GBS WORLD NEWS | WEEK 5 | SEPTEMBER 2022
In global retail, major brands are bracing themselves for a new disruption in shopping trends stemmed by a notable increase of Gen Z shoppers into the retail space. According to a RetailCustomerExperience report, Gen Z consumers shop across multiple channels. Findings revealed that 56% of Gen Z shoppers are more likely to have shopped for fashion in-store over the last three months and 38% are more likely to have shopped online in the same timeframe.
On that note, a US-based customer service platform, LiveChat, released a report on how organizations should invest in transformative chat technology to prepare for incoming Gen Z consumers. The report has predicted that the number of monthly web and mobile app chats will double in December 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, as Gen Z consumers do their shopping online. To keep ahead of the curve, enterprises should deliver their first response time between 35 to 40 seconds, as that will be the minimum range businesses will be working with in 2023.
The UK was a hub of excitement with Ascensos being named the winner of the South West Contact Centre Forum Diversity & Inclusion award 2022. A crucial factor to enhancing innovation and making employees feel valued, diversity and inclusion is one of the top priorities of leading organizations in the Global Business Services (GBS) environment.
Asian and Eastern European locations consistently featured as top performers in the GBS World Competitiveness Index for Digital and ITO services. The index identifies and ranks the leading global destinations for Digital and IT Outsourcing. India stole the spotlight by appearing in the top 5 in every category, ranking first in two of them. Poland was also a notable feature in the index, ranking highly in three categories and ranking first in the Technical and Helpdesk Support category.
Another CX organization received recognition for putting people first, this time in South Africa where Sigma Connected won the Jobs Creation Award as part of the Top Empowerment Awards for its commitment to creating quality job opportunities to disadvantaged communities. The award showcases organizations across South Africa that contribute towards employment creation and making a difference to impoverished communities.
Meanwhile, India has been ranked third globally and third in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region in terms of CX maturity, according to a Zendesk report. Scoring the highest globally, 56% of Indian enterprises displayed strong, comprehensive CX metrics, followed by Canada (49%) and the UK (44%). However, only 17% of Indian businesses qualify as ‘CX Champions’.
Middle Eastern shops are soon to offer an even smoother shopping experience, where Al Meera Consumer Goods Company, a provider of wholesale and retail goods, has partnered with Zippin, a retail technology leader, to deploy checkout-free stores across the region. Integrating a series of cameras and sensors with Zippin’s multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) technology, stores will be able to offer a frictionless CX for consumers-on-the-move.
