Happy Black Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news. This week, we’re looking at statistics of where consumers will spend their paycheck this Black Friday weekend, the ‘Finding Good’ report, and Meta’s new 3D advertisement.

We also have the latest business updates from the cost-of-living crisis. This investigates the most recent actions and impacts on customers and organisations alike.

Key news

  • Recent data from NICE shows that Cyber Monday is the busiest day for customer service agents across the country, in addition to being one of the busiest retail days of the year. Furthermore, the number of customer interactions last year on Cyber Monday nearly doubled from 2018.  95% of consumers say customer service has an impact on their brand loyalty – citing easy access to digital channels, online self-service and professional agents as important factors. While 41% say they’ll turn to the competition after only two negative digital interactions.
  • Gartner, at their Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference 2022 have revealed the 10 common cloud strategy mistakes. This includes a lack of exit strategies, believing executive mandate is a strategy, and outsourcing development. You can find the other 7 mistakes here.
  • As UK business grapples with a shortage of workers, many are now looking up the generations to fill their staffing gaps. Easyjet and Halfords are among some of the names now looking to employ staff in the over-45s age bracket.
  • A new LinkedIn discussion into ‘are swanky offices still important’ is currently trending. Hybrid working and working from home are widely accepted working models now. This begs the question: do offices still need to be plush and unique? Google, a tech firm renowned for having slightly wacky offices, has recently opened a huge new campus in California that encompasses three vast “hangars” with adjustable internal spaces. Elsewhere, TikTok is also negotiating a contract on a new 11-storey building in London. What do you think? Is it still worth investing in ‘cool’ offices? Drop us a line and let us know what you think!

Brits set to spend almost £300 each on Black Friday

Almost two thirds of Brits will make the most of the 2022 Black Friday sales. The average shopper is set to spend £282.89, according to Emarsys. The study of 2,000 consumers suggests that an impressive 79% of us will not decrease our spending. Instead, they’ll be opting to spend the same or increase their spending. 33% state that there is “no minimum discount” required for them to buy a product in the sales.

Of those splashing the cash this Black Friday, both online and in store shopping will take place. 53% say they’ll shop online; 29% in-store; and the remaining 28% are unsure.

When it comes to what shoppers are searching for this Black Friday, the research reveals that:

  • 11% will be looking for electronics & devices
  • 9% for fashion & apparel
  • 8% for video games
  • 7% for food & groceries, toys & games, household & kitchen items and beauty products respectively.

The research also reveals how retailers can convince shoppers to purchase with them. When asked what will influence their purchasing decision this Black Friday, consumers said the following matter: 

  • size of the deals (27%)
  • free / low cost deliveries (25%)
  • early sight of deals (18%)
  • confidence in the brand (18%)
  • good returns policies (16%)
  • personalised deals tailored to products I want (12%)

Other things impacting decisions include deals for sustainable products (10%), first access or insider deals (10%) and pick up points in store (9%).

But while consumers have big spending plans this Black Friday, they will be using that cash wisely. 35% think that Black Friday deals are often overrated. As a result, they will be carefully looking for the very best deals and the right products for them. 54% would need a discount of more than 25% to convince them to make a purchase they weren’t planning to otherwise.

Faced with these careful consumers, Emarsys — the company behind the research — recommends that retailers focus their efforts on targeting and personalisation this Black Friday, ensuring they hit the right shopper with the right promotion rather than taking a scattergun ‘money off everything’ approach.

Major shifts in consumer attitude as the public tell brands they must play fair financially

WPP’s media agency Mindshare UK, announces its latest instalment of the Reality Check series – the ‘Finding Good’ report. It has shown a key shift in consumer attitudes as the public tells brands that they must play fair financially if they’re to keep their business in favour.

When asked what a “good” brand should be doing, the most popular answer was creating employment at a fair wage (43%). This was followed by prioritising families during the cost-of-living crisis (41%), and supporting their staff (41%). 

Financial issues also topped the rankings when people were asked what made a brand “bad”. Evading tax (68%), paying board members significantly more than other staff (68%), and not paying employees a fair wage (69%) all topped the list. These issues were narrowly ahead of damaging the environment (67%).

Despite pressure on household income, the way brands do business still can still affect purchasing decisions. 57% of the public said that if the price was the same, they would choose the brand that most closely aligned to their values. 44% said they pay more attention to brand values now than ever before.

Analysing the 2022 data vs a 2019 study, the report also found a more general shift in public values over the last few years. It is characterised as a change in attitude from “I and me” to “we and us”. Following the turbulence of Brexit, of the pandemic years, and now the cost of living crisis, people are now placing more importance on the time they spend with loved ones, ensuring their families don’t go without, not upsetting or harming others, and being satisfied with what they have in life rather than being materialistic or too hedonistic.

“The public are increasingly attuned to how brands conduct themselves and savvy to issues such as greenwashing and jumping on the bandwagon of popular causes. And we can see that where consumers do have a little more headspace from financial worries, for example, amongst older audience groups, issues such as sustainability are as important as ever.”

– Julia Ayling, Head of Research and Insights at Mindshare UK

Are 3D ads the future of advertising?

To promote the new Meta Quest 2 VR headset, the giant company have a new advertisement board in Piccadilly Circus in London. Unveiled this week, the 3D ad appears to show an NFL player jumping out of the screen to catch a ball and an astronaut floating through space, and out of the billboard. The ad will be shown until the end of the year. 

Outside of London, the campaign will also feature on billboards in Manchester and Nottingham. This is the first time the tech giant has featured in the Piccadilly lights. 

With this campaign, the company could be hoping to boost sales during the holiday sales. Most recently, the company launched the $1,500 mixed reality Quest Pro headset. In spite of all the criticism, Meta has now confirmed that a lower-cost follow-up is coming in 2023.

In October, Meta forecasted a weak holiday quarter and significantly more costs next year. This will wipe about $67 billion off Meta’s stock market value. In turn adding to the more than half a trillion dollars in value already lost this year. Just this month, Meta fired 11,000 employees across Facebook and Instagram in a series of mass layoffs as the company grapples with its massive investment into the metaverse.

Have a look at the new 3D metaverse board here. What do you think? Can you see them being more widely used as the metaverse is becoming more and more prominent? Let us know! 

Cost-of-living crisis business and customer updates

Here’s the latest updates of the cost-of-living crisis on businesses and customers, how they are being impacted and predictions of the impact.

Searches for game consoles rise despite the crisis

Digital marketing agency The Audit Lab were intrigued to see how the crisis has been affecting searches for some of the more pricey tech Christmas gifts.

The Playstation 5 has seen an increase in searches of around 46% since the beginning of the month. It has been in high demand since its release 2 years ago, thanks to a shortage of components used in its manufacturing process. This is the first Christmas that the console will be more readily available. This is no doubt a factor for the increase in searches. 

Searches for the “Xbox series X” are up by 25%, lagging behind the search increase for its competitor, the PS5. The series X has mostly been behind the PS5 in sales since the release of the next generation consoles. This certainly contributes to the Playstation’s searches being higher. 

Nintendo’s immensely popular Switch console is back once again with an increase in search intent by 69%. 5 years on from its release, the Nintendo Switch still holds its own as one of the best family and portable consoles of all time. The new, updated model of the console, the OLED Switch, has also seen a nice uptick in searches, rising by 54%.

Thanks to an increase in accessibility, price cuts, and a constant media buzz around the metaverse, VR is on the rise once more as we approach Christmas, seeing an increase of 92% “VR headsets”. This is partly thanks to Meta’s continual push of the technology for both commercial and leisure use.

Better customer service could save Christmas this year for retailers 

Twilio have unveiled new research on the barriers between consumers and retailers this festive season.

Typical holiday shopping patterns are being disrupted. Retailers need to gather insights on their customers’ behaviours, and reprioritise resources to keep engagement high. Nearly a third of consumers are yet to start their Christmas shopping – rising to 38% in the over 65 bracket. Retailers have an opportunity to proactively build relationships with customers by using data insights to form a complete picture of the customer.

Only 10% of consumers are planning only to shop in-store this festive season, this sets retailers in good stead. But in this extended period of uncertainty, digital investments should now be re-evaluated with functionality in mind. Efforts to streamline and personalise customer engagement with smart automation must come to the fore. This should lower customer acquisition costs, and increase customer lifetime value (LTV).

82% of those who contacted customer service in the festive period last year reported a positive experience. With over half saying that customer service could change their mind about a company, companies must not let standards drop in the face of increased fiscal pressure.

Thanks for tuning into CXM’s weekly roundup of industry news. Check back next Friday for the latest updates of the week!

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