By focusing on seamlessly connecting all parts of the customer journey, brands in the consumer electronics sector can succeed in the face of economic challenges and rising expectations.
With shifting consumer mindsets, hybrid retail behaviours, rising service expectations and new business models, the consumer electronics landscape is dynamic and evolving.
And with consumer expectations at an all-time high and consumer electronics brands pivoting to sell direct-to-consumer, there is much to gain by optimising and taking control of the customer experience (CX).
Here are six ways to deliver a seamless and connected end-to-end journey, underpinned by hybrid-retail strategies.
1. Move with the times
As consumer spending changes and attitudes shift, brands need to think creatively about how to enhance accessibility to their products and services, considering progressive business models and rethinking payment, ownership, and delivery.
People increasingly want products and services on their own terms, with attributes such as immediacy and flexibility taking on greater value. What’s more, the concept of ownership is being reconsidered as we take bolder steps towards the sharing or access economy.
What if you were to become a trusted pioneer, delivering a market leading strategy for the provision of this rapidly evolving and highly in demand customer experience usership strategy?
2. Increase engagement
As consumers seek strong emotional connections with brands, as well as demystification of complex product offers before purchasing, brands must enable deeply inspirational and interactive experiences across digital and physical channels.
Consumer electronics brands are shifting to a technology-meets-lifestyle positioning, with the emphasis moving from rational and utility to inspirational and emotional.
IT and digital commerce leaders predict that social commerce is set to become the number one channel by 2029, overtaking marketplaces, brand sites and retailer sites – it is a key channel for future brand activity. In physical retailing, we’re also noting the launch of next-generation experience stores, with Miele and Samsung leading the way.
What if you adopted a seamless, humanised approach to retail, delivering a people-first rather than digital or physical-first experience? Connected in a way that harnesses the power of one-to-one, face-to interaction and playful in context product demonstrations? And what if you took an emotion-first rather than technical-first strategy?
3. Deliver the goods
When it comes to receiving products, post-pandemic hybrid lifestyles demand far greater levels of choice in terms of delivery, and expectations of speed keep on rising.
Consumer expectations of faster, more convenient fulfilment and greater control over the experience are at an all-time high and brands and retailers are playing catch-up. For items that are considered essential to daily life, such as smartphones and washing machines, waiting simply isn’t an option.
Optimising last-mile delivery through strategies and technologies, such as omnichannel fulfilment options, flexible deliveries, real-time transparency and dynamic notifications, real-time tracking and
electronic proof of delivery, will transform CX, improving satisfaction and building loyalty.
What if you became famous for a market leading delivery and fulfilment proposition, one that meets and exceeds customer expectations in the creation of a transparent and seamless experience?
4. Give service that really supports
Increasingly, the post-purchase experience matters as much as the first stage of the buying journey. According to CBI Insights, the cost of customer acquisition can be five times or more higher than the cost of retention.
The opportunity is there to turn one-time transactions into meaningful long-term relationships and enhance the ownership experience. As the focus on after-sales and circular support intensifies, brands must deliver a comprehensive ecosystem of services designed to help them own and optimise the post-purchase customer experience. And the rate of innovation in the way that brands connect with consumers post-purchase is increasing, delivering assistance digitally and offering new services to promote circularity.
Brands want to avoid engineer visits as this erodes margin and makes some items negative margin. Some brands are using technology to help triage any potential issues and where possible allow the
customer to resolve themselves through a few informed steps.
5. Help them to help themselves
According to WGSN Home and Lifestyle 2025, January (2022),73% of consumers say they are interested in tips and advice from brands on how to live more sustainably. Consumer appetite for self-service and self-help is rising, particularly when delivered conveniently through digital channels. This behaviour shift was triggered by the pandemic and endures today.
There are opportunities to make content and support services more compelling and seen by a larger audience. What if you took a technological leap and embraced the rapid developments in conversational AI solutions, such as digital humans, to replace legacy solutions?
Consumer electronics brands and retailers also face the increasingly complex challenge of providing tech support for devices. Solving problems by utilising digital service technologies can help to streamline consumer experiences, while protecting margin, driving loyalty, and enabling future cross-sell opportunities.
What if you dropped your guard on the fast-paced adoption of virtual reality solutions as a
service and took advantage of consumer acceptance and positive experience when interacting with a physical/virtual human to seek a solution to their problem?
6. Repair, don’t replace
The global consumer electronics repair and maintenance market is expected to grow from
$7.98 bn in 2021 to $8.38 bn in 2022 – so say Research and Markets. In the past 12 months, 53% of consumers have repaired an item rather than replaced it and 40% have bought second-hand or refurbished goods.
With growing environmental consciousness among consumers, the need to comply with right to repair directives and strong activity in other sectors such as fashion where circular business models are being scaled, circularity is becoming an imperative for consumer electronics brands.
E-waste is a growing problem, yet research by BT found that 41% of Britons say they have cupboards, drawers, or bags full of unwanted electrical waste as 31% don’t know how to recycle it.
So what if you created the ultimate marketplace for consumer electronics equipment that is yet to reach its end of life? What if you developed the infrastructure to bake repairing and recycling products into the overall offer?
The consumer electronics industry has plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has been the catalyst for reviewing the way organisations prioritise customers and the wider societal challenges that not only consider organisational growth, but prioritise the employee, the customer and the wider community.
Consumer mindsets are shifting, and hybrid retail behaviours are being adopted. Rising service expectations and new business models are evolving. To achieve accelerated growth, organisations will need to provide fast, convenient delivery, last-mile delivery through strategies and technologies, such as omnichannel fulfilment options, flexible deliveries, real-time transparency and dynamic notifications, real-time tracking and electronic proof of delivery.
Transforming customer experience will not only improve satisfaction but will build loyalty.
We’ve commissioned a series of reports focusing on consumer electronics and other industries to help you understand more about your customers, including how to best connect, support and transform their experience to gain competitive advantage.
