Recommended for you” and “frequently bought with this item” help create a personalized experience tailored to each individual customer. We can expect to see some companies implement versions of these features into its physical stores as we shift from completely digital to a hybrid retail experience.

Although we are shifting back to in-person experiences, consumers still expect the elevated efficiency and services created as a result of the digital revolution (caused by the pandemic). We can expect process automation to be adopted more and more in Brick & Mortar environments. This will include features like touchless payment options, Buy Online, Pick up In-Store (BOPIS), and much more. All these features contribute to a more convenient and personalized customer experience all around.  As we start to return to normalcy, customers still expect a seamless, personalized, and differentiated experience, online and in-person.