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The Changing State of Retail Customer Care in North America

  • Report

  • 54 Pages
  • December 2021
  • Region: North America
  • Frost & Sullivan
  • ID: 5514788

Growth Opportunities Rise in the Dynamic North American Retail Market

The retail industry had undergone significant change in the past decade, witnessed by the shift from in-store to online shopping and digital engagement. Digital customer care rapidly expanded with new channels on the web, mobile apps, and social media, and older channels, such as chat and interactive voice response (IVR), embellished with new technologies.

Retail contact centers became early adopters of maturing technology under the umbrella of AI (speech technologies, machine learning (ML), and natural language understanding (NLU)) for use in IVR, virtual assistants (VA), intelligent virtual assistants (IVA)s, and other channels.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated changes in the retail space. To remain competitive, grocers and retailers alike are now looking for new ways to provide convenience and contactless delivery while attempting to rein in costs. Businesses are also piloting new ways to create experiential retail to draw customers back in-store, emotionally connect with them, and open up new markets.

This insight looks at the changing landscape on retail customer contact before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses growth opportunities in the retail customer care space.


Table of Contents

1. The State of Retail Customer Care summary
  • The State of Retail Customer Care 2010-2020
  • Key Challenges in the Retail Market
  • Moving Forward - The State of Retail Customer Care 2021-2025


2. Strategic Imperatives
  • Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?
  • The Strategic Imperative 8™
  • The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on Retail Customer Care
  • Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine™


3. Growth Environment
  • Digital Transformation in Retail
  • Key Business Goals All Industries
  • Key Business Goals Retail & Wholesale
  • Top Priorities for Digital Transformation Investment - Retail & Wholesale
  • Current Stage of Digital Transformation Strategy - All Industries
  • Current Stage of Digital Transformation Strategy - Retail and Wholesale
  • Current Stage of Digital Transformation Strategy by Segments - Retail & Wholesale
  • Changing Role of the Store
  • Changing Role of the Retail Contact Center
  • Digital Transformation Success Measurement - All Industries
  • Digital Transformation Success Measurement by Segments - Retail & Wholesale


4. COVID-19 Impact
  • COVID-19 Impact on Technology Investments
  • COVID-19 Impact on Digital Transformation Objectives - All Industries
  • COVID-19 Impact on Digital Transformation Objective - Retail & Wholesale


5. Transformative Technologies - Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Key Reasons for Investing in AI - All Industries
  • Key Reasons for Investing in AI - Retail & Wholesale
  • Key Benefits of AI - All Industries
  • Key Benefits of AI - Retail & Wholesale
  • Use Case - Picnic: Company Profile
  • Picnic - Company Profile


6. Communication & Collaboration
  • Key Drivers for Investing in Communication & Collaboration - All Industries
  • Key Drivers for Investing in Communication & Collaboration - Retail & Wholesale
  • Capabilities Enhancing Frontline Workers’ Performance
  • Top Reasons for not Providing Apps to Employees
  • Top Reasons for not Providing Apps to Employees by Segments


7. Growth Opportunity Universe, 2021
  • Growth Opportunity 1 - Expanded Delivery Systems
  • Growth Opportunity 2 - Wider Breadth of Connectivity Options for Retail Infrastructure


8. Appendix - Growth Pipeline Engine
  • About the Growth Pipeline EngineTM
  • List of Exhibits
  • Legal Disclaimer

Companies Mentioned (Partial List)

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:

  • Picnic