5 statistics that shed light on the future of customer experience
With a new year comes new opportunity. And that’s no different when it comes to customer experience (CX).
Every year, we commission a study of what the top CX digital trends will be for the upcoming year. One consistent finding from year to year is that how we engage with customers digitally continues to become deeper and even more immersive.
Now in its 13th year, our Digital Trends report reveals incredible data and insights about what marketing and CX teams are focusing on for 2023. Against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, our study has found that businesses are still making tough choices. And although the opportunity to grow in the digital economy is huge, customers are expecting more and more from their digital experiences. Which means that this year, organizations are reevaluating what matters most — making strategic investments in planning for future success — all while striving to deliver experiences that dazzle their customers.
As we sifted through the rich insights from our study, we discovered not only broad digital trends that will shape 2023 — we also found a few stats that stood out to us about the state of digital experience.
Here are five surprising stats that provide insight into the outlook of customer experience as you march into this bright new year.
The bar for customer experience keeps rising
This stat reveals a crucial insight — customer expectations have skyrocketed, and customers are challenging organizations across the globe to meet a bar that gets a little higher each year. The shift to a digital-first world has caused people to expect the very best digital experiences, no matter what industry they’re dealing with. Whether they’re buying movie tickets, purchasing bulk supplies for the shop, scheduling their annual health check, or refinancing a home loan, experiences across the entire digital economy need to wow customers on every channel.
Inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty are stirring the pot
Despite US data from the Adobe Digital Price Index telling us that inflation is slowing, economic uncertainty continues to be a major concern for most senior executives. This is noteworthy because it’s a sentiment that will directly impact your future planning, as well as how you can set your organization up for success. In the face of unpredictable times, business growth is going to be all about making every single customer experience the very best it can be. Because ultimately that’s what’s going to safeguard your customer base — and customer loyalty.
The potential of AI and machine learning is still untapped
At a time when AI seems to be everywhere, from computer-generated images to bot-written chat pods, it's especially unexpected that so many organizations aren’t getting the most out of their technology investments. But all this means is that there’s still room to automate tasks and free up workflows and processes — all while getting more creative with the technology you’re already using.
Content planning and creation are vital
Maybe one of the most telling statistics from our report, this incredibly high consensus gives us a crucial insight — the pressure to create more content is skyrocketing all around the world. And it’s become a stressor for many senior executives. As a result, you can expect to see content planning and content creation — as well as streamlining those processes — become a top priority for many organizations this coming year.
Organizations are exploring the metaverse
One thing is clear — there’s still a lot to learn about emerging technologies, and the metaverse is certainly at the forefront. The data from our survey suggests that when it comes to CX frontiers, most senior executives are in the early stages of understanding and integrating them into their strategies. Ultimately, this means there’s massive opportunity to explore these frontiers this year. But you’ll need the right technological foundation and processes to venture into these unknowns.
Take on 2023 with Adobe
Maybe more than usual, this new year has the potential to pay off big time — even in such an uncertain climate. But as you move forward equipped with the right insights and tools, you’ll be ready to try new things, realize your full potential, and create experiences that keep your customers coming back.
We’ve only scratched the surface here of insights we found in our survey. To explore the data in more detail and find even more useful information, get the latest Digital Trends global report.