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How we shop and interact has completely changed in the past decade, yet the entire customer revolution is still only in its infancy. What will the customer experience look like in 2030?
Technology has forced huge changes in how we consume and interact with brands.
Digital natives (Millennials and Generation Z ) – roughly everyone born between 1980 and now – have grown up with smartphones, social media, web shops, and increasingly, interactive, immersive experiences.
Their desires and demands to a great extent determine how brands should present themselves, as this group is by far the largest consumer group, in both numbers and spending power.
Today, the individual customer is already the boss. Their satisfaction and optimal gratification is worth a lot, and will only be worth more by 2030. This development has great consequences for the design of transport, logistics, and retail.
Customer experience in 2030: The most important features
Customer experience in 2030 will be comprised of several key areas:
- Omnichannel will reign supreme, with customers demanding the ability to purchase from a brand, no matter the channel – further driving home the importance of seamless customer engagement.
- 3D will make brands pop out – from 3D printers to 3D ads, dimensional is here to stay.
- Sustainability in business and the circular economy will rise, due to consumer concerns about the environment and their demands that brands do their part.
- Services and subscriptions will be a requirement for businesses to grow.
- Emotional intelligence will become a core feature for brands, from neuromarketing to understanding customer needs, to Artificial Intelligence, expect EI to grow tremendously.
- Shop windows will evolve: Both digital and physical storefronts will become more personalized, and pull AI into the results.
- Supply chains will need to be transparent and ethical, as consumers will be more focused on where their items are sourced in an effort to support their desire to spend money with brands who exhibit purpose.
- Delivery must deliver: Don’t think you can pass a customer off to a delivery company anymore – if something doesn’t arrive as expected, it *IS* your problem.
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From brick to outdoor to online: Shopping is different in 2030
E-shopping and e-commerce will be the norm in 2030.
This doesn’t mean that physical stores will have lost their value, but they’ll look very different than what we are used to right now, as this post is written. The traditional department stores will largely have been replaced by “retail spaces,” which will often be located outdoor.
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There are various reasons for this, such as increased construction costs and the need for much more flexibility than bricks can offer. The open air shops will not just focus on sales, they will mainly offer an experience.
Moreover, the emphasis will be on the social aspect. And when it rains, the shop will quickly be covered using advanced technology.
Industrial 3D printers, sold in the shop
Consumers want to buy what they want, where they want, and when they want. The risks of keeping stock will have further increased in 2030. The answer? Industrial 3D printers produce ‘on demand’ products. These printers will not be located at industrial sites, but can simply be found in the shop. The customer stands around and watches, and immediately takes his fully ‘customized’ product home with him.
Customer experience in 2030: Everything is circular and whenever possible, local
Worries about the planet will strongly increase through 2030 – and also amongst consumers, who will still almost exclusively opt for circular products and services. This will lead to a huge upsurge in the amount of sharing concepts.
Clothes, means of transportation, tools, living space: you name it – there will be a sharing or “as-a-service’” concept for it.
Products that are individually purchased will be entirely and infinitely reusable at the end of their lifecycle. Manufacturers that haven’t explicitly presented themselves as sustainable will surely fail.
The increase in environmental and health consciousness will also have resulted in a revaluation for small-scale and local. Local crafts will be hugely valued. This will not only benefit local communities; the planet itself will also appreciate this change in behaviour.
Logistics will become much easier and less burdensome. Thanks to extensive data and behavioral analysis, the offer will be strongly adapted to local preferences and habits.
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Nearly every product will become available as a service and offer subscriptions to drive consistent bottom lines
Nearly all products that you’ll be able to buy now will be available as a service in 2030.
The traditional model of ownership will have shifted increasingly towards renting products and buying services in which the original product no longer matters.
Take, for instance, a lawnmower. The object itself is of little value. Behind the product however lies a need: customers want to have a regularly manicured lawn. The rise of companies like Uber and Snappcar are an example of this development. Rather than owning a car, the transport from A to B is the focal point. Getting back to the lawnmower: Amazon already understood this development in 2015. Consumers back then could already rent goats for manicuring the lawn.
Meanwhile, subscriptions will also become critical to brands, as simplicity and ease are key factors to customer experience in 2030.
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Understanding emotions: Customers are the heart of every business – brands must understand what fuels their emotions in order to retain and earn new customers
According to Gartner, 80% of all customer contacts will take place via artificial intelligence by 2030. These AI systems will not only understand the customer’s individual preferences, but will also recognize the customer’s mood. Depending on whether a customer is angry, happy or sad, the system will adapt to these emotions.
AI systems recognize emotions by voice, wording, and facial expression, which is why brands use them in both physical stores and web shops.
The technology can be valuable in all customer contact moments that take place via AI.
Customers value empathic abilities, even if this takes place via bots. According to recent research from the Fashion Institute of Technology, millennials in particular seek an emotional connection with a brand.
An AI system that recognizes emotions and anticipates them will seem more human, reinforcing that connection. Customers have the feeling that “the system” thinks along with them, and they feel better understood.
Emotion recognition not only reduces the risk of a dissatisfied customer completely turning his back on a brand, it also provides new possibilities for up-selling. A happy or satisfied customer is, after all, more likely to buy something else, whereas this sales technique will probably seem more pushy to an angry customer.
Emotion recognition, however, does not eliminate the value and necessity of human contact with the customer. However advanced AI might be, it cannot replace human warmth and compassion. For some matters, people will always prefer dealing with a human. (Technology where possible, human where needed.)The challenge in 2030 will be not go overboard in using technology, as effectively illustrated in the video below.
Shop windows will become interactive, shops will present experiences, and specialized or customized stores will grow tremendously
Not all shops are open 24/7, nor will this be the case in 2030. The high streets in the evening hours and on Sunday will nevertheless be far less boring than today.
Shop windows will have interactive screens displaying ever-changing content. The content shown will be adapted to issues like the weather, time, and even to the person standing in front of the shop window. Passers-by can immediately order the displayed items with their smartphone. They will also have easy access to more information about a product via a QR code.
Physical shops will have changed into showrooms and “experience centers.” Using holograms, virtual reality, and gloves with haptic feedback, the customer will be able to try out and experience custom-made products before purchasing.
Robots in the shop will provide assistance, advice, and will point out the way, leaving shop employees with more time to provide more specialist help.
Consumers will be able to choose from millions of products online. Physical stores will, however, still provide an added value. They will have rediscovered themselves by focusing on, alongside experiences, special interests and highly specific market segments.
Think, for instance, of racing bike shoes, vegan breakfast products, lighting on solar energy, and VR game consoles. More specific will mean more successful when it comes to customer experience in 2030.
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CX in 2030: The supply chain is transparent
Which cows produced my steaks, and where did they graze? Did my burger come from a cow, or is it plant-based, and if so, how can I be certain the ingredients are safe? Which grain types are used in my beer, and where were these harvested? What happens to my trainers when I return them when they are worn out?
Consumers in 2030 will want ample details on origin, source, and supply chain design.
Manufacturers will also be providing lots of these details when it comes to supply chain and sourcing in 2030. Moreover, it will be an important competitive factor.
Spreading false information will be futile as thanks to the blockchain, fraudsters will be exposed at an unprecedented speed. The same blockchain will also make the entire chain more transparent than ever. Because of this great supply of information, the number of returns will reduce significantly, thus saving costs.
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Transport and delivery: It *IS* your problem if the customer doesn’t receive their order on time, in good condition
An immediate satisfaction of needs will have become even more important by 2030. Waiting for an order for several days will be unthinkable. Whatever we cannot take with us immediately from the 3D printer, will be delivered within at the most 24 hours during our own preferred time period.
Many brands and shops will have switched to same-day delivery, enabled by decentralized production possibilities and drone delivery.
Staying home for a delivery will no longer be necessary. Via our smartphone, we can remotely grant access to people standing in front of the door, so they can deliver the items into the house. The pilot of Amazon in 2018 demonstrated the technology. Thanks to camera monitoring, we’re ensured that deliverers will not abuse the advantages of having access into the residence.
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The most important factor for customer experience in 2030: Not technology, but people
The customer experience is all about people, and will remain so in 2030.
The Be My Eyes app is a current example of how technology can help to fill in human needs. This app enables the sighted to look along on a blind person’s smartphone camera by means of a videocall, so they can assist them with their daily lives. The technology behind this is perhaps not ground-breaking, but the application most certainly is.
Those who wish to build a future-proof customer experience should realize that customers are people. Technology is a means to achieve this, and never an end in itself.
