[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/#Article","articleBody":"Communicating with a brand via a digital or voice assistant might currently be the preserve of Amazon and Google, but conversational commerce has the potential to reshape the customer experience for every brand in the world.\nNow is when you make sure you\u2019re not left behind.\n\u201cThis will be more disruptive than the smartphone was. And people are not aware of it, in the same way that ten years ago they were not aware of the potential impact of the smartphone.\u201d Kees Jacobs, who works as digital proposition lead for consumer products and retail for CapGemini, is talking about conversational commerce, and he\u2019s one of those who does know about it.\nHe reckons conversational commerce is creating a fundamental change in the way consumers experience brands and retail.\nCustomer experience is driving dramatic change for retailers\nThe crux of this change is caused by customer behavior and expectations, says Kees. \u201cYou cannot say the customer behavior is changing. It has changed. And the rules that retailers used to differentiate themselves have gone. It\u2019s no longer just about range, access, and price. It\u2019s the same for brands \u2013 it\u2019s no longer about pricing, promotions, or how much they spend on trade promotions. The new rules are about addressing new behaviours, and using data in a different way \u2013 and doing it at scale.\nWe\u2019ve done a study with the board of the Consumer Goods Forum, sponsored by the CEOs of the 50 largest consumer goods and retail companies in the world \u2013 Walmart, Tesco, Unilever \u2013 and they are worried. They don\u2019t want to end up like the Roman Empire \u2013 it saw itself as invincible and eternal, but the Goths and the Vandals saw the weaknesses.\u201d\nOne of those expectations lies in the customer experience. The customer wants to be in control, and expects the retailer to make every part of the journey as easy as possible.\nConsumers want to feel as their brand journey has been designed for their benefit, not that of the retailer. For instance, CapGemini research indicates that 75% of consumers want to check stock levels online before going to a shop, and 73% want same-day delivery.\nConvenience and speed are expected as part of the increasing desire for an experience without barriers. \u201cThis is a weak spot in the industry that retailers and brands need to address,\u201d says Kees. \u201cThey need to make consumers\u2019 lives as easy as possible \u2013 hassle-free shopping, what they want at that particular moment without complications. They don\u2019t want to shop around for best value \u2013 they want to trust a brand to give them the best value.\u201d\nAlexa, order conversational commerce now\nThe entrance of conversational commerce will upend the retail experience for consumers and businesses. \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest change on the horizon. It\u2019s not technical or tactical \u2013 it\u2019s about new ways of interacting with consumers.\nConsumers don\u2019t know about it and it will completely change how we live. And we believe that this is a huge opportunity for brands.\u201d Because, according to CapGemini\u2019s chief experience officer Mark Taylor, conversational commerce \u201cputs the humanity back into shopping.\u201d\nThis is not about a voice-activated speaker in your kitchen. It\u2019s about dialogue and empathy.\nThat might sound like an oxymoron. How does technology-based on AI and machine learning inject humanity into the customer experience? Kees draws a parallel between Alexa and himself as an eight-year old: \u201cI was a conversational commerce device. My grandmother would say to me, go to the store and get my favorite cheese. I knew what cheese she wanted. I was embedded in her life. She didn\u2019t need to say anything more than that. Speech is much more natural than swiping or using a keyboard.\u201d\nAnd it\u2019s not speech being used simply to turn things on and off. \u201cThis is not about having a voice-activated speaker in your kitchen or giving commands.\nIt\u2019s about a dialogue. \nIt\u2019s about empathy, recognizing tone of voice, being relevant. \nThis is where conversational commerce really comes into play.\u201d Its potential to become embedded in so many aspects of our lives will make it ubiquitous. You\u2019ll be talking to your car, your fridge, your shopping trolley, probably through a single device.\nThe expansion of the Amazon Echo range is an indicator of what\u2019s to come. There are now seven Echo devices, covering different price points, and eventually they will be everywhere, and wherever you are you\u2019ll be able to have a conversation with Amazon. What this isn\u2019t is here, now. \u201cWe\u2019re at the first stage of the development of\u00a0conversational commerce,\u201d says Kees. \u201cIt\u2019s robotic dialogue \u2013 there are some examples of basic personal dialogue, but none of it is playful, or genuinely personal.\u201d\nInfographic: The four stages of conversational commerce\nConversational commerce offers brands and retailers a chance to lead on CX\nThere\u2019s still a long way to go until we get to the truly personal personal assistant. And in the time between here and there, the risk is that conversational commerce remains dominated by the device brands \u2013 the likes of Amazon and Google. That would mean competitive retailers may have to use their technology.\nSo one of the things Kees and a team from MIT and Intel are working on is a set of commands that could put the consumer directly in touch with a brand.\nYou\u2019d say \u2018hello, Coca Cola,\u2019 rather than \u2018hello, Alexa,\u2019 allowing the brand to escape the influence of whoever makes the device. \u201cIt\u2019s important for companies to start shaping the impact of this technology,\u201d says Kees. \u201cThen they\u2019re not dependent on a technology provider. That way they can master and then control the experience.\u201d And that way lies the ultimate purpose of conversational commerce \u2013 satisfied customers.\nTwenty years ago, Steve Jobs said \u201cyou\u2019ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology \u2013 not the other way round\u2026 What incredible benefits can we give to the customer?\u201d This is a rare chance for brands and retailers to make those incredible benefits a reality.\nTalk the future of CX from the comfort of your sofa. Join us online for #SAPCXLIVE.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Jack-Dyson-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Jack Dyson","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/dysonology","https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/jackdyson"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jack-dyson\/"},"dateModified":"2020-11-06T22:24:36+00:00","datePublished":"2018-03-27T09:00:00+00:00","description":"Conversational commerce will reshape CX for every brand in the world, and upend the retail experience for consumers and businesses.","headline":"Is the digital assistant the death of retail or its savior?","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/thumbnail-c3a1daeb7e8758dea0cce218c20d012a-1200x630.jpeg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/","name":"Is the digital assistant the death of retail or its savior?","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2018","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"03","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/03\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"27","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/03\/\/27\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Is the digital assistant the death of retail or its savior?","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/03\/27\/how-conversational-commerce-will-change-retail\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]