9 Must-Know Customer Experience Trends

The importance of customer experience

One obvious thing about customer experience is that it influences loyalty. The better the experience, the more loyal your customers become. And if that’s not enough, here are some numbers proving that customer experience is worth consideration. 

First of all, it’s a booming market, expected to reach $20.4 billion by 2028. So many businesses are heavily investing in creating better customer experiences that make the audience want more and come back. And not only the retention is at stake. According to PwC data, 55% of customers say they would stop buying from a company they like after a few bad experiences. Even more alarming, 8% would jump ship after just one negative interaction. 

And on the contrary, data proves that good customer experience increases loyalty. McKinsey found that a CX-driven strategy can boost cross-sell rates by 15-25%. That’s the power of customers who stick around and buy more.

And businesses across the board are catching on. Forrester’s polls found that 64% of organizations plan to increase their budget for customer experience initiatives during 2024. So it’s definitely something to be aware of at the very least.

Customer experience trends every business should use

From AI (how can we not mention it?) to contactless, let’s look into up-and-coming strategies that keep customers happier and figure out how you can turn these trends into your advantage.

1. AI for customer service

In 2023, 86% of consumers were fine with brands using artificial intelligence, it was one of the most prominent marketing trends out there. They are particularly OK with AI-generated product descriptions (49%) and marketing content (43%). Chatbots (41%) and automated voice systems (38%) are also well-received. 

And this means that any company can get way more efficient on many fronts: starting from harvesting and analyzing customer data and creating more personalized content on the fly to substituting a support team with a bunch of custom-trained AI bots. That in turn helps to ensure that customers’ retention emails feel like they were written just for you, and product recommendations that hit the spot every time.

But let’s not get carried away here and remember about the right balance of AI vs. Humans: 40% of consumers still will choose human interaction over AI for solving problems.

As for the examples, the chatbot created by HelloFresh, the largest meal-kit provider in the United States, is just that. This little AI assistant can manage surveys, suggest recipes, and even dish out deals. They say that its launch and use resulted in a 47% boost in incoming messages and a 76% reduction in customer response time.

In a nutshell, though, it’s not about replacing humans altogether, but rather freeing their resources for more complex tasks. 

2. Hyperpersonalization

Another critical customer experience trend is hypersonalization. And 61% of executives definitely agree on its importance, ranking personalizing customer experiences as their top priority, because that seems to be paying off. According to Deloitte data, companies nailing personalization are 48% more likely to exceed revenue goals. And here’s another piece of statistics: 46% of customers say they will buy more when given a personalized experience.

One case study showing how it’s done is from Orangetheory Fitness marketing book. They created personalized videos for members, celebrated each member’s progress, sharing details like the number of classes completed, challenges conquered, splat points earned, and calories burned. The background music for those videos was chosen to match each recipient heartbeat rate (which the company has been tracking before using their continuous heart rate monitors). The result? 45,000 classes booked in a week, 97% attendance, and lowest churn rate ever.

3. Unified omnichannel experiences

Remember when you had to repeat your problem to five customer service reps? I surely do. It happens every time I have an issue with an Amazon order (which is pretty often, my “most” favorite are attempted delivery fails and lost returns). And if you are finding it as annoying as I do, we are not alone. 60% of consumers had those experiences when they had to repeat themselves and most likely they were not too crazy about it. And that’s when unified omnichannel experiences’ time to shine. 

And it’s not just about being on every platform, it’s about building a technology management system for seamlessly connecting data flow across all those channels. It doesn’t matter if the client reached out through a Facebook message, left an angry comment on an Instagram post and then sent an email: your team still should have the full picture at any given moment.

Squarespace figured this out. They switched from fragmented support systems to an end-to-end solution. It resulted in a stellar 95% customer satisfaction score and a 27% jump in self-service help center use. 

4. Self-service, contactless and seamless experiences

Now, let’s talk about the DIY revolution in customer service. While 27% of shoppers (mostly older generations) still want helpful staff in stores, a growing chunk of customers prefer to have a chance to deal with shopping by themselves (whether it’s 16% who are all about self-checkout kiosks, or 15% who want to use the store’s website or app while shopping). 

The increasing popularity of contactless payments also makes sense considering this strive for doing things solo. So a solid 37% of customers rank this as a top service they want from brands. And it’s not just for the Covid-era generation of germaphobes anymore. It’s fast, easy, and increasingly expected.

The rock-solid proof is a case study from Speed Queen. They faced issues with cash payments like vandalism and increasing labor costs. So they went all-in on contactless. As a result, their revenue increased ranging from 25% to 400% across different sales points. Plus, they now had fewer operational headaches and probably happier customers.

5. Metaverse and immersive digital experiences

In the future, we can probably walk into any store without getting up off our favorite couch and that’s the power of immersive digital experiences and metaverse. And believe it or not, it’s closer than you think. 

According to PwC findings published in 2023, 26% of consumers have dabbled in metaverse activities. Given that’s a quarter of all respondents, it’s not just your tech nerds anymore. And even brick-and-mortar shoppers want to give that digital reality a spin: 30% of them find the concept of in-store immersive digital experiences appealing. Imagine trying on clothes without actually putting them on. That’s the experience we are talking about. 

Some brands have already successfully experimented with this trend. Take Sephora, for example. They created a virtual makeup try-on feature so that customers could test different shades and styles, using just their phone or webcam. The result? A 35% conversion rate increase and a 25% boost in add-to-cart rates.

6. Proactive customer service and growing use of predictive analytics

Imagine if your business could solve problems before customers even know they exist. For me, as a consumer, the concept sounds amazing. And while 62% of customer experience leaders feel they’re lagging behind in providing those instant experiences consumers expect, many are catching up too. 70% of organizations are actively investing in tools that automatically capture and analyze intent signals. So this trend is still in the making, but we will probably see more of it soon. 

And once it’s implemented right it’s not only catering to consumers’ desires, but works magic for your business too. 

That’s how Walmart, for instance, was able to reduce overstock and stockouts and boost both sales and customer satisfaction — they used predictive models to analyze their customers’ purchasing patterns. 

But it’s not just for retail giants. For businesses of any size, and for making decisions in so many fields — from your UI/UX design changes to your customer retention emails — predictive analytics can not only help react to your clients’ needs but anticipate them. Use data to predict what your customers want before they even know they want it. 

7. Sustainable and ethical experiences

Values alignment is the biggest loyalty driver for Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. But even across all the consumers’ age groups 1 in 4 prefer brands that share their values.

And with 46% of consumers looking for brands that lead the charge on sustainability, that’s what might win your customer loyalty these days.

A great example of a brand taking advantage of this trend is Patagonia, the poster child of ethical business. While working on their “Common Threads” recycling initiative they told customers, “Don’t buy this jacket,” promoting the reuse and repair of the old clothing, rather than purchasing new items. As a result of the campaign, they took 45 tons of old items from their customers and used 34 tons of it to make new clothes. While many might think that a “Don’t buy” call to action can only lead to a sales decline, the bold ad campaign turned into the company’s greatest success in 2 years. Sales jumped by 30% to $540 million. They also repaired over 30,000 items in 18 months.

8. Experiential loyalty programs

80% of companies see positive ROI from their loyalty programs. And while loyalty programs used to be simple, it’s not just about points and discounts anymore. Sure, Boomers still love their points. But younger generations that are slowly taking over the markets are caring more about values alignment and 74% say feeling understood is more important than discounts. 

What can a killer loyalty program look like in 2024? Anything goes: we are talking exclusive events, personalized birthday rewards, gamified challenges, and early access perks. Your customers have to feel like they are a part of something bigger, a real community and making customers feel special is the ultimate win.

Easier said than done? Take a page from the Adidas book. Their adiClub is a free-to-join program and members can earn rewards for everything from leaving reviews to attending events. While it doesn’t sound like something special, figures speak louder than words. And adiClub members buy 50% more often and have 2x the lifetime value of non-members. With 240 million members, that’s a lot of extra sneakers sold.

9. Privacy, trust, and transparency

Data is the new oil they say. And businesses store a lot of it. But do they always handle it carefully, especially given the fact that hackers grow to appreciate data more and are willing to learn new tricks to get a hold of it?

56% of customer experience leaders admit their organizations experienced a data breach or cyber attack targeting customer data in the past year. So when 83% of them say data protection and cybersecurity are top priorities in their customer service strategies they are not joking. 

Another nuance here: customers want personalized experiences, but they’re also wary of sharing personal information. So on top of privacy issues businesses have to balance the tightrope of getting enough data for offering highly demanded customization without pissing off the clients.  

This trend impacts every aspect of customer experience. From UI/UX design trends that prioritize clear opt-in/opt-out options to creating an omnichannel customer experience that feels personal without feeling invasive. The best practice here is being upfront about how you collect and use data as in today’s market, trust is the ultimate currency.

Final thoughts

As we’ve explored these 9 must-know customer experience trends, you have to remember that the goal isn’t to adopt every trend, but to choose those that make the most sense for your brand and your audience. 

And for Selzy users it probably means starting small with a few baby steps: 

• Use the data from your email marketing efforts to create more personalized campaigns.
• Think of new ways to build a community around your product and ask your buyers to vote on the ones they like the most.
• Be transparent about data practices in all customer interactions.
• Anything else you feel is fitting for your brand’s audience.

By focusing on making small steps and listening to your clients’ feedback you enhance genuine connections, improving your customers’ loyalty and ultimately driving more growth of your business.