There’s no doubt about it, costumer expectations have changed in the last five years. A lot more is expected from companies due to the digitally interconnected world we live in. But how are companies adapting to this? This month kicks off below with Curtis Peterson, SVP Customer Experience at RingCentral:
Today, companies are under increasing pressure to adapt to shifting consumer behaviours. RingCentral’s research shows that 87% of customers cite high-quality service as a key factor influencing their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, 65% are unlikely to return to a company after a poor service experience. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Companies ahead of the curve are using AI and real-time communication to create more connected, personalised customer journeys.
The rise of Generative AI (GenAI) is an unmissable one. While adoption varies, its ability to shift how companies interact with customers is clear. GenAI means businesses can analyse huge customer datasets, discovering patterns and insights at a speed they could have only dreamt of previously. Previously, Predictive AI insights, such as what we’ve seen with larger e-commerce retailers, have been helping businesses anticipate customer needs. However, with GenAI this goes one step further by enhancing post-sale engagement. By analysing the data, it can identify patterns and insights at speed, allowing businesses to proactively tailor interactions. For example, it might show a buyer lingering on products of a certain colour or style meaning it could then recommend new arrivals specific to that style. The more a brand can provide a personal service, the more likely they are to influence someone’s behaviour.
However, a customer’s journey doesn’t end once items have been purchased. Picture this: you reach out to customer service, only to be greeted with, “We’ve already sorted that for you.” It’s an effortless experience that feels almost too good to be true, but it’s exactly where customer service is heading, thanks to advances being driven by combining Predictive AI with GenAI.
We’ve already seen the impact of GenAI embedded within the customer experience function, for example with chatbots. Now, we’ll see Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) step out of the shadows of traditional interactive voice response (IVR) systems into the spotlight as the new face of customer service. IVAs will become vital problem-solvers, driving seamless, human-like interactions that transform the way businesses connect with their customers.
IVAs will also take real-time action. That might be updating customer records, initiating a refund or changing an order. For businesses, this evolution will allow live agents to dedicate their time to more nuanced, value-driven tasks like building relationships, selling products or tackling more complex issues. While customers may need time to adapt to the functionality of these systems, their deployment will allow businesses to
meet the growing demand for faster, 24/7 customer support, without compromising on service quality.
CG Selva Ganesh, VP, CEO South Africa, In2IT Technologies:
I’ve seen how quickly consumer behaviour is evolving, with e-commerce and Digital Transformation changing the way businesses operate and connect with their customers. Today’s consumers are more connected, informed and demanding. They expect speed, convenience, personalisation, purpose and transparency in every interaction. In response, organisations must move beyond traditional models and adopt a mindset of continuous evolution. This transformation’s core is data – how we collect, interpret and use it to deliver hyper-personalised experiences that meet individual needs.
From AI-driven product recommendations to real-time customer engagement, intelligent technology has become a strategic necessity. But this evolution isn’t just digital – it’s holistic. The seamless integration of physical and digital experiences is now crucial. Consumers may start their journey on a mobile device and complete it in-store, or vice versa, and we must be ready to meet them wherever they are with consistency and ease. This requires more than technology – it demands cross-functional agility, aligned leadership and a clear customer-first vision.
Moreover, the modern consumer is deeply values-driven. Sustainability, ethical sourcing and brand authenticity are no longer differentiators; they’re now expectations. As leaders, we must ensure our values are embedded in our messaging, operations and culture. The rise of direct-to-consumer models reflects a broader shift toward relationship-centric commerce, where owning the customer dialogue and understanding their evolving needs gives businesses a strategic edge. We’re also reimagining the backbone of our operations – supply chains – making them smarter, faster and more resilient using tools like predictive analytics, IoT and automation. Customer service is also being redefined, with AI-powered support and always-on engagement setting new benchmarks.
But the most critical lesson in this journey is that transformation isn’t just about technology – it’s about people. Our ability to lead with empathy, anticipate trends and stay relentlessly focused on delivering value sets future-ready organisations apart. As
CEOs, we must champion a culture of adaptability, innovation and customer obsession across every enterprise layer.
The path forward demands both vision and velocity. Businesses that recognise Digital Transformation as a continuous, customer-driven evolution, not a one-time initiative, are best positioned to thrive. In this new landscape, staying relevant means staying responsive, and our success depends on how well we listen, learn and lead.
Kyle Hauptfleisch, Chief Consulting Officer, Daemon:
Businesses aren’t just adapting to changing consumer behaviour, they’re also driving it. In an era where Digital Transformation and e-commerce dictate the pace, companies need to do more than keep up. They have to be the ones setting the standard.
While consumer expectations are shifting, human nature remains constant. People want to feel understood, and they crave ease and efficiency. It’s the experience that lingers. The companies that understand this are not just selling products but are designing their customer experiences.
Retailers who fail to adapt will get left behind. Convenience is no longer a differentiator but the bare minimum. Consumers expect effortless interactions, whether online or in-store. Slow checkouts, clunky navigation or disconnected experiences? Those are dealbreakers. Thriving companies have eliminated these pain points, investing in solutions that minimise friction from browsing through to purchase.
But friction isn’t all bad. Intentional friction can be powerful, encouraging thoughtful decision-making, building trust and even enhancing the experience. This could be something like an on-screen pop up to showcase other similar items to consider purchasing. The smartest retailers know when to remove barriers and when to strategically introduce them, to keep consumers coming back. Timing is everything and it changes from customer to customer. It used to be that retailers had to constantly think about trade-offs, but now the technology to design hyper-personalised experiences is a reality.
There is another shift within retail also taking place. The line between digital and physical retail has blurred, and those ahead of the curve prioritise blending the two to create a true omnichannel experience. For example, retailers can use their accompanying apps to guide customers to products in-store. This isn’t about prioritising one channel over another, but about ensuring they work together to create a cohesive and seamless experience.
One-size-fits-all solutions don’t cut it. Consumer preferences are a patchwork. Our latest report The Consumer Trust Recession diving into why consumer confidence is declining and how it impacts retail, found that for Baby Boomers, 71% prefer the human touch at checkout, compared to 59% of Millennials and 46% of Gen Z. On the other hand, 56% of Gen Z shoppers favour service-assisted checkouts, a preference that wanes with age, as only 51% of Millennials and 40% of Baby Boomers opt for this method. Retailers must strike a careful balance of automation with the human touch.
Yet true transformation isn’t just about creating new digital experiences. It starts with data and putting it at the heart of your organisation, breaking down silos, ensuring
insights flow across departments. Changing the technology is often viewed as the simpler route, but changing the processes that sit around the technology and organisation is very difficult. Putting data at the heart of this process unlocks an unprecedented ability to rapidly test your initiatives and do things others can’t.
Ultimately, the businesses that wait to adapt will always be a step behind. To thrive, businesses need to take the lead.
Joe Byrne, Field CTO, LaunchDarkly:
In the era of e-commerce and Digital Transformation, companies are responding to shifting consumer behaviour by focusing on three pillars with their product and service features: personalisation, experimentation and operational efficiency.
Personalisation has become essential for businesses seeking to meet rising consumer expectations. By leveraging data insights, companies can tailor product experiences to specific customer segments in real-time. This personalised approach goes beyond static promotions to dynamically adjusting content, offers or even features based on user attributes such as location, behaviour or past purchases. With advanced targeting capabilities, businesses can roll out changes to distinct segments, ensuring that each customer receives the most relevant and engaging experience.
Alongside personalisation, companies are also embracing feature experimentation to stay agile and responsive to evolving consumer demands. Feature flags – software tools that allow businesses to enable or disable features without modifying source code or requiring a redeploy – empower teams to test new features with a small segment of users before making broader changes. This data-driven approach reduces risk, enables real-time adjustments and ensures that new features enhance the customer experience before being deployed at scale. Continuous experimentation helps businesses optimise engagement while staying ahead of competitors.
The third focus is operational efficiency. As businesses scale their digital operations, streamlining processes is critical to maintaining a competitive edge. This is where DevOps practices play a pivotal role. By fostering greater collaboration between development and operations teams, businesses can ensure faster, more efficient software development cycles. Automation of repetitive tasks and quicker feedback loops result in faster delivery of new features and faster troubleshooting of any issues. As a result, downtime is reduced and time-to-market is accelerated, improving the overall customer experience and driving business success.
The ongoing integration of these strategies is essential and customers that effectively combine these approaches are seeing tangible benefits, including reducing downtime by up to 20%, accelerating time-to-market by as much as 30% and improving development productivity by 10%. As the sector continues to be defined by rapid change, strengthening DevOps capabilities will drive more efficient development cycles.
Shubhi Rao, founder and CEO of Uplevyl:
Hyper-personalised shopping experiences: Amazon, for example, most recently announced its newest AI-powered feature based on your interests so that you can be instantly notified as soon as Amazon finds a product that matches your interests – this is super proactive and takes personalisation to the next level. Delivering this experience means leveraging data analytics and AI to understand individual customer preferences, purchase histories and browsing behaviours.
Machine Learning for dynamic pricing and logistics: H&M and many other retailers use historical proprietary data to mine insights to adjust pricing based on demand, seasonality and competition to positively impact their bottom line. Machine Learning is heavily used for inventory management, order fulfilment and customer service systems.
Generative AI to improve customer experience: For example, IKEA uses Gen AI to provide a seamless experience for the customer by using its Gen AI tool to act a bit like a personal interior decorator. Customers can share their style, colours and budget with the Gen AI tool to instantly get options to visualise their room with new items before purchasing.
Voice commerce: Providing customers the option to use their voice is becoming a fast-growing feature for most retailers. It leverages AI and Natural Language processing to voice search. Customers can provide longer, conversational queries, resulting in a better and more interactive user experience.
Payment Options: Outside of the traditional payment options, retailers are increasingly providing the option to pay using digital wallets, BNPL (buy now, pay later) or even in crypto currencies. Furthermore, retailers are being even more flexible by offering options like ‘buy online, pick up in-store’ (BOPIS) and ‘buy online, return in-store’ (BORIS) to cater to their customer preferences.
Social commerce: As social media continues to grow and expand, as does the influencer community, brands continue to integrate shopping experiences in social media platforms, allowing customers to make purchases directly through social media apps.
Mobile first: Retailers, in addition to providing a shopping experience on their websites, are also creating applications to download from the app store and the play store so that customers have these apps at their fingertips.
Unique partnerships: Recently, Walmart announced an interesting partnership with Roblox, a gaming platform with 3.2 billion gamers globally. Walmart plans to engage with Roblox customers through interactive content, virtual storefronts and in-game experiences, driving loyalty and engagement.
Data security and privacy: Retailers are investing significantly in safeguarding customer data and are much more transparent in how they use it, building customer trust with the brand. It is the primary focus of 47% of retailers.
