What did our research uncover? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 72% of consumers trust companies less than they did a year ago<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 64% of consumers feel companies are reckless with their data<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 60% of consumers believe advances in AI make trust even more important<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
And yet, expectations around customer experience continue to rise, with seamless, personalised experiences becoming the norm across all touchpoints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a huge opportunity for brands to win back consumer trust with secure, thoughtful AI tools like Agentforce<\/a> and our results support this: 30% of consumers are willing to work with AI agents if it means improved customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As AI reshapes every aspect of the customer experience and AI agents start to become mainstream, what do brands need to do to earn and maintain customer trust amid shifting market dynamics? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\tCustomers are trusting less and expecting more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
State of the AI Connected Customer: Insights from 16,000+ consumers and business buyers worldwide.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tRead the report <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ap\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/salesforce-blog\/dist\/images\/offer-block\/offer-illustration-layout-one.png\")
\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ap\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/salesforce-blog\/dist\/images\/offer-block\/offer-accent-layout-one.png\")
\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ap\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/salesforce-blog\/dist\/images\/offer-block\/offer-cloud-layout-one.png\")
\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\nThe key to winning over consumers in a changing retail landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Retailers across ASEAN and beyond are facing a challenging climate. Rising costs, supply chain disruptions and shifting consumer behaviours are putting immense pressure on businesses to maintain margins while meeting evolving customer expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost-of-living pressures are the most significant factor reshaping how consumers shop. According to an EY survey<\/a>, 69% of ASEAN consumers are now prioritising essential purchases, while 55% are cutting back on non-essentials. Interestingly, this hasn\u2019t dampened demand for convenience \u2013 56% of consumers still prefer online shopping, favouring digital channels for deal-hunting and ease of purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In ASEAN’s highly competitive retail landscape, tech advancements have expanded consumer choices for products and services beyond what was imaginable just a decade ago. As a result, businesses now face greater challenges in attracting and maintaining customer loyalty.
This presents a one-of-a-kind opportunity for retailers to start implementing AI agents to drive better customer experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCustomers expect seamless, personalised experiences across all touchpoints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So, how can AI agents be effectively implemented into businesses? Our report <\/a>shows three key areas that can be targeted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Marketing:<\/strong> AI agents can guide marketing campaigns and promotions that keep loyal customers buying<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Experience:<\/strong> AI agents can create smoother, more personalised experiences in-store, online and throughout customer service interactions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Solutions:<\/strong> AI agents can deliver quick resolution times and rapid responses, the two things that matter most to shoppers when it comes to customer service<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Agentforce<\/a> is leading this transformation, providing businesses with solutions to enhance customer interactions, reduce wait times and drive operational efficiency to unlock trapped value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our survey shows that 80% of customers think the experience a company provides is as important as the products or services they sell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customers know what they want: fast, effortless service that meets their needs efficiently and easily. It\u2019s a fair expectation\u200c \u2014 \u200cbut what does that really mean and how can businesses deliver?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than a third of respondents say that inconveniences, such as a difficult return process or clunky purchase experience, will result in them never returning as a customer. 69% of those surveyed also expect consistent interactions across departments and prefer using fewer touchpoints to get the information they need to complete a task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, poor customer service is the second most common reason customers stop buying from a brand. In other words, brands that focus on affordability at the expense of experience are paying attention to only part of the equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2023 survey by Rakuten Insight<\/a> also reflects the same findings \u2014 50% of retail customers in ASEAN reported that they’d likely switch to a competitor if they didn’t receive good customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To unpack this further, our report found that younger generations have the highest expectations for customer experience \u2013 luckily, they\u2019re also the most open to AI agents. Over 40% of Gen Z and Millennials are comfortable with AI agents creating personalised content, meaning retailers can use AI agents to tap into these important demographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
50% of those surveyed are also optimistic about AI\u2019s potential to enhance product quality and deliver faster, more efficient service, such as engaging with an AI service agent that can respond to questions and resolve issues 24\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But only if AI agents are trusted and transparent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTransform customer experiences with Agentforce<\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Help shoppers find products and make purchases faster by guiding search queries and personalising product recommendations with Agentforce.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tFind out more<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\nRetailers can leverage AI agents to revitalise consumer trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Businesses can set themselves apart by ensuring their AI agent interactions are transparent and trustworthy. This approach shouldn\u2019t just be about keeping up with the latest technology; it’s about fostering a stronger relationship with customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our report<\/a> revealed that 64% of Singaporean consumers believe that advances in AI make it even more important for businesses to show their trustworthiness, while only 42% of customers trust businesses to use AI ethically, down from 58% in 2023. 64% also believe companies are reckless with customer data.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building trust looks the same for business buyers and consumers \u2014 fair pricing is the top concern, but ensuring service quality and protecting customer privacy and data are also key. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration between humans and AI systems is at the heart of ethical, trusted AI practices. This can include the constant monitoring and optimisation of AI outputs, easy paths for customers to engage with a human and allowing users to report errors made by AI systems. 71% of customers believe it’s important for a human to validate the output of AI. With Agentforce<\/a>, organisations can bring humans together with agents to drive customer success \u2013 powered by AI, data and action. Assistive agents can help employees in the flow of work by taking on time-consuming jobs, so employees can focus on more complex, high value tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n
- Experience:<\/strong> AI agents can create smoother, more personalised experiences in-store, online and throughout customer service interactions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Marketing:<\/strong> AI agents can guide marketing campaigns and promotions that keep loyal customers buying<\/li>\n\n\n\n