Consumers Contact Retailers through Mobiles Increasingly

And vice versa. As the research by CGS shows, both customers and retailers use mobile devices more and more to contact each other. Earlier, they more frequently used computers, mail, and landline phones. Now user support and other interactions have gone mobile almost completely.

 The increase shown in 2021 is overwhelming. The number of calls on mobile devices grew by 290% while messaging showed an even more impressive increase of 304%. It does not mean that other channels get cannibalized by this. Email, for example, remains an important way of communication. As for social media, their importance is hard to overrate, though it’s rather about advertising and shopping than about contact and support.

 What’s the reason for this sudden growth? First of all, it’s overall growing role of mobile devices in shopping. Users see products on social media, on video ads, banners, right on their phones and tablets, so it’s easier for them to contact the merchant right here. Social media, in their turn, make conversion easier by integrating links into posts and stories. From the merchants’ side, using for communication the same device that the customer uses for shopping is logical. 

 Also, phone communication reaches a new level through new technologies, like interactive voice response. Through this technology, customers can reach the right manager or agent automatically, without long call redirections. The larger is the business, the more it benefits from phone interactions, but small enterprises can use them too.

 The research is based on over 10 billion interactions made in 2021 between customers and merchants through various channels, in many different industries. Are any of them yours? Have you contacted your merchant or been contacted by phone recently? How was the experience? Share your impressions in the comments!