​​AI-Driven Shoppable Ads and Sustainable CX Take Center Stage in New Study

Last year, when we launched our inaugural CX trends report, we looked at a few macro trends – automation, immersion, and intuitive tech – that are driving the customer experience revolution. This year, in our report Where AI and Marketing Collide: 2024 CX Predictions, Acxiom zoomed in on how AI is fueling emerging trends in the CX space.

Given the recent AI hype, it’s easy to think marketers can sit back, put their feet up, and let the machines take the wheel. No need to be concerned with prospect acquisition or customer retention when new generative AI models can do it all for us, right?

The reality is, of course, quite different. AI certainly has huge potential. Throughout this report, you’ll discover numerous ways it’s being used to facilitate exciting new marketing capabilities. But there are no silver bullets – AI included. Keep in mind, AI is an umbrella term for a wide range of complex, data-driven technologies. Brands need to think carefully about harnessing their power, in conjunction with the requisite human expertise, to deliver real long-term value.

This inevitably means starting with the customer. Rather than trying to force-fit shiny new AI-powered tactics into a marketing mix, brands should be asking themselves how AI can help them understand their customers’ needs.

That is what matters. Understanding enables meaningful, personalized experiences that meet those needs. Whether it’s the 45% of 35-54 year-olds that prefer messaging with a chatbot than with a human, the 66% of shoppable ad users who find the format useful for product discovery, or the 44% of people willing to pay more for sustainable products, brands must understand and cater to the needs of the individual to deliver exceptional CX.

AI provides the potential to do just that if brands have the right infrastructure and expertise in place. 

Here’s why – in a marketplace where brand loyalty can seemingly be swayed by a coupon, we discovered 73% of consumers are willing to stay with brands that deliver a great customer experience.

In putting this report together, we wanted to tap into the experience, knowledge, ambitions, and concerns of brand marketers and their customers. We pinpointed five key trends that we expect to see developing in 2024.

• Shoppable Advertising
• Proactive Customer Service
• Healthy Acquisition & Retention
• Sustainable CX
• Predictive Personalization

We then surveyed 200 businesses and 2,000 consumers across the US and UK to get their unique perspectives. The result is an in-depth report that examines each emerging trend from both a consumer and brand perspective, and what brands can do to capitalize on them.

It’s a fascinating exploration of the “art of the possible” for how brands can use AI to supercharge customer engagement capabilities to deliver exceptional CX in the year ahead.

Explore the full report here.