Most of us may still be stuck in a summer haze, but that doesn’t mean we’re not already thinking about the holiday season. For many of us, thoughts of snagging the huge flat-screen TV you know your parents have been eyeing or that pair of designer sunglasses your best friend keeps talking about are creeping in your mind. You’re thinking about the amount of money we’re going to be spending and all of the shopping you’re going to be doing to get it done.
Contrary to popular belief, not everybody waits until the last minute rush to get their shopping done (only 10 percent of individuals do). In actuality, research shows that consumers begin holiday shopping as early as May, and one-third start shopping before September. Now is prime time for call center managers to begin thinking about how they can best engage their unique holiday shoppers.
Not sure if your call center software measures up? Consider if your technology can handle these three things:
Mobile Shoppers: Research shows that 70 percent of smartphone owners are online – even when they’re in store. Your call center software needs to support mobile engagement with customers both efficiently and easily. This should include an easy-to-use call center application, where customers can request assistance with just the bush of a button and agents can get a holistic, 360-degree of the customer, including his or her history, location and preferences.
Superior Web Service: This same research also shows that 89 percent of consumers start their holiday shopping online. This should include live Web chat, click-to-call, live video chat, Web call back and co-browsing so that customers can enjoy the complete holiday shopping experience.
So although you may be enjoying the heat waves and lazy beach days, remember that the holidays are essentially right around the corner- and for your customers, the time to shop is now.
