There is a lot of conversation about agentic commerce and the risk of retailers losing the customer relationship to LLMs. Here is a little secret...this conversation has been going on forever!
- Before LLMs it was Marketplaces
- Before marketplaces it was Social Commerce.
- Before Social Commerce it was Google
- Etc…
The same tune is playing only the lyrics have changed.
LLMs are the next version of the same problem.
If ChatGPT (or whoever) introduces a new customer to your business and generates a sale, that is fantastic. Retailers have always needed new ways to acquire customers and this new way to acquire must be embraced.
But we then come back to the same challenge that has never left! What happens after that first transaction?
How can retailers build a direct relationship with a newly acquired customer that came from an LLM? This acquisition–retention tug of war will never be resolved if retailers keep fixating on the source of acquisition.
The focus needs to be on the sources of retention!
LLMs will not solve this problem for you, if anything they will amplify it.
The good news is that the retention answers are the same….
- Create amazing end-to-end digital experiences
- Understand a customer's post sale needs and give it to them
- Activate amazing product support experiences
- Deliver incredible “last mile” experiences
The issue isn't the new technology. The issue is how you address the old problem that will never go away until you do something about it.
This article was as tagged as AI eCommerce , Digital Strategy , eCommerce Consulting