According to a study by Oracle, 48% of sales and marketing leaders said digital and mobile technologies have caused the greatest change to how their customers and prospective customers interact with them. Consumers’ ‘desire for more autonomy and self-service has never been stronger’, the report states.

In the same study, Oracle found that one in three brands say customers prefer to complete a purchase or resolve service issues without speaking to a human associate wherever possible. For consumers whose primary communication platforms have become messaging apps and social networks, merchants are developing other ways to make the customer experience more convenient and familiar to consumers.