It’s 2024. During the past decade, a staggering amount of data has been created every day and is continuing to increase at a year-on-year rate of about 22%. This year the volume of global data is predicted to reach 147 zettabytes according to IDC. 

The world is information rich. People are time poor. 

The number of people around the world who conduct a large part of their daily life on a device is growing daily, as is the breadth of activities that are now done online. Juniper research estimates that by 2026, in just two years’ time, 53% of the world’s population will access digital banking services. That’s 4.2 billion** people who will be banking digitally, up from 2.5 billion in 2021. In the retail space today, 2.71 billion* people around the world shop online, with this number expected to rise to 2.77 billion next year. 

More than half the world’s population is carrying a smartphone, which contributes hugely to the increasing time people are now spending online. This coupled with the widespread use of social media that enables instant communication, at anytime, is driving clear minimum expectations of online experiences. 

We want life to be easy, and we have certain expectations

• We expect to be able to do what we need to without hassle. 
• We expect all our digital interactions to be effortless. 
• We expect to exercise personal choice when it comes to the tech and applications used for our digital needs. 
• We expect that the digital world is always open and available, and we can do whatever we need or want to, at any time of the day or night. 
• We expect that whatever we are ‘told’ or shared with us during our digital conversations and interactions is correct, accurate and we can trust it. And,
• We expect that every conversation, interaction and transaction is conducted safely and securely. 

Introducing Juliette, Fred and Josie

The online consumer is in charge. Their voice is heard by their actions. Organizations that do not provide an acceptable online experience will lose customers, and if word of a bad customer experience goes viral they will suffer reputational damage. 

Juliette, Fred and Josie dream of an ideal online experience. Their dreams are representative of the millions of people who have the same wish for their online experience. They share a desire for everything digital to be effortless; making their life easier, saving them time and providing them with what they need, immediately, whatever the time. 

Juliette

Juliette regularly buys her groceries online and often gets what she calls the ‘shopping shouts’ out of sheer frustration. Finding what she wants is often a mission, she spends her life click, click, clicking, and the multiple steps she must go through to find items she wants and move to her shopping basket, make payment and arrange delivery are repetitive, time consuming and frustrating. 

Grocery Shopping

Juliette wants to be able to go online, ask for the items she needs and for them to be put directly into her basket. Depending on the mood she’s in, she may prefer to ask for the items via speech, or she may simply want to type her shopping list. 

Juliette also wants to be able to ask for recipe suggestions for certain ingredients she is buying, and also how much this would cost her, and how healthy the recipe is. 

In short, what Juliette really wants is, in effect, the services of a personal shopper but, definitely not the cost of one. This ‘shopper’ would know her, she can tell them what she wants, and they will get all the groceries into her basket. This ‘personal shopper’ can find the items much quicker than she ever could, and she can ask them anything, about any product, and she will get an answer immediately. She also wants this ‘personal shopper’ to source the item from where it is being sold at the cheapest price. 

So although the items Juliette wants may come from many different supermarkets she will always get the best deal, and will only have to make a single payment for her goods and they would all come in a single delivery on the day and time she chooses. And if she changes her plans at the last minute, Juliette wants to be able to change her delivery day and/or time too. How easy, convenient and pleasurable completing her weekly grocery shopping would be if this was the case. 

Possible? Probable? Practical?

Yes. Yes. Yes. In the digital world, chatbots, voicebots or virtual assistants are capable of acting as ‘shoppers’. But it is 2024 and this is not a standard, commonplace or a widespread use of chatbots and so Juliette and millions of others find their online grocery shopping experience far from satisfactory. Their experience does not match their expectations or needs. 

And Juliette, like millions of others, can’t understand why not? There is technological capability and a spoken commitment to customer experience by nearly every organization. However, the availability for the masses is missing.

Juliette just wants a fast, convenient, personal and safe online grocery shopping experience –  from ‘screen to table’ in two steps, so to speak. An experience that is effortless, enjoyable and satisfies her need for speed, simplicity and security. In 2026 we will think that any online shopping experience that doesn’t provide this as a minimum is truly ‘old fashioned’. 

Fred

Fred buys all his clothes online. He dreams of being able to describe an item or outfit, have these pieces of clothing (and shoes, accessories) found for him, and presented to him, so he sees an image of himself wearing the items chosen. This wouldn’t just be any image, it would be a real-life measurement model of him. This would allow Fred to see the exact fit of the size he should buy. The correct size of a particular item, to fit his body shape, would be automatically chosen, so he didn’t have to check a size guide, or try to navigate the different sizing across different brands, or sizing systems across geographies. 

Like Juliette, Fred wants the payment and delivery process to be effortless. He wants to be in charge of the date and time of delivery so that it suits him, and should Fred wish to return the purchase he wants to be able to book a return as simply as booking a delivery. Fred wants to be able to do all this with a virtual shopper via voice or if he is in a place where he doesn’t want to ‘speak’, to be able to ask the ‘shopper’ via text exchange. 

Convenience, speed, effortless, enjoyable, rewarding, when, how and where he wants …. that’s Fred’s dream for his clothes shopping. 

Josie

Josie does all her banking, and financial well-being activities such as insurance, pension, tax online. 

Josie dreads having to do any financial administration because she finds it so complicated, time consuming and unfriendly. Josie dreams about having her queries/questions/concerns answered directly and in plain English. What she usually gets is financial jargon, links to brochureware or documents that are pages and pages in length and legalize point after point after point. 

Josie wants to be able to do all her banking in just one step – but still securely. She wants to be able to ask and get an immediate answer or action on payments, balances, interest rates and other things. She doesn’t want to have to go to different areas of her account to ‘find’ or ‘do’ things – in one place, via one screen she wants to ask, instruct or enquire and her need will be met. That’s the chatbot or voicebot that would make a great customer experience. Easy, effortless, enjoyable. 

Great customer experiences shouldn’t be dreams because they can be reality

Talking about customer experience isn’t an investment in customer experience. Today’s conversational AI solutions, that leverage generative AI as appropriate, when correctly and expertly designed, built and deployed can make Juliette’s, Fred’s and Josie’s dreams a reality. Not only that, conversational AI solutions will also meet their next dream before they’ve even had it. As their expectations increase, conversational AI will be able to deliver. 

Effortless, convenient and on their terms don’t seem too much of a customer ask. Organisations that are not delivering on these basics will lose customers to competitors who can. 

At Creative Virtual our V-Person and V-Studio products are powering the next-generation conversational AI solutions, giving chatbots, voicebots and virtual assistants capabilities that are redefining great customer experiences. Adhering to the highest of security standards, committed to ethical AI, and ensuring accuracy and honesty in how chatbots, voicebots and virtual assistants represent brands, Creative Virtual can turn the dreams of millions into reality and help financial services, the retail industry and many other sectors elevate their customer experience and their P&L.