"AI, omnichannel strategies and personalization are reshaping online customer service experiences as ecommerce growth and customer demands necessitate improvements."
Diana Smith, Director, Client Advisor - Retail & eCommerce
This Report explores the transformative changes in online customer service, driven primarily by technological advancements and shifting consumer expectations. As of early 2025, ecommerce sales were expected to grow by 2.4% in 2025, reaching $7.5 trillion; businesses are focusing on seamless omnichannel experiences, integrating AI and automation to meet 24/7 consumer demand. Despite high satisfaction rates, consumers remain critical of online services compared to in-store interactions, prompting retailers to refine their digital offerings. The research confirms that personalization and the human element are crucial factors for satisfaction, with 69% of adults emphasizing the necessity of human support alongside AI. The evolving customer service landscape offers brands opportunities to differentiate through proactive engagement and innovative tech solutions.
This Report examines consumer preferences and attitudes toward online customer service in retail. It explores the variety of ways that consumers’ expectations of the brands and retailers they shop are shifting, and how companies are evolving their practices online to meet consumers where they’re shopping and to deepen customer relationships. The Report also looks at the evolving role of retailers’ employees (eg salespeople, customer service) and how they can make or break a customer experience with a given brand or retailer.
The first Mintel Market Intelligence report was published over 50 years ago. Since then, we have provided our unique insights and understanding of consumers, innovation and global markets to thousands of customers worldwide. Here’s why our customers rely on Mintel:
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
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Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
When I’m investigating specific sectors I tend to use Mintel reports for their forecasting, which I’ve always found to be very accurate.
They also offer really broad and deep coverage in their reports. They are very, very detailed. For example, we were able to gain insight across a wide range of business areas from just one report, proving that Mintel is excellent value for money.
So overall, it’s the level of detail and the quality of forecasting that really stand out for me.
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
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