Much of customer experience today takes place online. How a company operates through its app and website plays a huge role in customer relationships and perceptions. The best companies create safe and convenient ways for customers to shop and get the information they need. Here are three stories from the week that showcase the importance of digital customer experience.
FaceApp Highlights Privacy Concerns
It was likely unavoidable in your social media feeds this week: people using an app to show what they would look like as an elderly person. The AI-filtered pictures seemed lifelike and fairly accurate, but aside from the fun, FaceApp is also bringing privacy issues to light. The app was created by an unknown company in Russia, and many U.S. government officials have called it a privacy threat. Users that agree to FaceApp’s terms and conditions (likely without reading them) give access to all the photos on their cameras and lose control of how their faces and other images can be used. In response to the criticism, FaceApp says it deletes “most” images within 48 hours.
Data privacy often centers around passwords and other private information in text, but visual privacy is also an important issue. In order to protect their images and information, customers need to be vigilant in understanding how their information is collected and used. This issue shows the need for companies to be transparent and honest in how they use and protect consumer data.
Amazon Prime Day Shatters Previous Sales Records
Even with increased competition from other retailers, most people predicted Amazon Prime Day would still be big. But maybe not this big. Amazon sold a staggering 175 million products over the two-day sale, more than it sold last Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. In previous years, Amazon has only announced that it sold more than 100 million products, meaning this is a substantial jump.
This year, Prime Day faced serious competition with major sales from Target, Walmart and eBay. Many experts worried that the abundance of sales would be too much for consumers and take away from Amazon’s sales, but that didn’t end up being the case. The sales numbers show that consumers are interested in major mid-year savings and will continue buying as long as the discounts are steep. This could signal even more sales and competition for next summer’s sales.
Lyft Extends Services To Public Transportation
When most people get on the Lyft app, they go to find a ride and driver. But a new service in New York will expand the options by showcasing public transportation options, including nearby subway stations and bike-sharing docks. The services won’t be run by Lyft, but are simply highlighted as additional options for customers. Lyft recently lost its lawsuit to New York City over a minimum wage for drivers, but says it is still committed to providing “the world’s best transportation.”
Lyft may have lost its lawsuit, but it is winning at customer service. Adding resources for customers that could possibly take business away from its drivers is a bold move that shows it really is dedicated to its mission and helping customers. Modern customers crave convenient information, and having all of their transportation choices in one app builds goodwill for Lyft.
No matter if customers are sharing pictures, shopping or catching a ride, they want a reliable digital customer experience. Brands that build relationships and consistently offer high-quality resources endear themselves to customers and create loyal shoppers who will come back for more.
Blake Morgan is a keynote speaker, futurist and author of two books, “The Customer Of The Future” and “More Is More.” Sign up for her weekly customer experience newsletter here.