This week in CX: UK retail has surged by 57%; plus news from Genesys & Sigma Connected

Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.

This week, we’re looking at the latest research out there. This includes insights into how UK retail figures have declined, Sigma Connected have found that organisations are still not meeting customer needs to communicate with them, and Genesys’ brilliant ESG recognition. 

Key news

• 100,000 UK civil servants will be striking from the 1st February. Working in the background of many important council and government decisions, how will this latest strike affect the workforce and the importance of every individual worker? What do you think about this next strike action plan? Will this directly affect you? Are you striking soon?

• In a global study, Qualtrics XM Institute found that billions of employees are aware they’re not trying their hardest. Across the countries studied directly, it’s estimated that there are over 1.7 billion workers who agree with the statement, “I would work harder if my employer treated me better.” Those countries represent about two-thirds of the world’s working population. The findings estimated that 2.478 billion workers aren’t working their hardest. On average, 49% of employees who agree that their employer needs to do a better job of listening to them were likely to look for a new job over the next six months. This is compared with 24% for those who did not agree.

• QuMind, has announced the launch of a new feature powered by the MaxDiff methodology. It allows companies to see what matters most to their customers. QuMind’s new feature takes many different organisational processes and attributes. By applying MaxDiff analysis, it enables a company to prioritise those which matter most.  

• Sigma Connected has announced it is creating 500 new vacancies as part of its ongoing growth plans. The roles, which will cover contact centre agent, supervisor and management roles, will be based at home as part of the company’s remote-working approach. They will add to Sigma’s 4,000-strong workforce, which has already seen 600 additional people employed this year.

• NICE announced new RPA (Robotic Process Automation) capabilities in its latest release, using AI to identify focused opportunities for automation. With NEVA Discover’s new process analytics solution and semi-supervised machine learning, organisations can optimise their business process executed elements to achieve complete performance. 

• Amazon has announced plans to shut three UK warehouses in Hemel Hempstead, Doncaster and Gourock. The move will impact 1,200 jobs. Personal finance expert and co-founder of Choosewisely, Tara Flynn, said; “This is certainly a sign of the times. Amazon is the second largest retailer in the world – this move highlights the uncertain economy. The fact e-commerce activity has slowed down due to inflation-weary customers”. 

• Instagram are making changes to accessibility of their features from next month. They will return the Compose button (the plus sign “+”) to the front and centre of the navigation bar at the bottom of the app and it will remove the Shop tab entirely. As a result, the Reels button will now move over to the right of Compose, losing its prime spot. The earlier changes that had pushed Reels over Compose had been fairly controversial. Instagram users felt as if the company was forcing them to use the app’s new products at the expense of the overall user experience. The company had first relocated the Reels tab to the middle of the navigation bar in 2020. It also replaced the popular Activity tab with the Shop tab instead.

• Kore.AI, conversational AI software platform and solutions company, has announced that it will be launching RetailAssist, a conversational commerce assistant solution for the retail industry. The new product will be showcased at the National Federation of Retailers show (NRF) in New York City on the 14^th of January. It will enable retail and ecommerce companies to modernise, scale and transform operations. RetailAssist enables retail and ecommerce companies to modernise, scale and transform operations. It does this by building competencies around self-service automation, personalisation, omnichannel fulfillment, and 24/7 pre-/post-sales service and support. The solution also acts as an employee assistant to help retailers with onboarding, day-to-day operations, and customer support.

UK retail surged 57% in 2022 Q4

New data from parcelLab reveals that order returns rose significantly in 2022 as inflation and the cost-of-living began to bite. Retail returns in the traditional Christmas shopping period were up 57% on the year before. Returns were also rising 16% globally. UK order returns were up by a quarter between Christmas and the new year, compared with 2021.

The data reveals that UK and global shoppers’ appetite for flexible returns policies is not slowing down. Of the nearly three million parcels returned to British retailers in 2022, over 350 thousand were sent back between Black Friday and Christmas. Over 50 thousand were sent back between Christmas and New Year’s Day. This comes despite 25% of top UK retailers now charging for order returns, up 14% from last year.

The ongoing industrial action within the UK postal sector was also the cause of headaches for UK retailers and shoppers alike. Late deliveries between Black Friday and Christmas rose by one third this year compared to 2021. The increase in late deliveries was not just limited to the festive shopping period, however. Over 14 million UK deliveries arrived late in 2022 compared to just 5.2 million in 2021.

Customers want speed, choice, and transparent post-purchase processes, which retailers must get right if they are going to navigate the changing demands of today’s economy. Industrial action may lead to delivery delays and inflation may reduce our overall willingness to spend. Yet it is up to brands to curate positive experiences that drive the loyalty.

– Tobias Buxhoidt, Founder and CEO of parcelLab

Organisations aren’t communicating with customers – despite “contact” centre services

Over 70% of UK organisations which offer contact centre services are failing to implement new ways of communicating with their customers. Despite a rise in the use of digital technology, the study showed that seven out of ten UK firms don’t look for alternative ways to communicate with their customers if they fail to hear back from them. 

The figure comes from research undertaken by Sigma Connected, and digital collections and recoveries experts Arum. The partnership surveyed 50 UK companies about their use of human interaction and digital channels when engaging with customers.

The study also reveals that only one third tailor their communications following customer feedback. 28% are also failing to offer any option for a customer to have a human conversation to solve issues such as billing or service problems.

The report highlights a rise in the use of digital channels which is expected, but especially in today’s cost of living crisis, people want to discuss their situation with someone who can empathise. It ultimately shows that more organisations should be listening to and acting on customer feedback about how they want to engage.

– Colin McMahon, Director of Financial Services at Sigma Connected 

As always, we’re here to prepare you with the best of CXM’s resources on these weekly topics. As such a core aspect of customer experience, communication should not be pushed aside. Here’s some pieces we think may help your understanding on the subject to recalibrate your mindset towards open communication with your customers:

• Why effective communication is important for customer experience
• Communication with customers: five essential factors
• Could overambitious digital transformation programmes actually damage customer communications?

Genesys recognised for their ESG efforts

It has been announced that Genesys has been recognised by two leaders in sustainability ratings for its marked improvement in sustainable business practices. In the organisations’ latest analysis, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) awarded Genesys a B grade. EcoVadis awarded the company a gold medal rating. Commitment to embedding sustainability across the organisation, partnered with the company’s cloud strategy, were key drivers to the improved rankings.

Improving from a bronze rating in less than two years, the gold rating places Genesys in the top 5% of the more than 100,000 companies assessed by EcoVadis. They’re also in the top 1% of those in the software provider industry. Jumping two grade levels in its CDP rating in just one year, Genesys now ranks among the top in the CX industry.

Genesys is invested in contributing to a better future for the planet and its more than 7,000 customers and 6,000 employees around the world. With customers’ use of its on-premises solutions representing the highest portion of its carbon footprint, the company’s pivot to a cloud strategy plays a significant role in reaching its goal of carbon neutrality. 

ESG is a topic of rising importance, and we are aiming to cover it even more widely on our site. Check out some of the insights our wonderful contributors have shared thus far. And get in touch with our editors if you would like to share an ESG story.

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