The customer engagement challenge: How can retailers use AI and automation to build seamless customer interactions across digital and voice channels? 

Sponsored by Nuance

Thursday 5th May 2022

Searcys at The Gherkin, 30 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8EP

As consumers increasingly interact with the world through their phones, they expect to be able to contact their favourite retailers at the touch of a button - whether via an app, messaging platform, chatbot, self-service or the customer services contact centre. At the same time, customers are looking for personalised interactions which are as interactive as talking to a human agent while providing the seamless journey they now expect in the era of Netflix and Amazon. Failure to provide positive interactions at any stage of the sales cycle can result in frustration, a loss of trust and reputational damage which can wreak havoc on the bottom line.

As a result, companies are scrambling to build integrated data, AI and analytics capacity for a range of customer interactions, from verifying their identity, to checking where an order is or requesting a refund. And for the more complex cases, contact centre agents need the right data and support to resolve queries quickly and check for issues such as fraud without unnecessary friction, all while working in a remote working environment.

To combat these challenges, many retailers are exploring the potential of AI and automation technologies to optimise their omnichannel customer engagement and ensure secure, personalised customer journeys from pre-sales to last mile delivery. This roundtable event with senior industry peers will explore some of the key challenges and possible solutions for retailers in building customer interactions fit for the digital age.

Topics for discussion

•What are the key challenges for retailers in meeting customer demand for end-to-end digital interactions?

•How are customers' expectations of the retail journey changing, and how effective is conversational AI in maintaining high levels of customer service?

•How is demand for hyper-personalisation changing retailers’ approach to customer journeys?

•What does the future of customer interaction look like in retail, and how are chatbots, live chat and automated self-service optimising customer journeys?

•How advanced are retailers in leveraging data and AI to identify more complex customer service cases that should be escalated to the customer contact centre?

•What role can AI and automated technology play in supporting customer services agents with onboarding, real-time support and the skills training process?

Timings for the evening:

18:00 – 18:30        Welcome and refreshments 
18:30 – 20:00        Introduction to fellow guests and roundtable discussion 
20:00 onwards     Complimentary three-course dinner

Brought to you by Retail Systems