As nearly 80% of shoppers desire tailored recommendations this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a new survey by Sinch is forecasting a shift toward personalisation, conversational commerce, and secure communication. The survey anticipates businesses leveraging AI, omnichannel promotions, and real-time messaging to elevate customer experiences this holiday season.

“Retailers need to be prepared for the evolving expectations of today’s digitally savvy shoppers. Our predictions for 2024 emphasize the growing importance of omnichannel, personalized, and secure communications in driving customer engagement and sales. Sinch is dedicated to providing the cutting-edge tools businesses need to excel in this competitive landscape,” said Virginie Debris, SVP of Messaging Product.

The reliance on mobile messaging surged in 2023, with Sinch processing over 4 billion messages during Cyber Week. Black Friday alone saw over 800 million SMS messages, a 22.65% rise in messaging traffic over 2022. This surge reflects a more significant trend: U.S. Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending grew by 7.4% and 9.6%, respectively, showing the role of direct messaging in driving holiday engagement.

Furthermore, omnichannel campaigns will be vital this year, with 77.9% of consumers expecting promotions across multiple channels. The report shows that email will be essential for 61.3% of shoppers, while almost half will look to mobile messaging for deals, and over 51% will likely engage with interactive campaigns via apps. As RCS technology gains momentum, especially with expected support from iOS 18, brands can provide engaging, media-rich experiences directly within messaging apps, seamlessly embedding product demos and payment options.

Timely messaging will also be critical, with nearly half of shoppers expecting instant order confirmations. Consumers view transactional messages as necessary, with 94.4% rating them as crucial, especially for fast order updates. Multi-channel alerts, primarily through email (75.1%) and SMS (42.9%), are anticipated to be the most effective.

In addition, conversational commerce is becoming popular. Over half of consumers are now open to AI chatbots for order tracking and customer support outside standard business hours.

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