New Survey Finds Retailers Failing at M-Commerce Customer Service

Brands at Risk of Losing Millennials, Gen Z for Good if they Don't Meet Consumers where they are -- in the app

News provided by

Nov 18, 2021, 09:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Helpshift, the established leader for in-app customer service in the mobile gaming industry, today released survey results that reveal consumers' frustration with the lack of effective, in-app customer support across industries.

Retail topped the list of industries that missed the mark when it came to good customer service. Key areas of frustration stemmed from a lack of speedy responses and a lack of knowledge of customers' purchase history. Almost half (46%) said they resorted to complaining on social media to air grievances. Millennials and Gen Z were most likely to complain through this channel -- likely since they were the first generation to become accustomed to communicating with brands through social media as young adults.

Key Findings:

Retail was named the worst in customer service (37%), ranking even worse than the oft-hated airline industry (21%) and banking (14%).
83% of Gen Z (ages 18-24) said that multilingual customer service communication was "very important or important." This is a key takeaway for retailers, since Gen Z now makes up 40% of consumers.
70% of millennial respondents said they'd abandon a cart based on poor customer service.

"As a leader of in-app customer service for the gaming industry that has already shifted to mobile, we were eager to take the temperature of other industries that are shifting to mobile" said Erik Ashby, Product Manager, Helpshift. "It is clear that the next generation is not OK with the legacy channels of the past and are demanding in-app, instant and elegant support experiences."

"Where's my Customer Service Agent?"
65% said that difficulty getting in touch with a customer service team caused them to abandon carts completely. When asked how likely they were to complain on social media, 46% said either "likely" or "very likely." The group most likely to complain was ages 25-34 (43%), followed by those ages 35-44 (42%). The fact that they are shouting into the void to get answers may indicate they are not ready to give up on the brand completely yet, but there are additional issues that brands need to address, or risk losing customers completely.

Great Expectations
Among those surveyed, 61% said it's important or very important that a chatbot/customer service option offers their assistance in more than one language. An overwhelming majority, 83% of those 18-24, said this was "very important or important." The absence of this offering is a major issue, since in the United States, 13 percent of the population speaks Spanish at home, and brands are under pressure to be inclusive.

The Need for Speed
In the past six months, a majority (63%) said they have left their cart out of frustration due to the lack of quick customer service responses. When it comes to speed of response, 37% said they expect contact in less than 5 minutes. Perhaps a sign of the low expectations we've had, almost the exact same amount (35%) only expect a response in less than 10 minutes. 19% said they expected a response in under a minute.

This frustration is largely due to an outdated, broken customer service industry that's not ready for the reality of this next generation's m-commerce habits. Gen Z is known to be more discriminating about the brands they associate with, and also more willing to spend on luxury purchases. Retailers can't afford to lose out on this massive portion of the population. For Gen Z, m-commerce isn't a bonus or an option, but a given.

A typical call center often gets about 15,000 complaints per month, but one agent can only handle about 1,000 issues in a month. As a result of using Helpshift, a typical company can meet this need with only two customer support agents. By combining AI, bots, human agents, and an elegant in-app support experience brands that are using Helpshift can handle this same load at a fraction of the overall cost.

"Supply chain issues leading to limited inventory, combined with the great labor shortage, has caused more consumers to shop on mobile than ever before, and customer service inquiries are at an all-time high. Our dominance in the gaming industry is due to our ability to reach players quickly and effectively, within the app--and it's clear that several industries are simply not there yet, " said Erik Ashby, Head of Product, Helpshift. "We are way past the era when retailers could simply bulk up mobile customer service and support staff for only one week of Black Friday. Desktop shopping will be obsolete in the next decade, and many companies are not prepared to handle that shift."

About Helpshift
Helpshift provides software designed to rid the world of bad customer service. Purpose-built for the needs of modern, mobile-first businesses, Helpshift gives users the simplest mobile "always on'' help experience that is fast and feels as natural and personal as talking to friends and family. Helpshift's in-app chat, bots and automation combine to provide immediate, automated solutions to many issues. Leading brands like Glu Mobile, Playrix, and Brex use Helpshift to serve billions of support interactions monthly. Helpshift is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe. To learn more about Helpshift, visit helpshift.com and follow @helpshift on Twitter.

SOURCE Helpshift