tech & innovation
TECHNOLOGIES DEFINING THE
FUTURE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
A 48
the EDGE Spring 2023
by Sean Plummer
good customer experience used to mean finding what you needed at a fair price in a store and buying it from a competent and polite salesperson. Maybe they were even able to make you feel good by making an add-on sale because, sure, it makes sense to buy tennis socks with new tennis shoes. Those qualities — good pricing, product availability, and personal attentiveness — continue to be important when purchasing a good or service. But the rise of the online economy, accelerated by COVID-19, means that investment in new hardware and software is just as important to the customer experience (CX) as stocking the right products and hiring the best employees. Of course, consumer-facing companies appreciate impulse purchases made by passers-by at their brick-and-mortar stores. But in a COVID-era economy, their survival — never mind their prosperity — is tied to using technology to deepen customer loyalty and engagement. The expected result is repeat visits and purchases in-store and online.
