Home topics news Image credit: rupixen Business Tech Business Tech Emerging Tech Business Tech The pandemic has given businesses a new standard for customer engagement Sreelesh Pillai March 10, 2021 The pandemic has sparked a new standard for customer engagement. Various lockdowns around the world have seen face-to-face interactions decline while online interactions have soared. This has perhaps been most clearly demonstrated in the growth of ecommerce — an ongoing trend, this was accelerated by COVID-19 . According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, online sales in Australia registered a 55% rise in December 2020 compared to the same period last year. As a direct result of these shifts, businesses need to find alternative, yet meaningful and effective ways to connect with customers, who at the same time are shifting their expectations. For example, our own research at Freshworks, found that since February 2020, customer expectations in Australia and New Zealand have increased by close to 60 per cent. It seems that our always on and on-demand culture has influenced what we expect from the businesses and brands we interact with. Current habits Mobile devices, apps and automation that allow customers to get what they want almost exactly at the moment they need it, have transformed our expectations and habits. In short, consumers have become more demanding, they want things here and now, however, this provides a massive opportunity to businesses that are able to service this demand. Months and months of uncertainty have led to consumers seeking out more and