Retail’s next CX frontier: From contact center efficiency to intelligent experience hubs

Retail contact centers are delivering better service than ever. They’ve embraced digital channels, invested in automation, and built scalable support systems. On the surface, things look good. Retail has high first contact resolution rates and a relatively low call volume compared to digital interaction load.

But a deeper dive into the data reveals a richer, more complex narrative. While the retail industry has optimized contact centers for speed and efficiency, it may now be entering a new phase of customer experience (CX) evolution. The current economic uncertainty, growing concern of product shortages, and price increases are adding new pressures on customers and frontline support teams. In this environment, success depends less on handling high volumes and more on managing sensitive customer concerns with empathy and accuracy.

The question for CX leaders is: are you ready?

Talkdesk commissioned research by IDC, which surveyed 417 U.S. contact centers. The findings were published in the IDC InfoBrief: Contact Center Performance*. The study offers critical data to help assess current performance, identify areas for optimization, and transform contact centers into strategic assets that contribute to long-term business growth.

Five things the data from the study tells us about retail contact centers:

• Retail associates outperform peers in human-assisted digital interaction metrics.
• Yet, nearly 60% of associates say finding answers is still a major time sink.
• Retail has lower call volume than other industries, but leads in automated digital interactions.
• As a percentage of total volume, retail’s self-service adoption is unusually high at ~23%, compared with healthcare and finance.
• Cloud adoption is lagging, making intelligent automation harder to scale.

Associates are hitting a wall made of data silos.

59% of contact center associates report spending too many cycles looking for answers, significantly higher than finance (28%) and above the total average (50%).

Contact center associates often toggle between multiple systems for product specifications, returns, vendor information, or shipping updates. Without a centralized, searchable source of truth, even the most skilled associates can’t deliver fast, seamless support.

This gap also compromises the efficiency of self-service. When bots escalate complex issues to humans, associates need immediate access to the right information to keep the experience on track.

Modernizing workflows starts with connecting the dots to give associates the right info, right when they need it.

Digital shift is real and measurable.

With over 1.1 billion automated digital interactions a year, retail’s right up there with finance and pulling in double the digital traffic of healthcare. And the kicker? Call volumes are lower, indicating that customers aren’t just trying digital channels but clearly engaging with them.

Digital is the front line, not a fallback. Customers are using bots, FAQs, and embedded self-service channels and seeing their value, especially as they expect 24/7 support. Retail has cracked the digital code by keeping interactions accurate, seamless, and scalable.

Digital is working, and now it’s time to make it exceptional. When bots can’t answer the simple “Where’s my order?” (WISMO) question, the fallback must be smart, fast, and connected—not a slow, fragmented experience that puts pressure back on associates.

Slow cloud adoption is making intelligent automation harder to scale.

Only 44% of retail contact centers are fully cloud-based, behind healthcare (53%) and finance (51%), showing hesitation in making decisions that are critical for scaling. Meanwhile, 41% operate in hybrid environments, reinforcing the same silos that prevents associates from getting access to information to work efficiently.

That’s also a critical blocker for scaling intelligent automation. AI agents, dynamic search, and proactive service features depend on real-time access to unified data, something the cloud enables by design. Legacy infrastructure means more patchwork solutions and less agility. Retailers that want to compete on customer experience must see cloud not as an IT cost but as a CX enabler.

Whether it’s integrating product catalogs, syncing loyalty data, or deploying AI copilots, the path to smarter, faster service runs through the cloud.

Evolving from a cost center to a central piece of the customer experience journey.

Retail contact centers are evolving beyond just issue resolution. They’re empowering customers through intelligent, AI-driven experiences. AI copilots, integrated with unified knowledge bases, can guide customers through complex product questions without needing an associate.

For example, a customer researching a laptop can instantly access compatibility details for accessories, like docking stations, directly through an AI-powered autopilot. This shift from reactive service to proactive assistance transforms contact centers from traditional call centers into strategic CX assets.

Integrating data by removing silos is the key to unlocking this potential. Connected information, such as product information management (PIM) or inventory systems, allows AI-powered copilots to deliver precise, personalized answers at scale. Retailers can provide customers with seamless, real-time support, reducing reliance on human-associated support and improving customer experience, positioning contact centers as critical drivers of long-term loyalty.

How can retail contact centers lead the CX revolution?

Retail contact centers are ready to lead a significant transformation defined by proactive innovation and leadership, where success isn’t measured solely by traditional metrics but by how well retailers anticipate and eliminate customer friction before it even occurs.

The answer lies in seamlessly integrating the brand’s intelligence into every interaction. Talkdesk Retail Experience Cloud™ breaks down knowledge silos, empowers associates with crucial tools, such as AI-powered copilots, and leverages the flexibility of cloud technology to change the role of the contact center. Far from being a cost center, it becomes a powerful engine of the customer experience, driving both loyalty and revenue.

Modernize your platforms and unify your knowledge to unlock your brand’s true potential. It’s time to transform your contact center into the backbone of exceptional retail experiences. Find out how!