When 62% of your customers are making decisions based on deals and discounts, is investing in premium customer experience a luxury you can still afford, or is it the only thing that can actually save you?
Agility requires brands to move beyond seasonal planning and into a state of continuous listening. It’s about having the insight and infrastructure to pivot your customer experience strategy in real-time based on economic signals and shifting consumer priorities.
Today, we’re going to talk about decoding the often-conflicting signals consumers sent during the last holiday season. Five9 posted some of their findings in a report that we’ll link out to in the show notes.
We’ll explore how deep-seated economic pressures are reshaping shopping habits, and how AI is moving from a back-office tool to a front-line differentiator that can deliver both the savings customers crave and the experiences that build loyalty.
To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome, Jenn Edwards, VP of Customer Experience at Five9.
About Jenn Edwards
Jenn Edwards is an accomplished professional in customer experience and marketing, currently serving as the VP of Customer Experience at Five9. With a robust background that includes roles such as Marketing and Customer Experience Advisor at JME Consulting and Co-Founder of Community Art Collaborative, Jennifer has demonstrated strong leadership and innovative thinking. Previously, Jennifer held the position of Americas Field Marketing Leader at Cisco and served as VP Global Demand at WalkMe™. Educationally, Jennifer holds a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management from UCL and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing/International Business from Manhattan College.
Jenn Edwards on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermaciveredwards/
Resources
Five9: https://www.five9.com/
The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow
Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://www.thecrmc.com/
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Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom
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Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com
The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company
Transcript
Greg Kihlstrom:
[0:49] When 62% of your customers are making decisions based on deals and discounts, is investing in premium customer experience a luxury you can still afford? Or is it the only thing that can actually save you?
[1:01] Agility requires brands to move beyond seasonal planning and into a state of continuous listening. It’s about having the insight and infrastructure to pivot your customer experience strategy in real-time based on economic signals and shifting consumer priorities.
[1:16] Today we’re going to talk about decoding the often conflicting signals that consumers sent during the last holiday season. 5.9 posted some of their findings in a report that we’ll link out to in the show notes. We’re going to explore how deep-seated economic pressures are reshaping shopping habits, and how AI is moving from a back-office tool to a frontline differentiator that can deliver both the savings that customers crave and the experiences that build loyalty.
[1:43] To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Jenn Edwards, VP of Customer Experience at 5.9. Jenn , welcome to the show.
Jenn Edwards: [1:48] Hey, Greg. Thanks for having me. It’s great to be here. I’m looking forward to our discussion today.
Greg Kihlstrom: [1:55] Yeah, looking forward to it. Definitely. Um, and before we dive in though, why don’t you give a little background on yourself and your role at 5.9?
Jenn Edwards: [2:03] Sure. My name’s Jenn Edwards and I’ve been with 5.9 for a couple of years now. I lead Global Customer Marketing and North American Growth Marketing for 5.9. I spend a great deal of time working with our customers and understanding their business challenges and the things that they’re trying to achieve. And 5.9 is, you know, for those of you that maybe don’t know about us, we optimize customer experiences across voice, digital, self-service, and AI to help companies deliver great customer experiences.
Greg Kihlstrom: [2:37] Yeah, love it. Well yeah, let’s, uh, let’s dive in here and…
Jenn Edwards: [2:40] Let’s dig in.
Greg Kihlstrom: [2:41] Yeah. Um, we’re going to, we’re going to start with, I mentioned the, the report that we’ll, we’ll certainly link to in the show notes as well, but your, your report found that 72% of customers consider customer support quality when deciding where to shop. Yet, we also see an overwhelming drive for deals. So, from a strategic C-suite perspective, what do brands do? You know, how should brand leaders reconcile these two competing demands for both bottom-line value as well as a premium experience?
Jenn Edwards: [3:11] I mean, who doesn’t love a good deal?
Greg Kihlstrom: [3:13] Right, right. Of course.
Jenn Edwards: [3:15] With that being said, we should really think about these priorities as complimentary expectations, because, you know, 45% of consumers in in the research that we did are motivated by better savings or deals. But 72% of them factor in support quality and the experience that they’re going to have, uh, when they do that.
[3:39] So, you know, in terms of thinking about that, and when you start to, you know, obviously we’re going to get to the AI bit here, so we may as well dive right into it. You know, where do you place the AI in the experience so that it’s going to be a leverage point? You know, where we’ll deliver cost efficiency for them, and then obviously preserve the premium experiences, you know, that are going to deliver the differentiation that you really need to create that brand, you know, loyalty that we’re all looking to drive.
[4:12] So, you know, I really think, and I would invite leaders to think about this as complementary expectations, not necessarily one or the other.
[4:21] Yeah. As we move into the, you know, into this as we work through this like changing world that we’re in.
Greg Kihlstrom: [4:28] Yeah.
Jenn Edwards: [4:29] Very fast.
Greg Kihlstrom: [4:30] Yeah, well, and that’s kind of a, that seems to be a theme here, you know, there’s a bit of fragmentation or even it’s kind of a, I would imagine even within any single consumer, there’s, there’s almost a paradox of, you know, the, the survey touched on the impact of tariffs and, and costs associated with those. Consumers are really split between the deal-seeking that we already mentioned on simply spending less or even spending more to get what they want and maybe the experience that they want.
[5:02] So how does this kind of fragmentation in consumer response change the calculus for retailers when it comes to things like planning, inventory, pricing, messaging for the year ahead?
Jenn Edwards: [5:14] Yeah, so only 24% said that they wouldn’t actually feel impacted by tariffs, right? And, you know, 34% said we’re going to look for more deals. And I’m going to spend less overall because of what it is that I want to purchase. And 21% more said that they plan to spend more to get the items that they want. So like, people will pay for it.
[5:38] Now, what I would say is, if they’re paying for it, then they’re going to expect that it’s a great experience, right? Because if it’s, if it’s not, then you’re not going to go back and spend that extra money. So that is definitely something that we want to take into account. So single-path strategies are not, it’s it’s not a place where we can dwell, whether you’re, honestly, whether you’re a consumer or in business these days. You’re, you’re, you know, how many times do we find ourselves like, you know, kind of multitasking or looking at things from different angles to find the right outcomes that we want.
[6:15] So, we really need to, you know, think through that and understand how our particular audiences are going to be conducting their shopping. You know, I mean, the good news is we’re all, we’re all actually consumers, but we do need to be really careful about not like, you know, injecting our own biases into that. So like, going back to the data and using the data is one of the best ways I think that you can, can really think through that. So strategically thinking about like the scenarios that we just talked through, uh, scenario-based planning. And like, is your particular product that you’re selling one of those where people will pay more for it? But then at the same time, they’re going to opt into wanting, you know, the right experience because they know they are paying more.
[7:03] Very savvy. We’re all very savvy these days. Everything’s at our fingertips.
Greg Kihlstrom: [7:08] Right, right. Well, and and to that, to that point, you know, one of the, looking at at some of the other numbers from the, the holiday shopping season in general, one thing that struck me was just, you know, I’m, I’ve been talking with marketers for quite a while, you know, we’re in year eight of this show. So talk with plenty of marketers, lots of marketers using AI. I was really struck by how much consumers are using AI and how much they used it. And, and your report certainly mirrors that as well. You know, 45% of consumers would consider using AI if it meant better savings or or deals.
[7:42] What are some of the best ways that you’re seeing retailers use AI to deliver on this promise, not just as a back-end operational function, but in direct customer-facing interactions?
Jenn Edwards: [7:55] Yeah, so, you know, I think what’s interesting is, is to start where the consumers have a willingness to use it. And obviously a lot of people will say, well, that is going to be, you know, the millennials and Gen Z, right? So we do see that the younger generations are willing, have a willingness to use it. So like 39% of millennials and 34% of Gen Z. But we also, you know, interestingly, have companies like Mason and Companies who, they’re over 100 years old, they are still processing quite a few checks. Their demographics are quite wide and their family of companies are quite interesting. And they really took that to heart and met the customers, all their demographics, those who were signing and sending checks, and the younger generations that like, we just want to get in there and get it done. They took that into heart while they were designing their self-service.
[8:51] And I think the companies that succeed are the ones that are understanding where the willingness is and leveraging things like this type of research and and all the other research that’s out there. I also think that there’s a lot to do with answer optimization and how your, you know, what you’re putting out there for your customers to be able to do the research and the comparisons and making it easy for them. So those are things that I would really be thinking about. And really, when we’re talking about implementing AI, it’s like, let’s not let the technology get in the way of the experience. Like, what problem does it solve and what are the what are the outcomes we’re going to get from it? Does the work that we’re going to put into this, the money, the investment, and the time, give the return that we need as a business?
[9:47] Both from a, you know, bottom-line standpoint and a loyalty standpoint.
Greg Kihlstrom: [9:53] Well yeah, and, and I think that that’s, that, I think that’s a great segue to again, certainly finding deals as as we, as we agree, is is a is a priority for for consumers. But the loyalty part, let’s, let’s talk a little bit more about that. It’s like, how how does a, a brand look at cause the I think the finding deals and and some of those other things that they’re very important to the bottom line to get more customers and and acquisition, but loyalty is that, you know, is is kind of the the the holy grail there, right? So it’s how do you use AI to help build lasting loyalty?
Jenn Edwards: [10:33] Yeah, so trust and transparency is like something I failed to mention, but is really, really going to be quite important. And it is critical to actually adoption, which goes back to the first point that we made here is, do not let the technology be put in place for the sake of technology’s sake, because you will lose the trust, which will then mean that you are never going to get the loyalty.
[10:58] And what we do know in this research and is that there’s a willingness within all the demographics to actually try. The millennials and Gen Z are like 46, 50%. They want the option to get to a human easily. And if that doesn’t happen, you know, I sat on a panel actually earlier this year with the retail, the retail teams, and we had Gen Z, Z-ers talking about it. And they did actually say, like, if it’s a bad experience with AI, then I won’t, I won’t use it again. Like, I’ll abandon it. So I think that you really need to understand which points in in the experience, and there’s a lot of conversation around also the mid points in the experience where you’re injecting AI or suggestions or recommendations in to help move someone through the process, but also improve the experience. So we don’t always have to think of like, it might not originate, you know, there, but you may, you know, someone may come to the site, leave the site, come back to the site, you know, after you’ve sent an email or you’ve pushed a text. And, you know, while we’re putting it up front and with consumers, I do also recommend, and I think what’s really like striking is the use of the data in the back end and AI to actually pull those insights out while you’re in the middle of like peak season and things of that nature, that can be really helpful.
[12:35] So, net-net, what I would really say is, look at the journey and really start to understand the points in which it’s going to make make a great value to the customer. Otherwise, don’t put it in there.
Greg Kihlstrom: [12:49] Right. Right.
Jenn Edwards: [12:51] Yeah. I mean, just don’t. Like, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
[12:57] (Music)
Greg Kihlstrom: [13:01] So, let’s, let’s talk about this from a, from a measurement perspective as well. So, you know, certainly there’s going to be core KPIs that, that don’t change or, you know, are, are, are sort of standard no matter what trends come or go. But as things are, are evolving, as, as you’ve said, what KPIs or or other other metrics should marketing and CX leaders be using to really track the business impact of their, their AI and and these, these customer support investments?
Jenn Edwards: [13:28] So, I I would be looking at repeat purchases within the same channels coming back to the AI. You know, was it so good that you were like, oh, I’m going to opt into doing it this way consistently, right? And and are you seeing that?
[13:51] So if you’re, you know, let’s just say, you were calling in, but then you’re within a chatbot and they’re answering things, do they stay in and do they actually complete what they’re trying to getting, getting the information they’re trying to do, like, maybe it’s delivery tracking? A lot of times we’re doing that on our phone, obviously, but you can still, you know, call and hear where, where it is and things of that nature. Do you stay within the channel you’re in? Are you having to switch because you’re not actually feeling that you have been able to accomplish what you set out to do? If transactions are actually completed within that, then, you know, and when you’re asking for the feedback, are you actually getting like, hey, thumbs up, this was good, or yeah, no, not so much. I think that’s a big thing to look at. Um, so are they completing and then are they coming back to it again where you can see repeat engagement through the same path is a good way to look at that.
[14:47] I would say.
Greg Kihlstrom: [14:48] Yeah, yeah, I think that’s where that, um, you know, there’s certainly value in looking back in and the, the survey after after the thing was done, whatever the thing is, but there’s a, there’s so much value in understanding the journey as it progresses, or, or not, if, if they stay on that one channel for, to your point, there’s a lot of value in understanding how many people are bouncing from, I mean, I I know I’ve bounced from a few AI chats myself to to real people. And in other cases, I prefer not talking with people, you know, it’s, it’s it depends on the, the case and the, the day and the need and and all those things. So yeah.
Jenn Edwards: [15:26] It’s very true, right? It’s the emotional, the emotional, I guess, part of the purchase of what exactly is it that you are doing at that time, and whether that re whether you’re like, I’m good and I don’t need the support, or I need the empathy, which goes back to the trust and the transparency. So being able to easily access that, and, you know, there may even, there are even points in some transactions where you’re going through it, you’re with a human, and then they’re like, okay, and we’re going to put you back in here and you’re all set and you can complete it and you’re good.
Greg Kihlstrom: [16:04] Right, right.
Jenn Edwards: [16:05] The other thing I would say is like, how fast are you able to complete that? Because if you can, like, people will choose AI if it’s like, I can get the outcome I want more effectively or it will personalize the experience more for me. Uh, so that’s another point where I think we, we see people going in and really kind of considering that. And, you know, when we talk about the metrics, right? For me, it’s the repeat I’m coming back. We’re seeing people come back and they’re using the same, same process. They’re not doing some crazy workaround.
Greg Kihlstrom: [16:46] Yeah, yeah. And I think there’s, there’s, you know, your, the research was really valuable in in, in a lot of ways, but I think one, one of the things that I think is always valuable about things like this is, is capturing the this moment in time of I, I think there’s, there’s so many things going on, which is, one is AI, I mean, technology in general is always progressing, but like I think AI is obviously with so much investment and and just focus on it, the tools are becoming better, the models are becoming better, all those things. But at the same time, consumers are becoming more comfortable with it, marketers and CX professionals are becoming more. So there’s, there’s multiple parallel lines you could say going at the same time. And so, you know, how do marketers, you know, taking a snapshot is really helpful to be able to look and and course correct or whatever. But how do you suggest having a framework to measure things because in 6 to 12 months, I I would imagine, just like we saw a huge uptick in in AI usage in consumers this last holiday season, I can only imagine what it’s going to look like, you know, December 2026. Like, how do you, how do you think of measurement when things are constantly evolving like that?
Jenn Edwards: [18:02] Yeah, and and right. So in the research we saw that 62% of them are were going to shop early, right? So peak periods are expanding. So, you know, we know we’re always on and and essentially, when we did that research, you know, 20% of them had already started. 32 are going to actually go like, not wait for the major sales. And 24 are going to actually go to the traditional Black Friday and uh, or Cyber Monday. They were, they were looking at that. And only 13% were going to actually shop in December.
Greg Kihlstrom: [18:38] Yeah.
Jenn Edwards: [18:38] Which is very interesting. Right? And I can tell you just in my personal life, I hear people all the time being like, I’ve got my holiday shopping done and it’s August. And I’m like, oh, I want to be you when I grow up.
Greg Kihlstrom: [18:49] Right, right.
Jenn Edwards: [18:50] Because I’m not there. But what I, when that is occurring, I think this is, you know, this is where we get into interesting parallels. So we’re talking about retail. But we have retail finance and other things that, you know, we, we do support. And we have a customer Northwest Mutual who won one of our awards, and a lot of what we did with them is we took all the A, the insights on the back end and were working with they were working with their quality assurance teams and looking at that and then optimizing the experiences that way. So you have both the front end and the back end starting to come together. And, you know, there’s a big part of me that says, we want these dashboards regularly. Another thing that I’m a huge fan of, uh, is a day in the life.
[19:39] Best thing I have done in my career by far is go into the contact centers, go to the retail, like the stores as well, talk to the leaders that are on the front lines, make sure that, you know, if you’re, you know, you have a plan, you put it in place, and then, you know, are we setting it and forgetting it? I don’t think anybody’s doing that these days. But now you’ve got, you know, both the front end and the back end and the technology and the ability to pivot a little more, to a lot more quickly than you had in the past. And I would say, making that work for both the customers and the employees is where you get really great outcomes.
Greg Kihlstrom: [20:25] Yeah, yeah. Well, and I and I think with, with the pace of change, setting it and forgetting it could be a few days at this point and not months or years or whatever it might have been in the, in the past.
Jenn Edwards: [20:37] So, I think that’s a really good point and what I would recommend is at that point that you are really as a team looking at the things and the moments that matter. And you can’t look at everything. And, you know, Jean Bliss, who is a amazing customer experience leader, right? Jean has always said like, there might be some parts of this experience that you’re just not going to touch. You don’t actually need to stress out about. And then there are others that are like, if we do not get this right, game over, right? So there are some like principles that will always be there, and that is one of them. We can’t do everything. So what actually matters? What matters to the company, but what matters to the customer and the experience? And if you look at it that way, then we start to be able to kind of to your point, not get overwhelmed by the amount of what we’re taking in and getting lost in the data for the sake of having so much data.
Greg Kihlstrom: [21:38] Yeah, yeah. So looking, looking ahead a little bit, you know, with, with AI becoming more deeply integrated into the customer journey as, as it already is, but, you know, only only stands to be more integrated. What’s a capability that maybe isn’t widely discussed today but that, um, you believe will be a non-negotiable component of successful retail a few years from now?
Jenn Edwards: [22:04] I think that the real-time orchestration is obviously front and center right now, but more of the thinking and, I feel like, sometimes I feel like you, you stop your experience and maybe you go back to it, you abandon a cart and then you’re getting an email or whatever. I feel that over time we will continue to be more, for lack of a better term, slick in integrating that into how it shows up in our lives and how we kind of keep that continuous engagement. It still feels somewhat divorced to me, like I know we’re following or tracking and then this shows up over here, but that to me becomes even more seamless in the thinking.
Greg Kihlstrom: [22:51] Yeah. So, um, as we as we wrap up here, a couple a couple of last questions for you, uh, first one, if we were having this interview one year from now, what is one thing that we would definitely be talking about?
Jenn Edwards: [23:03] So, one thing we would definitely be talking about a year from now is the fact that A, like, we wouldn’t be talking about AI. We’d actually be talking more about brands and the teams and this will just be part of how we do it. And people will, I would say, it’ll become a little bit more of the fabric, but we’ll get real about what’s actually, it’s actually capable of doing and where it should be applied. I really think that over the course of the next year, we’re going to see a lot more of that. Um, there’s just been there’s been a lot of expenditure going on and now we’re a couple years into this and companies are starting to really, you know, understand, is this working, is it not working? Where should it be applied in the course of the experience? And then there’s also, you know, some portion of what’s going on for human beings where I think we’re all like, I don’t really want to talk to a bot. Maybe I want to actually talk to a real human. So, companies finding that balance, I think those are the things that we’re going to be talking about more than that. And AI starts to look like what you saw with SAS and everything else. It’s just part of the infrastructure and how we’re doing this, how we’re doing this going forward and we’re applying it a little bit more methodically and thoughtfully.
Greg Kihlstrom: [24:16] Yeah, yeah, agree, agreed. And I think, you know, I I do wonder, I I probably need to make a like predicted date by or whatever is, I do wonder, you know, we don’t talk about the worldwide web or the information super highway anymore, do we? You know, so like, when do we stop saying AI, you know?
Jenn Edwards: [24:33] I think we’re, I don’t think like it stops, but I think we’re on that journey. And in my head as I had been sort of going on this journey, I keep thinking to myself, like, I can remember when we were selling software and it was on premise and then it was hosted and now it’s in the cloud and now we don’t, we don’t talk like, yeah, we don’t talk about the cloud.
Greg Kihlstrom: [24:53] Right, right. Yeah, yeah. If it’s, if it’s on premise, it’s like an almost an oddity or like a a relic or something or yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
[25:03] Well, Jenn , thanks so much for joining today. Uh, one last question for you before we wrap up here, what do you do to stay agile in your role and how do you find a way to do it consistently?
Jenn Edwards: [25:13] Yes. Day in the life. Best way to stay agile, get out in either my customers or my team’s shoes. Spend time listening and learning from them. Really asking good open-ended questions. I certainly do use AI, uh, to ask, you know, all the questions there and to, you know, formulate my data and to really kind of help me be more effective. But to me, at the end of the day, as a customer experience leader and a marketing leader, one that’s responsible for customers and a team of employees, it’s walking in their shoes and really listening to them that that I find the most beneficial. I always learn so much from them and it’s just really an engaging and enjoyable for me.
[25:56] Yeah.
Greg Kihlstrom: [25:57] Well, again, I’d like to thank Jenn Edwards, VP of Customer Experience at 5.9 for joining the show. You can learn more about Jenn and 5.9 and access the report by following the links in the show notes.
[26:10] This episode is brought to you by Teksystems. They’re leaders in full-stack tech services, talent solutions, and helping companies put it all in action. You can learn more at Teksystems.com.
[26:22] And thanks again for listening to The Agile Brand podcast. If you like the episode, hit subscribe and drop a rating so others can find the show too.
[26:31] And if you’re interested in consulting, advisory work, or if you need a speaker for your next event, feel free to reach out. Just visit GregKihlstrom.com. That’s G R E G K I H L S T R O M .com.
[26:47] The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link, a Latina-owned, strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging, and informative content.
[27:00] Until next time, stay curious and stay agile.
[27:05] (Music),The following is a transcription of The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlstrom podcast.
[0:00] (Music)
Greg Kihlstrom: [0:06] Welcome to season 8 of The Agile Brand podcast. This season we’re going all in on expert mode MarTech, AI, and customer experience, talking with the people and platforms behind the brands you know and love.
[0:19] I’m Greg Kihlstrom, your host, and I help Fortune 1000 companies make sense of MarTech, AI, and marketing ops. Hit subscribe or follow to make sure you always get the latest episodes and leave us a rating so others can find us as well.
[0:33] And make sure you check out our sponsor, Teksystems, an industry leader in full-stack technology services, talent services, and real-world applications. For more information, go to TEKsystems.com.
[0:45] Now, let’s dive in.
[0:49] When 62% of your customers are making decisions based on deals and discounts, is investing in premium customer experience a luxury you can still afford? Or is it the only thing that can actually save you?
[1:01] Agility requires brands to move beyond seasonal planning and into a state of continuous listening. It’s about having the insight and infrastructure to pivot your customer experience strategy in real-time based on economic signals and shifting consumer priorities.
[1:16] Today we’re going to talk about decoding the often conflicting signals that consumers sent during the last holiday season. 5.9 posted some of their findings in a report that we’ll link out to in the show notes. We’re going to explore how deep-seated economic pressures are reshaping shopping habits, and how AI is moving from a back-office tool to a frontline differentiator that can deliver both the savings that customers crave and the experiences that build loyalty.
[1:43] To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Jenn Edwards, VP of Customer Experience at 5.9. Jenn , welcome to the show.
Jenn Edwards: [1:48] Hey, Greg. Thanks for having me. It’s great to be here. I’m looking forward to our discussion today.
Greg Kihlstrom: [1:55] Yeah, looking forward to it. Definitely. Um, and before we dive in though, why don’t you give a little background on yourself and your role at 5.9?
Jenn Edwards: [2:03] Sure. My name’s Jenn Edwards and I’ve been with 5.9 for a couple of years now. I lead Global Customer Marketing and North American Growth Marketing for 5.9. I spend a great deal of time working with our customers and understanding their business challenges and the things that they’re trying to achieve. And 5.9 is, you know, for those of you that maybe don’t know about us, we optimize customer experiences across voice, digital, self-service, and AI to help companies deliver great customer experiences.
Greg Kihlstrom: [2:37] Yeah, love it. Well yeah, let’s, uh, let’s dive in here and…
Jenn Edwards: [2:40] Let’s dig in.
Greg Kihlstrom: [2:41] Yeah. Um, we’re going to, we’re going to start with, I mentioned the, the report that we’ll, we’ll certainly link to in the show notes as well, but your, your report found that 72% of customers consider customer support quality when deciding where to shop. Yet, we also see an overwhelming drive for deals. So, from a strategic C-suite perspective, what do brands do? You know, how should brand leaders reconcile these two competing demands for both bottom-line value as well as a premium experience?
Jenn Edwards: [3:11] I mean, who doesn’t love a good deal?
Greg Kihlstrom: [3:13] Right, right. Of course.
Jenn Edwards: [3:15] With that being said, we should really think about these priorities as complimentary expectations, because, you know, 45% of consumers in in the research that we did are motivated by better savings or deals. But 72% of them factor in support quality and the experience that they’re going to have, uh, when they do that.
[3:39] So, you know, in terms of thinking about that, and when you start to, you know, obviously we’re going to get to the AI bit here, so we may as well dive right into it. You know, where do you place the AI in the experience so that it’s going to be a leverage point? You know, where we’ll deliver cost efficiency for them, and then obviously preserve the premium experiences, you know, that are going to deliver the differentiation that you really need to create that brand, you know, loyalty that we’re all looking to drive.
[4:12] So, you know, I really think, and I would invite leaders to think about this as complementary expectations, not necessarily one or the other.
[4:21] Yeah. As we move into the, you know, into this as we work through this like changing world that we’re in.
Greg Kihlstrom: [4:28] Yeah.
Jenn Edwards: [4:29] Very fast.
Greg Kihlstrom: [4:30] Yeah, well, and that’s kind of a, that seems to be a theme here, you know, there’s a bit of fragmentation or even it’s kind of a, I would imagine even within any single consumer, there’s, there’s almost a paradox of, you know, the, the survey touched on the impact of tariffs and, and costs associated with those. Consumers are really split between the deal-seeking that we already mentioned on simply spending less or even spending more to get what they want and maybe the experience that they want.
[5:02] So how does this kind of fragmentation in consumer response change the calculus for retailers when it comes to things like planning, inventory, pricing, messaging for the year ahead?
Jenn Edwards: [5:14] Yeah, so only 24% said that they wouldn’t actually feel impacted by tariffs, right? And, you know, 34% said we’re going to look for more deals. And I’m going to spend less overall because of what it is that I want to purchase. And 21% more said that they plan to spend more to get the items that they want. So like, people will pay for it.
[5:38] Now, what I would say is, if they’re paying for it, then they’re going to expect that it’s a great experience, right? Because if it’s, if it’s not, then you’re not going to go back and spend that extra money. So that is definitely something that we want to take into account. So single-path strategies are not, it’s it’s not a place where we can dwell, whether you’re, honestly, whether you’re a consumer or in business these days. You’re, you’re, you know, how many times do we find ourselves like, you know, kind of multitasking or looking at things from different angles to find the right outcomes that we want.
[6:15] So, we really need to, you know, think through that and understand how our particular audiences are going to be conducting their shopping. You know, I mean, the good news is we’re all, we’re all actually consumers, but we do need to be really careful about not like, you know, injecting our own biases into that. So like, going back to the data and using the data is one of the best ways I think that you can, can really think through that. So strategically thinking about like the scenarios that we just talked through, uh, scenario-based planning. And like, is your particular product that you’re selling one of those where people will pay more for it? But then at the same time, they’re going to opt into wanting, you know, the right experience because they know they are paying more.
[7:03] Very savvy. We’re all very savvy these days. Everything’s at our fingertips.
Greg Kihlstrom: [7:08] Right, right. Well, and and to that, to that point, you know, one of the, looking at at some of the other numbers from the, the holiday shopping season in general, one thing that struck me was just, you know, I’m, I’ve been talking with marketers for quite a while, you know, we’re in year eight of this show. So talk with plenty of marketers, lots of marketers using AI. I was really struck by how much consumers are using AI and how much they used it. And, and your report certainly mirrors that as well. You know, 45% of consumers would consider using AI if it meant better savings or or deals.
[7:42] What are some of the best ways that you’re seeing retailers use AI to deliver on this promise, not just as a back-end operational function, but in direct customer-facing interactions?
Jenn Edwards: [7:55] Yeah, so, you know, I think what’s interesting is, is to start where the consumers have a willingness to use it. And obviously a lot of people will say, well, that is going to be, you know, the millennials and Gen Z, right? So we do see that the younger generations are willing, have a willingness to use it. So like 39% of millennials and 34% of Gen Z. But we also, you know, interestingly, have companies like Mason and Companies who, they’re over 100 years old, they are still processing quite a few checks. Their demographics are quite wide and their family of companies are quite interesting. And they really took that to heart and met the customers, all their demographics, those who were signing and sending checks, and the younger generations that like, we just want to get in there and get it done. They took that into heart while they were designing their self-service.
[8:51] And I think the companies that succeed are the ones that are understanding where the willingness is and leveraging things like this type of research and and all the other research that’s out there. I also think that there’s a lot to do with answer optimization and how your, you know, what you’re putting out there for your customers to be able to do the research and the comparisons and making it easy for them. So those are things that I would really be thinking about. And really, when we’re talking about implementing AI, it’s like, let’s not let the technology get in the way of the experience. Like, what problem does it solve and what are the what are the outcomes we’re going to get from it? Does the work that we’re going to put into this, the money, the investment, and the time, give the return that we need as a business?
[9:47] Both from a, you know, bottom-line standpoint and a loyalty standpoint.
Greg Kihlstrom: [9:53] Well yeah, and, and I think that that’s, that, I think that’s a great segue to again, certainly finding deals as as we, as we agree, is is a is a priority for for consumers. But the loyalty part, let’s, let’s talk a little bit more about that. It’s like, how how does a, a brand look at cause the I think the finding deals and and some of those other things that they’re very important to the bottom line to get more customers and and acquisition, but loyalty is that, you know, is is kind of the the the holy grail there, right? So it’s how do you use AI to help build lasting loyalty?
Jenn Edwards: [10:33] Yeah, so trust and transparency is like something I failed to mention, but is really, really going to be quite important. And it is critical to actually adoption, which goes back to the first point that we made here is, do not let the technology be put in place for the sake of technology’s sake, because you will lose the trust, which will then mean that you are never going to get the loyalty.
[10:58] And what we do know in this research and is that there’s a willingness within all the demographics to actually try. The millennials and Gen Z are like 46, 50%. They want the option to get to a human easily. And if that doesn’t happen, you know, I sat on a panel actually earlier this year with the retail, the retail teams, and we had Gen Z, Z-ers talking about it. And they did actually say, like, if it’s a bad experience with AI, then I won’t, I won’t use it again. Like, I’ll abandon it. So I think that you really need to understand which points in in the experience, and there’s a lot of conversation around also the mid points in the experience where you’re injecting AI or suggestions or recommendations in to help move someone through the process, but also improve the experience. So we don’t always have to think of like, it might not originate, you know, there, but you may, you know, someone may come to the site, leave the site, come back to the site, you know, after you’ve sent an email or you’ve pushed a text. And, you know, while we’re putting it up front and with consumers, I do also recommend, and I think what’s really like striking is the use of the data in the back end and AI to actually pull those insights out while you’re in the middle of like peak season and things of that nature, that can be really helpful.
[12:35] So, net-net, what I would really say is, look at the journey and really start to understand the points in which it’s going to make make a great value to the customer. Otherwise, don’t put it in there.
Greg Kihlstrom: [12:49] Right. Right.
Jenn Edwards: [12:51] Yeah. I mean, just don’t. Like, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
[12:57] (Music)
Greg Kihlstrom: [13:01] So, let’s, let’s talk about this from a, from a measurement perspective as well. So, you know, certainly there’s going to be core KPIs that, that don’t change or, you know, are, are, are sort of standard no matter what trends come or go. But as things are, are evolving, as, as you’ve said, what KPIs or or other other metrics should marketing and CX leaders be using to really track the business impact of their, their AI and and these, these customer support investments?
Jenn Edwards: [13:28] So, I I would be looking at repeat purchases within the same channels coming back to the AI. You know, was it so good that you were like, oh, I’m going to opt into doing it this way consistently, right? And and are you seeing that?
[13:51] So if you’re, you know, let’s just say, you were calling in, but then you’re within a chatbot and they’re answering things, do they stay in and do they actually complete what they’re trying to getting, getting the information they’re trying to do, like, maybe it’s delivery tracking? A lot of times we’re doing that on our phone, obviously, but you can still, you know, call and hear where, where it is and things of that nature. Do you stay within the channel you’re in? Are you having to switch because you’re not actually feeling that you have been able to accomplish what you set out to do? If transactions are actually completed within that, then, you know, and when you’re asking for the feedback, are you actually getting like, hey, thumbs up, this was good, or yeah, no, not so much. I think that’s a big thing to look at. Um, so are they completing and then are they coming back to it again where you can see repeat engagement through the same path is a good way to look at that.
[14:47] I would say.
Greg Kihlstrom: [14:48] Yeah, yeah, I think that’s where that, um, you know, there’s certainly value in looking back in and the, the survey after after the thing was done, whatever the thing is, but there’s a, there’s so much value in understanding the journey as it progresses, or, or not, if, if they stay on that one channel for, to your point, there’s a lot of value in understanding how many people are bouncing from, I mean, I I know I’ve bounced from a few AI chats myself to to real people. And in other cases, I prefer not talking with people, you know, it’s, it’s it depends on the, the case and the, the day and the need and and all those things. So yeah.
Jenn Edwards: [15:26] It’s very true, right? It’s the emotional, the emotional, I guess, part of the purchase of what exactly is it that you are doing at that time, and whether that re whether you’re like, I’m good and I don’t need the support, or I need the empathy, which goes back to the trust and the transparency. So being able to easily access that, and, you know, there may even, there are even points in some transactions where you’re going through it, you’re with a human, and then they’re like, okay, and we’re going to put you back in here and you’re all set and you can complete it and you’re good.
Greg Kihlstrom: [16:04] Right, right.
Jenn Edwards: [16:05] The other thing I would say is like, how fast are you able to complete that? Because if you can, like, people will choose AI if it’s like, I can get the outcome I want more effectively or it will personalize the experience more for me. Uh, so that’s another point where I think we, we see people going in and really kind of considering that. And, you know, when we talk about the metrics, right? For me, it’s the repeat I’m coming back. We’re seeing people come back and they’re using the same, same process. They’re not doing some crazy workaround.
Greg Kihlstrom: [16:46] Yeah, yeah. And I think there’s, there’s, you know, your, the research was really valuable in in, in a lot of ways, but I think one, one of the things that I think is always valuable about things like this is, is capturing the this moment in time of I, I think there’s, there’s so many things going on, which is, one is AI, I mean, technology in general is always progressing, but like I think AI is obviously with so much investment and and just focus on it, the tools are becoming better, the models are becoming better, all those things. But at the same time, consumers are becoming more comfortable with it, marketers and CX professionals are becoming more. So there’s, there’s multiple parallel lines you could say going at the same time. And so, you know, how do marketers, you know, taking a snapshot is really helpful to be able to look and and course correct or whatever. But how do you suggest having a framework to measure things because in 6 to 12 months, I I would imagine, just like we saw a huge uptick in in AI usage in consumers this last holiday season, I can only imagine what it’s going to look like, you know, December 2026. Like, how do you, how do you think of measurement when things are constantly evolving like that?
Jenn Edwards: [18:02] Yeah, and and right. So in the research we saw that 62% of them are were going to shop early, right? So peak periods are expanding. So, you know, we know we’re always on and and essentially, when we did that research, you know, 20% of them had already started. 32 are going to actually go like, not wait for the major sales. And 24 are going to actually go to the traditional Black Friday and uh, or Cyber Monday. They were, they were looking at that. And only 13% were going to actually shop in December.
Greg Kihlstrom: [18:38] Yeah.
Jenn Edwards: [18:38] Which is very interesting. Right? And I can tell you just in my personal life, I hear people all the time being like, I’ve got my holiday shopping done and it’s August. And I’m like, oh, I want to be you when I grow up.
Greg Kihlstrom: [18:49] Right, right.
Jenn Edwards: [18:50] Because I’m not there. But what I, when that is occurring, I think this is, you know, this is where we get into interesting parallels. So we’re talking about retail. But we have retail finance and other things that, you know, we, we do support. And we have a customer Northwest Mutual who won one of our awards, and a lot of what we did with them is we took all the A, the insights on the back end and were working with they were working with their quality assurance teams and looking at that and then optimizing the experiences that way. So you have both the front end and the back end starting to come together. And, you know, there’s a big part of me that says, we want these dashboards regularly. Another thing that I’m a huge fan of, uh, is a day in the life.
[19:39] Best thing I have done in my career by far is go into the contact centers, go to the retail, like the stores as well, talk to the leaders that are on the front lines, make sure that, you know, if you’re, you know, you have a plan, you put it in place, and then, you know, are we setting it and forgetting it? I don’t think anybody’s doing that these days. But now you’ve got, you know, both the front end and the back end and the technology and the ability to pivot a little more, to a lot more quickly than you had in the past. And I would say, making that work for both the customers and the employees is where you get really great outcomes.
Greg Kihlstrom: [20:25] Yeah, yeah. Well, and I and I think with, with the pace of change, setting it and forgetting it could be a few days at this point and not months or years or whatever it might have been in the, in the past.
Jenn Edwards: [20:37] So, I think that’s a really good point and what I would recommend is at that point that you are really as a team looking at the things and the moments that matter. And you can’t look at everything. And, you know, Jean Bliss, who is a amazing customer experience leader, right? Jean has always said like, there might be some parts of this experience that you’re just not going to touch. You don’t actually need to stress out about. And then there are others that are like, if we do not get this right, game over, right? So there are some like principles that will always be there, and that is one of them. We can’t do everything. So what actually matters? What matters to the company, but what matters to the customer and the experience? And if you look at it that way, then we start to be able to kind of to your point, not get overwhelmed by the amount of what we’re taking in and getting lost in the data for the sake of having so much data.
Greg Kihlstrom: [21:38] Yeah, yeah. So looking, looking ahead a little bit, you know, with, with AI becoming more deeply integrated into the customer journey as, as it already is, but, you know, only only stands to be more integrated. What’s a capability that maybe isn’t widely discussed today but that, um, you believe will be a non-negotiable component of successful retail a few years from now?
Jenn Edwards: [22:04] I think that the real-time orchestration is obviously front and center right now, but more of the thinking and, I feel like, sometimes I feel like you, you stop your experience and maybe you go back to it, you abandon a cart and then you’re getting an email or whatever. I feel that over time we will continue to be more, for lack of a better term, slick in integrating that into how it shows up in our lives and how we kind of keep that continuous engagement. It still feels somewhat divorced to me, like I know we’re following or tracking and then this shows up over here, but that to me becomes even more seamless in the thinking.
Greg Kihlstrom: [22:51] Yeah. So, um, as we as we wrap up here, a couple a couple of last questions for you, uh, first one, if we were having this interview one year from now, what is one thing that we would definitely be talking about?
Jenn Edwards: [23:03] So, one thing we would definitely be talking about a year from now is the fact that A, like, we wouldn’t be talking about AI. We’d actually be talking more about brands and the teams and this will just be part of how we do it. And people will, I would say, it’ll become a little bit more of the fabric, but we’ll get real about what’s actually, it’s actually capable of doing and where it should be applied. I really think that over the course of the next year, we’re going to see a lot more of that. Um, there’s just been there’s been a lot of expenditure going on and now we’re a couple years into this and companies are starting to really, you know, understand, is this working, is it not working? Where should it be applied in the course of the experience? And then there’s also, you know, some portion of what’s going on for human beings where I think we’re all like, I don’t really want to talk to a bot. Maybe I want to actually talk to a real human. So, companies finding that balance, I think those are the things that we’re going to be talking about more than that. And AI starts to look like what you saw with SAS and everything else. It’s just part of the infrastructure and how we’re doing this, how we’re doing this going forward and we’re applying it a little bit more methodically and thoughtfully.
Greg Kihlstrom: [24:16] Yeah, yeah, agree, agreed. And I think, you know, I I do wonder, I I probably need to make a like predicted date by or whatever is, I do wonder, you know, we don’t talk about the worldwide web or the information super highway anymore, do we? You know, so like, when do we stop saying AI, you know?
Jenn Edwards: [24:33] I think we’re, I don’t think like it stops, but I think we’re on that journey. And in my head as I had been sort of going on this journey, I keep thinking to myself, like, I can remember when we were selling software and it was on premise and then it was hosted and now it’s in the cloud and now we don’t, we don’t talk like, yeah, we don’t talk about the cloud.
Greg Kihlstrom: [24:53] Right, right. Yeah, yeah. If it’s, if it’s on premise, it’s like an almost an oddity or like a a relic or something or yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
[25:03] Well, Jenn , thanks so much for joining today. Uh, one last question for you before we wrap up here, what do you do to stay agile in your role and how do you find a way to do it consistently?
Jenn Edwards: [25:13] Yes. Day in the life. Best way to stay agile, get out in either my customers or my team’s shoes. Spend time listening and learning from them. Really asking good open-ended questions. I certainly do use AI, uh, to ask, you know, all the questions there and to, you know, formulate my data and to really kind of help me be more effective. But to me, at the end of the day, as a customer experience leader and a marketing leader, one that’s responsible for customers and a team of employees, it’s walking in their shoes and really listening to them that that I find the most beneficial. I always learn so much from them and it’s just really an engaging and enjoyable for me.
