GBS WORLD NEWS | WEEK 2 | NOVEMBER 2021

Asian Pacific consumers expect a ‘human touch’ in customer experience (CX), according to a research report by Forrester. Despite strides in digital transformation and the deployment of more efficient self-servicing channels, the 1,200 customers surveyed across Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore have indicated that businesses have neglected the human element in customer service. According to the report, only 16% of customers experienced interactions that exceeded their expectations.

UK retailers are set to sell more clothing online than in physical stores compared to the rest of Europe, according to the Retail Economics report, The Future of the European Apparel Industry. The point of overtake will happen in 2022, three years earlier than predicted, where 52% of UK apparel sales will take place online. 

Bulgarian IT Outsourcing (ITO) provider, Accedia, has been recognized as one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies for the third year in a row by the Financial Times. Accedia specializes in technology consulting, agile software development, and implementation of end-to-end IT solutions. The Eastern European company has a client footprint in over 19 countries on five continents, including Australian fintech startups, Swiss manufacturers and US media giants.

American cloud-based platform provider, AuditBoard, has been awarded the 2021 Best Measurement in Customer Experience in the North American Customer Centricity Awards (NACCA). The NACCA awards recognize organizations across 26 countries that deliver exceptional customer experience (CX), success, and value.

In North Africa, Egyptian on-demand delivery company, Breadfast, has secured a US$26 million investment to broaden its regional footprint. Although a nascent industry, Egypt’s growing youth (age 18-35) population provides a strong demand base for food and grocery delivery. Established in 2017, Breadfast initially delivered freshly made bread and pastries to customers but is now a full-on online grocery store with over 2,500 stock-keeping units (SKUs).

Another food delivery platform based in Canada, Winnipeg-based SkipTheDishes, has partnered with Cargo to transform their marketing plan with the aim of improving the company’s B2B relationships across Canada. Cargo is collaborating with SkipTheDishes’ corporate and independent restaurant partners to increase order volumes, find new users and build relationships with potential customers.

In general news, customers around the world will want more than half of pandemic-era services to become the ‘’new normal’’ according to a report entitled Predictions 2022: Customer Experience. This is one of several new trends CX service providers can expect next year. Other key factors CX operators need to take into consideration when heading into the new year include the customer is not right if its at the expense of employee well-being, privacy journey design to be the new priority, and, for now, the customer’s need for instant gratification is over.

An interesting CX solution for global businesses has emerged, with Microsoft announcing the launch of its Customer Experience Platform that aims to help organizations understand their customers better, optimize content delivery, and deliver exceptional CX. The platform focuses on addressing use cases by combining the capabilities of D365 Marketing, D365 Customer insights, and D365 Commerce, along with Microsoft Advertising, e-commerce advertising platform PromoteIQ, and behavior analytics tool Clarity.