The Power of Human Connection in an Online World
Even during a time of booming online sales and maximum hype for artificial intelligence, it is clear that digital experience will never match in-person interactions between brands and their customers for building strong relationships, durable brand preference and revenues and assets. Instead, using technology to enable store and branch staff to delight customers with graceful, personalized experiences will enable select retailers, financial service providers and other brands to stand out from their online competitors and thrive financially.
This paper explains why this is the case, and the role technology plays in facilitating in-person interaction between brands and customers, in four sections.
- While the speed, reach and convenience of digital commerce make it a must-have for modern businesses, declining trust online has eroded confidence in eCommerce. A majority of consumers continue to prefer physical stores. Growing concerns about AI are likely to strengthen these sentiments.
- Humanity’s inherently social nature means consumers are fundamentally receptive to engaging with brands in person, with proven benefits to near-term sales and long-term loyalty. This is especially true for businesses requiring trust or tangible, tactile product experiences.
- Businesses striving to utilize this consumer receptivity face several hurdles to setting up staff for successful in-person interactions. They must balance cost and efficiency with providing the necessary space for the human touch.
- Technology plays a crucial role in optimizing staff resources while providing an efficient and consistent customer experience across appointments, events, queuing and other in-person interactions. Brands must be high tech and high touch.
The Modern Customer Experience
With internet usage ubiquitous across most of the world, digital commerce is table stakes for businesses. 76% of Americans shop online and 22% of people across 40 countries do so at least weekly. They turn to eCommerce primarily to transact at any time, easily find items, and save time. But while consumers value this speed and convenience, the digital marketplace presents challenges for both buyers and sellers.
The misinformation, trolling and lack of trust that permeate online life have eroded consumer confidence in eCommerce. An iResearch survey of 500 global consumers and 524 e-sellers commissioned by Chubb found that consumer trust in digital storefronts lags brick and mortar stores by over 20%. Data breaches, counterfeit products, poor customer service, online scams such as fake online stores and phishing, and difficulty judging the veracity of online reviews all feed consumers’ hesitation to share personal information and make online purchases. “Nearly 50 percent of Internet users surveyed do not trust the Internet and this lack of trust is affecting the way they use it” reported Sally Wentworth, VP of Global Policy for the Internet Society, referring to a survey of over 24,000 Internet users exploring the impact on eCommerce of declining trust online. As a result, 54.5% of Americans prefer shopping in physical stores according to PayPal. Over half of consumers shop in-store weekly, and more than four fifths of sales are still offline.
Another challenge for brands online is building and activating their brand digitally. Even the most well-crafted digital experiences are highly constrained by the limitations of computer monitors and phone screens. Small wonder that 46% of consumers can’t tell the difference between most brands’ digital experiences, according to Gartner.
Hand in hand with lack of differentiation, online commerce opens the door to globalized market commodification. Over half of global online commerce is now Chinese. And while much of that is domestic sales within China, 35% of cross-border shoppers bought from China, more than 2.5x any other source. This globalized, low-cost competition initially came via Amazon, where 71% of products and 49% of the top 10,000 sellers are Chinese. But it has recently kicked into high gear with fast-growing dropshipping brands like Temu and Shein.
Artificial intelligence exacerbates the challenge by drowning out what little authentic human engagement is left online. Concern about AI far outweighs excitement about the potential upside according to recent Pew Research Center polling. Five times as many Americans reported being more concerned than excited in 2023, 52% vs 10%, a significant deterioration compared to the 37% vs 18% respons
e in 2021. “There’s broad concern about the loss of the human element due to emerging AI technologies” according to the study. Other research illustrates the risk to brands. Gartner found that 64% of customers would prefer that companies not use AI for customer service. Furthermore, 53% would consider switching to a co
mpetitor if they found out a company was going to use AI in this way. According to Deloitte Digital’s Chief Experience Officer Amelia Dunlop, consumer trust in a brand drops 144%, from a net positive to a net negative, when a customer believes it is using AI.
No doubt, many companies will survive and even thrive online – notably those offering purely digital goods like Netflix, ultra low-cost competitors like Temu, and industry giants like Wal-mart that possess the critical mass of data and technology investment needed to build winning AI. But most companies will find it increasingly difficult to build their brand and forge loyal customer relationships online.
Human Interaction is the Ultimate Differentiator
Humans are social by nature. “No man is an island” the 16th century poet John Donne wrote. Science agrees. Research cited by Stanford Medical School shows that social connectedness is in decline, which may explain increases in reported loneliness, isolation, and alienation. One study published in the journal Science, which examined data from more than 309,000 people, found that lack of strong relationships increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50% — an effect on mortality risk comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than obesity and physical inactivity.
This fundamental aspect of our nature means person-to-person interactions have a powerful impact in the commercial world. A BigCommerce and PayPal 2021 consumer spending report found that 54.5% of Americans preferred shopping in person. A PwC customer loyalty survey found that “in an increasingly automated world, the human touch still matters.” At least one-third of respondents reported that human interaction is important to their loyalty. For many types of businesses, such as financial services, it was more than 50%. McKinsey’s Retail Banking Consumer Survey found that a fifth of customers value human interactions for the personal expertise, social contact, or dialogue they offer.
The widespread availability of high speed internet makes virtual person to person interactions possible. This has been a huge boon for businesses, which can now engage customers beyond their physical footprint as well as after store/branch business hours. And while online communication can expand our interpersonal engagements and replace some in-person ones, it will not generally supplant in-person interaction in either our personal or commercial lives. Our still-fresh experience of Zoom fatigue during COVID, as well as scientific studies, show that virtual interactions don’t carry the same impact as in-person ones. This holds true in commercial contexts as well as personal ones. According to PwC’s 2023 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, 41% of consumers planning to shop in physical stores do so because they “simply missed doing so during pandemic lockdown”. Rather than a temporary, post COVID bump, this preference continues and seems to be growing with younger generations. Ryder’s 2024 consumer study found that 61% of consumers prefer shopping in store because they enjoy the experience. Surprisingly, this was more true for 18 – 29 year olds (70%) than any other age group. Since lockdowns ended, the share of consumers shopping daily or weekly in store has held steady at 43% (higher than in 2016), while mobile and computer-based shopping dropped to 34% and 23%. Brands have responded by expanding their physical footprint. As of midyear 2024, store openings outpace closures by 20%.
PwC’s February 2023 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey
Beyond the innate human need for interpersonal connection, several other factors make in-person engagement critical for many types of businesses. Those where trust plays an important role in consumer decision-making greatly benefit from staff meeting with customers in person. Retail banking and wealth management provide a strong example. 62% of German, 54% of US, and 50% of UK banking customers prefer doing at least some of their banking at branches according to McKinsey research. Moreover, in-person interactions “are often associated with complex, high-margin products that create considerable value for banks.” Branches account for the bulk of new account balance acquisition: 56% in Europe, 90% in Asia-Pacific, and a whopping 92% in North America, though this is driven in part by Know Your Customer regulations in jurisdictions like the US. Trust plays a similarly critical role in the jewelry, art, healthcare and other industries as well.
The limitations of digital channels in conveying certain product attributes is another factor increasing the salience of in-person consumer engagement. Industries where tactile and sensory experiences matter include luxury retail, apparel, infant furniture and equipment, home furnishings, appliances, luggage and automobiles. Unsurprisingly, these product categories have amongst the lowest eCommerce conversion rates. 54% of apparel shoppers prefer buying clothing in brick and mortar locations versus online.
Some powerful brands – luxury retailers most notably – build on this consumer preference for in-store shopping by elevating the shopping experience to a degree that it becomes a core part of the brand’s value to their customers. Hence the absence of successful “digital native” luxury brands even decades after eCommerce became popular.
Stores and branches offer consumers convenience, tactile experience with physical products, and security. But in many cases, in-person interactions with staff are the key to sales, brand preference and customer loyalty. “Knowledgeable and helpful sales associates” are by far the most important factor enhancing the in-store experience for consumers across product categories. These interactions drive financial performance:
- 75% of shoppers are likely to spend more after receiving high-quality service from store staff.
- Customers who visit stores even purchase 10% more when they go online, according to Harvard Business Review.
- A fifth of retail banking customers value human interactions for the personal expertise, social contact, or dialogue they offer, and 55% say this is important to their loyalty.
- 52% of brands experience a lift in brand commitment after a meaningful experience with a customer.
“Human interactions such as interactions with store associates tend to be key differentiators of the in-store experience. These boost shopper delight and are key drivers of conversion and loyalty”.
McKinsey, The State of Fashion 2025
Harnessing the Power of In-person Interaction
In-person interaction with customers significantly improves financial performance and strengthens brand loyalty for firms in retail, financial services, and other lines of business. But how exactly can they realize this potential? The truth is, businesses need to get lots of things right to create the requisite overall customer experiences, including:
- The physical environment of the store/branch
- Product design and selection
- Logistics and back office infrastructure for product delivery
These are well understood as table stakes in today’s hyper-competitive consumer markets. Only recently has a similar level of attention been brought to the in-store/branch “human touch” aspect of customer experience. The ideal customer experience that brands strive to deliver differs across product categories and strategies. Therefore the balance of convenience, efficiency, recognition, and expert help varies as well. In all cases, the key is putting staff in the best position to deliver that brand promise and enable sales, while balancing personnel costs. Optimizing staff-customer engagement in this way requires overcoming several challenges.
The first is ensuring a solid staffing foundation. Providing a proper staff experience sits upstream of providing a great customer experience. “Sales staff have a central and valuable role to play in connecting with customers” according to McKinsey. “The benefits will be sizeable, since customer and employee experience are inextricably linked.” The COVID- and post-COVID era disrupted global labor markets, making the tough job of building and managing a retail workforce even more difficult. 80% of respondents to one Forrester survey reported that frontline employee turnover increased at their organization, and 75% were operating without enough frontline employees. 74% believed that “frontline employees are rejecting work norms and conditions that previously went unchallenged.”
Building and retaining a great team is only the first step. Leaders must also balance efficiency with the quality of in-person interactions. A 2024 study found that more than 20 percent of missed sales at a prominent US retailer were related to issues with store associates, such as suboptimal engagement or unavailability of staff.
Escalating customer expectations present a second fundamental challenge. Netflix and other digital businesses set a high bar for seamless, personalized experiences that consumers now expect from all the brands they do business with. 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Two of the three top reasons for quitting a brand come from negative customer experience. Consumers expect experiences to be:
- Fast: 72 percent of customers want immediate service.
- Consistent: 70 percent of customers expect anyone they interact with to have full context.
- Personalized: 80% of respondents indicate they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences.
Fragmented IT systems supporting customer interactions in the branch or store lead to fragmented customer experiences. 79% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, yet 55% say it generally feels like they’re communicating with separate departments rather than one company. While many brands have made strides unifying their digital channels, extending across the online-offline divide to incorporate in-person interactions has proven more challenging due to the investments needed in both technology as well as staff training and organizational alignment. The stakes are enormous. According to the Harvard Business Review article cited above, multi-channel shoppers spend 9% more on in-store purchases. McKinsey found that omni-channel shoppers spend more and also shop 1.7 times more than single-channel shoppers. “The best retailers—the ones who we believe will create winning omnichannel experiences in the future—are those who are solving for seamless interactions across channels.”
Bridging the online-offline IT gap is also required to meet consumer expectations of a personalized experience. While online personalization is becoming commonplace, “the best companies are focused on improving how they personalize the on- and offline journey together.” In addition to the technical and data challenges, bringing personalization in-store or into the branch is further complicated by the need for staff training and process redesign. Companies able to do so can achieve a 5 to 15 percent revenue increase across the full customer base as well as 50% higher engagement and 45% higher lifetime value.
The very nature of physical stores and branches, located in the messy real world and not the digital one, creates another challenge for leaders hoping to maximize the benefit of in-person interactions with customers: responding to the unexpected. Online, a firm’s data infrastructure can scale up and down as needed to handle fluctuations in traffic. Software systems that deliver “four nines” (99.99%) availability have less than 53 minutes of downtime per year. Digital experiences are therefore generally reliable and consistent. Handling large swings in store, branch or event traffic without eroding customer experience with long wait times is far more challenging. The staff availability impact of illness or commuting delays further complicates the management challenge.
Finally, like any other significant business process or initiative, investment in systems to better optimize staff-customer engagements must adhere to IT and other corporate standards.
- Making customer data available to staff to enable a seamless, personalized customer experience requires integration with existing systems of record and compliance with data security standards.
- Scaling processes across dozens to thousands of locations and hundreds to tens of thousands of employees requires software with flexible business logic that can mirror company organizational structures, user rights and engagement strategies.
- Any touchpoints with customer visibility, such as store kiosks or website appointment schedulers, must closely adhere to corporate branding standards, from colors to fonts to voice.
- Systems must also comply with corporate legal standards as well as any applicable local and national regulations.
The Role of Technology
After reading the list of challenges above – and because a software solution provider authored this white paper! – it will come as no surprise that technology plays a major role in any successful effort to harness the power of in-person interactions. But that’s not just our opinion; more than half of fashion executives, for example, agree that the use of digital tools to facilitate omnichannel sales will be a key priority in coming years.
But how, exactly, can brands be both high tech and high touch?
As in any sort of digital transformation, technology is just one of the three dimensions, along with people and processes, that must evolve together. As McKinsey put it, “digital technology should not be an add-on to existing practices and processes. It should be built into customer interactions and employees’ day-to-day work”.
First, staff are essential to in-person customer experiences. First, technology should do no harm! Over half of respondents in the Forrester survey reported that different technologies in different regions or locations hinder the employee experience. Proliferating applications complicate staff workflow and staff management, while increasing training and onboarding burdens. The more that workflow can be consolidated, the more staff time and energy are available for customers. A streamlined application stack can also improve the customer experience directly by reducing friction at the touchpoints where customers interact with the systems themselves, for example to book appointments or register for events.
Second, technology should automate routine or administrative tasks in order to free staff time for customer engagement. Some tasks can actually be made customer self-service. Higher productivity enables higher wages, especially for businesses where frontline staff can boost their income via commissions or bonuses earned by increasing sales/transactions.
Third, technology can improve staff allocation. Historical data about traffic, transaction volume, staff levels, etc. at a location by location level can feed machine learning algorithms to forecast optimal staffing plans. Comparative reporting can reveal store-level opportunities for improvement, as well as best practices that can be systematically rolled out.
Fourth, technology enables brands to personalize in-person interactions with their customers. Most companies have already developed data and algorithms to segment customers, recommend relevant products and offers, and power other personalization strategies. They have also integrated these capabilities with website and eCommerce systems to personalize the online experience. Connecting this infrastructure to stores and branches, providing data and insight to staff, is the last step towards completing true omnichannel capabilities. Doing so can:
- Complete transactions or close sales in stores and branches that started online
- Enable frontline staff to extend relevant offers or go the extra mile to delight high-value customers
- Provide staff with insight into a customer’s past product interest to encourage cross-sell and larger orders
- Incorporate customer value into queuing logic, for example to minimize wait times for VIPs
- Enhance customer data with insights learned from in-person interactions to improve segmentation and recommendation analytics
These capabilities will improve performance for staff and branches/stores. For brands using commissions or other performance-oriented financial incentives for frontline employees, better results lead to better employee morale, which in turn fuels better customer experiences – a virtuous circle. 
More optimal staffing strategies that reduce short-handed shifts, and working with customers that are getting a better experience further accelerate the success flywheel. Firms targeting the high end of their markets that master the people, process and technology dimensions of in-person interactions can deliver powerfully fulfilling experiences for their customers that differentiate their brands and deliver value and satisfaction that are nearly impossible for competitors to match.
About jrni
Our mission is to create lasting, trusted connections between brands and consumers. In an increasingly AI-powered online marketplace, we believe that real human connection becomes the ultimate differentiator. While digital commerce is table stakes, the most powerful brands differentiate, build trust and grow through the power of in-person interactions with their customers. For these brands, branches and stores provide a priceless opportunity, at the very moment their customers are asking for attention, that online channels don’t.
Our In-person Interaction Platform combines appointment setting, queue management and event management into a single, connected platform to build and staff personalized customer journeys across any type of in-person interaction. Managing all of their interactions in one place sets your staff up for success by simplifying their onboarding and daily workflow, optimizing staffing levels, and serving up insights they can use to personalize their engagement with each customer. Your customers gain more personalized attention by well-prepared staff as well as an easy and consistent experience across all types of engagement with your brand. We do not put your brand and sales success at risk by allowing AI to engage customers. Instead, our AI helps ensure your staff are in the right place at the right time, prepped with the right information to assist the customer. The result is more loyal customers, happier staff, more profitable branches and stores, and faster sales and asset growth.
Our team brings decades of experience helping brands deliver great in-person experiences for their customers. Our vision is to weave technology and teamwork together to make in-person interactions smoother, more satisfying and fulfilling for consumers, more efficient and enjoyable for staff, and more profitable for brands.
Leading retailers and financial services brands across the globe, such as Signet Jewelers and Raymond James, trust jrni with their customer relationships. We’ve enabled over 200,000 staff across five continents and facilitated over one billion transactions. Our 24 x 7 global support, enterprise-grade security and extensive integration capabilities meet even the most demanding IT and compliance requirements.