When you think of a traditional call center, the word “exciting” may not come to mind. But, the future of retail contact centers for retail is, in fact, extremely exciting. The industry is expected to continue to grow in both size and importance in the coming years as today’s discerning customers seek more personalized service and support. Increasingly, support agents are doing more than just resolving support tickets, instead becoming key facilitators of sales and loyalty.

As all of this takes place, new trends and predictions are emerging in the retail contact center industry. And although some of these predictions seem futuristic, many of the most advanced enterprise businesses are already putting them into place — and realizing the benefits of doing so. Forward-thinking companies are taking note of the holistic business benefits of these new tools and technologies.

5 Key Contact Center Trends to Watch:

Messaging will Make Support Agents Happier

“What’s your name?” “And your email?” There’s nothing worse than handling the same mundane queries over and over. By leveraging AI-powered chatbots across all messaging channels, businesses can collect qualifying information and provide service for simple inquiries such as product information and order status, while freeing up support agents to handle more complex queries, such as complaints and technical issues.

Artificial Intelligence will Improve Resolution Times

AI and generative AI are shaping the future of contact centers by providing customers with automated customer service — quick, accurate and personalized answers to customer inquiries as well as product recommendations. With new tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard AI, this is quickly becoming a reality for contact center operators.

Chats Will Build First-Party Data as the Cookie Goes Away

By leveraging AI-powered chatbots, businesses can collect data on customer interactions, such as the frequency and length of customer conversations. Additionally, businesses can use messaging to track customer behavior and preferences, such as the products and services in which customers are interested. With asynchronous chat, businesses can continue the conversation with customers even after the chat window has closed, and use first-party data to capture an audience in a more personalized and effective way.

Conversational Commerce is the Future

Conversational commerce is the future of contact centers, as it allows businesses to engage customers in real-time conversations in their moment of need to provide personalized customer service and support. By leveraging mobile messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, Google Business Messages, Apple Business Chat, Viber, and WeChat, as well as social messaging like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, businesses can engage customers in real-time conversations that lead to a higher Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

C-Suite will Rely on Predictive Analytics from Contact Center Data

Predictive analytics can be used to analyze customer data from contact center conversations to identify customer trends and behaviors. This data can be incorporated into a Customer Data Platform (CDP) and used by the C-Suite to segment customers into different groups and target them with more relevant marketing messages. Additionally, predictive analytics can be used to identify potential customer service issues before they arise and take action to prevent them. Anticipating customer needs in this way can help businesses provide better customer service and drive more sales.

Jon Jessup is the Founder and CEO of 1440.io. Since graduating from Princeton University, Jon has had over 25 years of experience leading Fortune 500 companies in their Digital Transformation journey. As one of Salesforce’s first ISV partners, Jon is passionate about helping companies in the fields of Reputation, Globalization, eCommerce, Customer Support and Conversational AI across retail and other industries.