Quantum Metric finds majority of digital leaders are underprepared for the rise of AI

Quantum Metric has announced the findings of its 2024 trends report, “4 Big Digital Bets for 2024,” which surveyed digital leaders to uncover their biggest priorities heading into the new year. Findings that emerged pertain to artificial intelligence (AI) investments, digital experience and mobile trends, employee experience becoming an increased priority and the changing tides of customer loyalty programs and personalization. Key findings in the 2024 trend report include:

Digital leaders haven’t fully committed to AI adoption

Although AI investments are on the rise, some digital brands haven’t taken the leap with; 35% of digital leaders either waiting to see how the tech progresses or having no plans to pursue AI in the near future. Quantum Metric’s data found that 59% are overwhelmed by the amount of AI tools available and 33% know AI has value but aren’t sure what it is yet.

Added to this, the majority of digital leaders agree that AI regulations are coming and they are underprepared; 61% anticipate new AI regulations to impact their investments, 51% say new regulations will make investments more complex and 30% feel a lack of visibility into how customers use AI will make it harder to meet new regulations.

Mobile will continue to gain traction as the first touchpoint

Social media ads and features like live shopping have made mobile the first touchpoint according to 66% of digital leaders. The survey showed that 48% of leaders say social media ads have grown mobile traffic and conversions in the last year, 20% say live shopping is driving mobile traffic and conversions and 38% say social media will drive mobile adoption in 2024. As mobile adoption grows, digital has become part of the physical brand experience with 55% believing that digital will drive almost all business to physical locations by next year.

The employee experience will become a priority investment

Hiring is expected to rise in 2024 with 75% of digital leaders expecting to increase staffing for their teams. In an effort to double down on the customer experience while also improving the employee experience, 57% of digital leaders will increase staff for customer-facing teams (e.g. call centre, gate agency, in-store associate, etc.).

The right investments in employee experience will be critical, but 48% of digital leaders say there isn’t enough prioritization on backend tools. As a result, this leaves the employee experience with major gaps which can have detrimental effects on revenue. In fact, 30% say gaps in the employee experience have made a noted impact on company revenue and the ability to convert new audiences into loyal shoppers.

Personalisation and customer loyalty programs won’t be as closely linked

With the rise of emerging tech like AI, personalization has become an assumed part of the digital experience. In terms of what customers want personalized, 51% say customers want personalization when searching for products or services, 48% say customers want personalization when managing current orders or returns and 55% say customers want personalization with self-service tools.

When it comes to loyalty programs, digital teams are focused on building multi-service customers. To do so, 60% will offer new services including new subscription options in 2024. Additionally, the goal of loyalty programs has changed; 31% say the primary goal of a loyalty program is to engage the most loyal customers in these new offerings while just 14% say it's to retain customers.

“As the digital customer experience continues to evolve, one thing remains critical to the success of its success and that’s complete visibility into the customer journey,” said Danielle Harvey, VP of Industry Strategy. “Be it to understand the value of new AI investments, optimize mobile or enhance the ties between the customer and employee experience, it is critical that digital organizations be able to understand and empathize with the customer experience. Going into 2024, this is what will help define the businesses that continue to excel on digital from those who get left behind.”