1. McKinsey: Customer experience increases total shareholder return

Research by consulting firm McKinsey with 8,500 insurance customers in North America found that customer experience is a strong driver of financial and organisational gains. Companies identified as CX leaders outperformed competitors in total shareholder return and revenue growth as well as in employee and agent satisfaction.

2. Legacy systems impede improved customer experience

According to Verint’s “State of Digital Customer Experience Report,” nearly half (46 per cent) of businesses surveyed say legacy systems are an obstacle to a delivering great digital customer experiences. In addition, over three-quarters (77 per cent) believe that customers’ CX expectations are even higher than they were 12 months ago.

3. Immersive CX linked to ‘tangible revenue gains’

Customers are increasingly expecting immersive experiences – natural and smooth interactions. And companies that deliver such experiences are already reaping rewards. A report from ZenDesk finds that 77 per cent of companies that have invested in immersive tech have seen positive ROI.

4. Gartner reveals three technologies transforming customer service by 2028

It’s no surprise that Gartner sees artificial intelligence (AI) featuring strongly in the future toolsets of CX-driven organisations. In a report, the analyst house sees generative AI, digital customer service and conversational user interfaces (CUIs) as three technologies transforming customer service by 2028.

5. Investing in CX leads to growth and profits, Adobe finds

Adobe’s State of Digital Customer Experience report found that CX leaders are reaping the rewards for their investment. Companies putting their faith in customer-driven strategies see 23 per cent higher growth, 17 per cent more referrals and 12 per cent more repeat business than before.

6. ChatGPT could be harming your customer experience

A UX expert tells Forbes why using the large language model for customer experience could be doing more harm than good. A lack of original innovation and empathy are two of the four key reasons.

7. Customers worry about ‘unethical’ use of AI

Businesses are rushing to adopt artificial intelligence to boost their operations and improve CX. However, how they use AI is critical to customers. According to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report (gated content) as many as 75 per cent of people surveyed were concerned by unethical use of AI by brands.

8. Siloed customer data remains a big challenge for CX leaders

Data silos remain the biggest challenge for customer experience teams, according to research from CX Network. In its annual survey, it found that 46 per cent of respondents reported siloed customer data as one of the top three challenges faced by CX teams.

9. Detect and defeat bots to deliver seamless CX

Not all bots are bad, but the ones that result in account takeovers, mass-purchase products in seconds and skew PPC campaigns can have a detrimental effect on CX. Newsweek suggests some strategies for dealing with the bot menace.

10. US firms see ‘unprecedented’ fall in UX quality

Forrester’s US Customer Experience Index report found that CX quality scores dropped for a second consecutive year. Most industries struggled to improve CX for end users – with only 6 six per cent of brands improving CX, compared to 10 per cent a year ago.