South African retail and e-commerce businesses are stepping up their game by weaving generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into their omnichannel strategies to meet evolving customer expectations.
Customers here tend to favour brands that deliver a smooth shopping experience, whether online or in-store, writes Marthinus Jansen Van Vuuren, content marketing expert at Infobip.
With e-commerce sales set to hit R225-billion by 2025, retailers are keen to boost customer engagement and loyalty by adding more digital touchpoints. They’re tapping into smart technologies like AI-powered chatbots and GenAI-driven personalised SMS campaigns. These innovations offer real-time support and tailored promotions, helping keep customers coming back for more.
The rise of GenAI is helping retailers supercharge their customer experience (CX) by allowing them to hyper-personalise interactions. Now, businesses can create content and engage with customers based on the information they gather during their interactions. This means retailers can relate and connect with customers on a personal level.
By using AI-powered chatbots, retailers can provide instant support and be available for their customers around the clock. This not only improves the CX but gives retailers a competitive edge. The bottom line is that the better their GenAI strategies are, the more they’ll stand out.
Challenges persist
Despite the advantages of GenAI, South African retailers are up against some challenges when implementing omnichannel solutions powered by GenAI technology. One major hurdle is the fragmented nature of some retail solutions, with businesses often relying on different service providers for each channel. This can make it challenging to deliver a consistent customer experience.
Another challenge many retailers face is that their digital infrastructure is often lacking because they haven’t kept up with digital transformation. This can hold them back from truly realising their omnichannel strategies. To tackle this issue, they must embrace a unified solution on a single platform that supports a seamless customer journey.
Despite these challenges, some local retailers are successfully integrating GenAI into their omnichannel strategies. Take a prominent South African hardware retailer, for example; they have developed a robust e-commerce platform that lets customers start their shopping journey online.
Customers usually interact with a chatbot on this platform. If an issue arises – like receiving the wrong items or an order not being fulfilled – they can chat with the bot again. At this point, the interaction can be handed off to a human agent who can assist the customer more effectively, thanks to having a line of sight of the entire customer journey up to that moment.
GenAI is also very good at detecting customer sentiment, so when a customer starts using words such as “unacceptable” during the chat, this can raise a red flag, enabling a human agent to take over and resolve the situation faster.
Leveraging customer data
By capturing data from their chatbots, cloud contact centre solutions, and customer data platforms and feeding it into their GenAI application, retailers can keep their connections with their customers more personal, customised, and bespoke. Plus, GenAI can guide the customer through all key steps of their journey – discovery, consideration and purchase, service, retention, and loyalty.
Data shows a significant shift towards mobile commerce, with 60% of online purchases now happening on smartphones. As retailers once focused mainly on desktop portals, this trend has led many to rethink their strategies and adopt a mobile-first approach. Retailers are prioritising mobile-optimised websites and creating apps specifically designed for mobile. At the same time, they also keep in mind other features mobile-enabled features, like the growing popularity of mobile payments and digital wallets.
In the end, a seamless CX can significantly boost revenue growth. Retailers can improve customer engagement and satisfaction by being available across multiple touchpoints – online, mobile, or in-store. This leads to higher conversion rates and increased sales, all driven by a refined CX and the benefits of an omnichannel strategy. This is also where GenAI plays a crucial role, as it can process all customer data and help businesses cross-sell and upsell effectively.
By signing up for unified, scalable CX solutions, retailers can achieve effective omnichannel communication and customer engagement. It will also enable them to leverage GenAI technology better. These solutions are engineered to address retailers’ challenges and bring out the best in each channel. This approach improves revenue and cuts costs, paving the way for personalised customer experiences and sustainable business growth in the digital age.