Brands at Risk of Losing Millennials, Gen Z for Good if they Don’t Meet Consumers where they are — in the app
Helpshift, the established leader for in-app customer service in the mobile gaming industry, today released survey results that reveal consumers’ frustration with the lack of effective, in-app customer support across industries.
Retail topped the list of industries that missed the mark when it came to good customer service. Key areas of frustration stemmed from a lack of speedy responses and a lack of knowledge of customers’ purchase history. Almost half (46%) said they resorted to complaining on social media to air grievances. Millennials and Gen Z were most likely to complain through this channel — likely since they were the first generation to become accustomed to communicating with brands through social media as young adults.
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Key Findings:
- Retail was named the worst in customer service (37%), ranking even worse than the oft-hated airline industry (21%) and banking (14%).
- 83% of Gen Z (ages 18-24) said that multilingual customer service communication was “very important or important.” This is a key takeaway for retailers, since Gen Z now makes up 40% of consumers.
- 70% of millennial respondents said they’d abandon a cart based on poor customer service.
“As a leader of in-app customer service for the gaming industry that has already shifted to mobile, we were eager to take the temperature of other industries that are shifting to mobile” said Erik Ashby, Product Manager, Helpshift. “It is clear that the next generation is not OK with the legacy channels of the past and are demanding in-app, instant and elegant support experiences.”
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“Where’s my Customer Service Agent?”
65% said that difficulty getting in touch with a customer service team caused them to abandon carts completely. When asked how likely they were to complain on social media, 46% said either “likely” or “very likely.” The group most likely to complain was ages 25-34 (43%), followed by those ages 35-44 (42%). The fact that they are shouting into the void to get answers may indicate they are not ready to give up on the brand completely yet, but there are additional issues that brands need to address, or risk losing customers completely.
Great Expectations
Among those surveyed, 61% said it’s important or very important that a chatbot/customer service option offers their assistance in more than one language. An overwhelming majority, 83% of those 18-24, said this was “very important or important.” The absence of this offering is a major issue, since in the United States, 13 percent of the population speaks Spanish at home, and brands are under pressure to be inclusive(Helpshift).