In 2025, retail is more than just about stocking shelves and checkout lines. Today’s consumers expect seamless, personalised experiences across every channel, in-store, online, mobile, social, and beyond. For many retailers, however, legacy phone systems, disjointed comms, and siloed data are holding back the very experiences customers demand.
At Evolve IP, we believe the backbone of a modern retailer must be built on cloud communications, unified orchestration, and deep integration across retail systems. That’s why we’re excited to partner with GPS for Retail Week during our Vertical TakeOver. Together we want to show how forward-looking retailers can use technology to break down siloes, connect customer journeys, and drive loyalty.
Retailers face a difficult balancing act. Margins are under pressure, staff costs are rising, and competition from online and hybrid models continues to cut deeper. At the same time, customers demand speed, consistency, and convenience. They expect to start interactions in one channel, for example, messaging a store to ask about stock, then switch to phone, chat, or in-person without having to repeat themselves.
Yet many retailers still rely on old-school telephony or fragmented systems that treat voice, chat, email, and social as separate channels. With data stuck in silos and no unified view of the customer, staff waste time searching for context, frustrated customers drop off, and opportunities slip through the cracks.
With cloud telephony and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS), retailers gain a unified platform for all customer interactions. Whether a customer calls, chats, texts, or messages via social media, staff see the full history- enabling context-aware, personal service without asking the same questions twice.
Scalability and flexibility are core strengths. During peak periods or promotional events, call/chat volume can spike. A cloud system scales up agent capacity instantly, supports remote agents, and adapts to changing demand. Intelligent routing ensures customers reach the right agent at the right time, boosting resolution speed.
Real-time analytics offer fresh insight into what’s working (and what isn’t). Retailers can monitor key metrics, response times, call abandon rates, top customer issues, and use that data to refine staffing, messaging, and service flows. Because cloud-based systems operate on subscription models, capital expenditures shrink and ongoing maintenance burdens fade.
Beyond unification, AI is redefining how retailers engage. Conversational IVR and LLM-powered chatbots let customers express intent naturally “Do you have size 10 black trainers?” and guide them to the right resource or agent. These systems can even check inventory, reserve items, or initiate follow-up actions automatically.
“Agentic AI” is pushing things further, autonomously handling multi-step tasks like fielding product queries, routing orders, and coordinating store fulfilment without manual handoff. This frees human agents to focus on exceptions, high-value interactions, and brand-building moments.
Imagine a customer texts a nearby store asking if a product is in stock. The system responds immediately, reserves the item, and queues the customer for pickup. Later, they call the store, and the staff see the full history, no repeated details, no friction.
On the sales floor, mobile staff carry tablets or headsets that connect into the unified comms system, so they can answer messages, transfer calls, or escalate issues from anywhere. In after-sales, automated SMS or chat updates inform customers about warranty status, new offers, or return logistics, all without manual follow-up. VIP customers can be recognised automatically and routed to priority queues.
Retailers should adopt a platform approach, one system that integrates with POS, inventory, CRM, and e-commerce. Standardised workflows, shared training, and consistent KPIs across branches ensure the brand delivers uniform experiences. Phased migration minimises disruption, and partners like GPS help ensure seamless transitions behind the scenes.
In retail today, every customer interaction is part of one continuous narrative, not separate “channels.” Those retailers that embrace unified, smart communications will build trust, reduce friction, and compete on experience rather than just price.