Market Trends of Customer Self-Service Software Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Customer Self-Service Software Market according to our research experts:
Increased Penetration of Cloud Services in the Retail sector is Expected to Drive the Market Growth
- The retail sector has been a significant adopter of customer self-service solutions for many years, and the trend is also expected to continue in the coming years. Retail companies are vying to deploy new technologies and are witnessing the growing adoption of self-service checkouts. Self-service has already made inroads in product-scanning technology, which retail majors are incorporating.
- According to Jumper.ai, chatbot technology isn't just a customer service tool for retailers, as it also can collect unique first-party customer data. The recent trend of AI in the sector is also developing space for technology. According to analytics firm Invoca, nearly half (49%) of US consumers trusted advice generated by AI technology in the retail category more than any other type analyzed.
- US-based Zappix offers cloud-based digital self-service solutions that leverage the speed of Visual IVR and the convenience of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to provide enhanced customer experiences. Some of the claimed benefits of the solutions for retailers mentioned by the company are reduced calls to agents, lower contact center costs, enhanced customer experience, automation of repetitive processes, targeted revenue growth opportunities, enabling live agents to focus on high-value queries, and shorter average handling times per call, among others.
- Zappix also claims that its solution can be integrated with any CRM, Order Management System, and other back-end systems to connect customers directly to the retailer. The company also offers Zappix Actionable Analytics which tracks the customer journey and provides reports analyzing consumer behavior and trends. With other retail companies expected to follow suit, the demand for self-service solutions is poised to increase.
- As per a survey conducted by Flexera Software, in 2022, about 46% of respondents are running significant workloads on Amazon Web Services (AWS), and 45% are already running significant workloads on Azure. Thus, with the surge in the overall utilization of public cloud platform services running applications throughout the globe, the Customer Self-Service Software Market will witness an exponential growth rate during the predicted period.
North America Contributes to Maximum Market Share
- North America has the largest market share and dominates the customer self-service software market. This is due to the rising social media penetration, significant self-service software vendors, and high cloud-based deployment of self-service solutions. The increasing penetration of web self-service solutions and mobile among consumers is also estimated to encourage the growth of the North American market in the next few years. Additionally, the presence of several leading customer self-service software players is anticipated to supplement the development of the market studied.
- US-based Big Fish Games uses an automated SmartAssistant that leverages information from the customer's web session (including keywords searched) to offer a 360° personalized service. Using this approach, Big Fish Games has increased customer satisfaction to about 94%, achieved a self-service web rate of 96.4%, and saved USD 870,000. The recent COVID-19 outbreak further expanded the scope and adoption of customer self-service solutions in the retail industry. For instance, in its 22 Canadian stores, Walmart has deployed self-scanning outlets.
- Walgreen's Drugstore.com offers web self-service on Facebook and Twitter. Customers who search and shop online can chat with an agent to find products, resolve issues, and learn about promotions. With this strategy, the company has raised order sizes by 20% and saved around USD 350,000 through call deflection.
- Also, 7-Eleven Inc., an American international chain of convenience stores, offers a chatbot on Facebook Messenger to enhance the customer experience. The chatbot converses with the customers, using AI that powers automation, but also lets the users sign up for the 7Rewards customer loyalty program and find a nearby store with available discounts and promotions.
- Major regional companies have already embraced AI as a part of their digital transformation. For instance, banking service providers, like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Capital One, have already deployed virtual assistants in the form of chatbots. They have also successfully streamlined their back-end operations, such as workforce management, thereby saving high costs.