Omnichannel shopping, personalization and dynamic human behaviors all contribute to the design of innovative retail experiences that put customer service at the center. And the cloud is critical to its success.

For years, retailers have looked at customer service and the contact center as cost centers. But the rise of eCommerce and the rapid adoption of digital have elevated the role of the contact center to the frontline of the virtual storefront.

Consumers now are more comfortable buying everything they need online. And with that comes the increasing importance for customer service agents to represent the brand — and work with customers as the first line of interaction.

In an industry known for experimentation across technology, shopping methods and providing consumer delight, retailers have been surprisingly slow to move customer service to the cloud. Here are 7 reasons why you should consider upgrading your customer service to the cloud.

  1. You can connect your CX in a single engagement hub

A cloud customer experience (CX) engagement hub allows you to integrate your vast ecosystem of software, systems and partners. And you can connect the data for better insights and better outcomes.

Unifying your data, systems and tools gives you a single view of customer interactions. It allows you to deploy seamless omnichannel engagement. And it lets you orchestrate the ideal customer journey. Plus, it’s easier to manage.

  1. Know and understand your customer behaviors

It’s not easy to know what your customers have been up to as they meander across physical and digital storefronts — searching and clicking on products, product descriptions, reviews and more. With the right cloud CX platform, you can track and monitor customer journeys across multiple places.

And then you can leverage the data to provide the personalized engagement and the great customer service that’s expected. You can really know your customers.

  1. Offer better, personalized customer service

Retailers must deliver always-on shopping, personalized experiences and omnichannel engagement. Moving to the cloud gives retailers real-time access to customer data.

And that equips them to deliver personalized, predictive and proactive service. Your customer service agents and store associates can have instant access to customer history and order status regardless of the channels used.

  1. Scale support resources for peaks in demand

Holidays, sales and promotional periods require you to address fluctuating resource needs. Flexibility and the ability to scale on demand are big benefits of the cloud.

A cloud-based CX platform allows you to adapt and scale your operations based on market and consumer needs. With cloud-based CX, you can cost-effectively obtain the resources needed for actual use and then rapidly scale them up, if needed.

  1. See lower TCO and reduced tech debt

Old technology is expensive. It’s difficult to maintain, expensive to modify and problematic to incorporate new technology into the existing infrastructure.

Moving to the cloud expands IT’s ability to support the tech, increases opportunities for innovation and drives down operational costs. Total-cost-of-ownership analyses reveal enterprise retailers can save up to 40% per agent by moving to the cloud.

  1. Access to faster and always-on innovation

Today you need to deliver omnichannel shopping, personalized experiences and great products. Tomorrow, you need to deliver all of that, plus a consistent, seamless experience across physical and digital locations.

The cloud provides a flexible platform to accommodate all your changing needs and desired improvements. You can readily incorporate innovative technologies through your retail CX engagement hub to speed differentiation and more effectively focus limited resources on strategic priorities.

  1.     Design your CX for your brand — in your way

Competition in the retail sector is fierce. Consumers are constantly being lured by other brands, businesses and offers.

Enticing customers to stay with you means you need to deliver a unique, differentiated experience that’s consistent across all channels. You can create the differentiation you need with an adaptable cloud-based platform.

Great customer service is a differentiator in the ongoing battle for consumer loyalty and, ultimately, retail success. But it’s more than just providing service. It means taking it a step further and connecting the experiences, interactions and engagements a consumer has with your brand across marketing, sales and service.

When you connect the experiences — and proactively engage your customers in ways that make them feel understood and listened to — you develop a bond between customer and brand. That builds brand loyalty. And none of this is possible without a unified retail CX engagement hub that’s built on the cloud.