Time and time again, shopping behaviors change. It will continue to change in the foreseeable future. In the current time we live in, the shopping behavior of significant amounts of people revolve around online platforms. Brick-and-mortars, although still present and preferred by other people, is now 2nd fiddle in the transition to a world inclined on digitalization. Last 2019, an estimated 1.29 billion people did their transactions (buying and selling of goods or services) online. 

Buying and selling online is the new norm. 

What is this phenomenon called? E-commerce

Known as E-commerce or electronic commerce, it is currently enjoying its peak. It is steadily evolving at an astonishing rate, which has led to its booming in the market. Currently, E-commerce is prioritized by customers due to its indistinguishable  benefits. 

But even with its useful features, it is faced with a number of issues mainly relating to customer support and/or service. Common challenges include the following:

Customers get annoyed being asked the same questions with their queries. One issue the E-commerce industry has occurs when customers are not immediately routed to the agents that can handle their problems. They reach out to brands through different channels like mobile, social media, messaging platforms like WhatsApp, or others accessed through phones, computers, laptops, or other devices. The channels mentioned are quite a lot, which can get quite confusing due to the sheer numbers of customer inquiries. And in the chance that the original agent cannot resolve the issue, then the customers proceed to another agent, who will proceed to ask the same questions, much to the annoyance of the customers.

The sheer number of calls might become overwhelming. Large volume of calls can greatly overwhelm an e-commerce business, causing quite a challenge. Agents will have a harder time tracking customer info and managing tickets. As a result, processes will slow down leading to customers having to wait, which they do not like. 

Stuff gets repetitive in E-commerce. Agents will be stuck answering and resolving repetitive queries which can lower morale and efficiency.

In these situations, we see the importance of contact centers in the E-commerce sector.

Effective Contact Center

The best way to deal with the issues mentioned is through integrating an effective contact center solution. Software like Tegsoft CRM can truly help E-commerce businesses handle their operations – all the while executing effective customer service. 

The importance of contact centers in the E-commerce sector is highlighted through the following:

Providing Intelligent Call Routing – This feature should be common among all E-commerce businesses. The information gathered from the customers or callers are stored. The stored info is then used by the intelligent call routing system to determine which department the customer or caller should be directed to. This eliminates the issue of customer resolution confusion (e.g., different agents asking the same questions).

Knowing the needs of customers –  Businesses or brands should always have the goal of providing great customer experience. Customer analytics can provide and utilize the info needed to provide just that! Information like the behaviors, needs, and preferences of customers are taken into account. It also produces reports that can be of great help to provide a better CX. 

Adopting the Omni-channel approach – As stated above, customers now use different channels to reach brands. As a result, they need to pick up the pace and have a platform wherein different channels are seamlessly integrated to provide a much better customer experience. In other words, brands should have an omni-channel approach. Information should be at the doorstep of customers – regardless of where they access it. 

An increase in of E-commerce usage due to COVID

At the start of the year dated January 30, 2020, the coronavirus has already spread to many people and places – which led to the WHO declaring it as a global emergency. The following months resulted in lockdowns and restrictions into which many countries still suffer from. 

People’s lifestyle turned 180 degrees and changed. We call it the “new normal”. For example, schools are done virtually and face-to-face is prohibited in many parts of the world. This “new normal” also changed the way people buy and sell goods or services. This is precisely the reason for the further booming of the already-popular E-commerce in 2020.

People cannot go out as they please anymore, so transacting online is only natural nowadays. Physical interactions are at an all time low for a long time, as per predictions. 

With this, more people will use E-commerce. So businesses have to get ready and improve their contact center solutions. The importance of contact centers in the E-commerce sector is highlighted now more than ever because of the increase usage of E-commerce applications due to COVID.

REFERENCES:

https://www.ameyo.com/blog/e-commerce-contact-center-deliver-better-customer-support
https://www.slideshare.net/AnjaniVigha/importance-of-call-center-in-ecommerce-business-115358966