December 16, 2025 • 13 mins
Clicking “buy now” shouldn’t feel like shouting into the void. In this episode, we explore how digital retail can feel more human by pairing smart personalization with trust-building micromoments. Instead of proving what we know, we focus on what customers need next: clear fit guidance, delivery transparency, and friction-removing policies that build confidence before checkout.
We share practical moves you can use this week—from confirmations that speak to the shopper (not the order number) to shipping updates in plain language, short stylist videos, and behind-the-scenes warehouse moments. We also cover how to use chat well: being upfront about bots, designing warm handoffs to humans, and giving AI a role that feels helpful, not blocking.
Reassurance is the real conversion multiplier. We talk about sizing honesty, responsible return signals, clear expectations on duties and timelines, and how to keep the warmth going after checkout. The simple test we return to again and again: would this message feel kind and useful if you sent it to a friend?
If these ideas help, subscribe for more customer experience strategies, share this episode with your team, and leave a quick review so others can find us. Your feedback shapes what we explore next.
Resources Mentioned:
Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com
Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeannie Walters (00:00):
Let's face it, we live in a digital world.
Let's dive into it in thisedition of Experience Action.
Listener Question (00:09):
Hi Jeannie.
I work for a retail brand wherethe buying journey is mostly
digital, but customers stillexpect that personal human
touch.
I'm struggling to figure outhow to make an online experience
feel as warm and engaging as anin-store interaction.
What are some ways to bringthat emotional connection into
(00:31):
the digital shopping experiencewithout it feeling forced?
Thank you.
Jeannie Walters (00:37):
Such a fantastic question because
really, when we are talkingabout digital journeys, we
aren't really translating whatthe customer is experiencing.
The customer is simply goingfor something.
They are going to purchasesomething.
They are trying to rectifysomething online.
They are simply having anexperience.
(00:59):
So we, So it's up to us ascustomer experience leaders to
really understand what is itthey're trying to do and how can
we bring the human experienceto them.
Because really, they're notcomparing this experience that
they're having against otherdigital experiences.
They're comparing this to all the experiences they have (01:23):
human, face-to-face, on mobile, on the
digital desktop, whatever itis.
So the first thing we have tothink about is how can we weave
in some ways to treat them justlike we would treat them face to
face?
Now, one way to do this ispersonalization, but we have to
walk that line.
(01:43):
We have to understand this ispersonalization that feels
helpful and not creepy.
We don't want to say, wow, it'sbeen a while since we've seen
you, right?
That would be creepy.
But we might say, you knowwhat?
You were looking for thosetypes of sweater.
Can I make a suggestion?
Can I share something that goeswith that?
When we ask those questions ina digital channel, a lot of
(02:08):
times people do feel like it'shelpful.
We are predicting what theymight need next, just like a
really great salesperson in astore would do that.
So think about the actualexperience that they have and
how to personalize that as theygo through your digital
experience, but focus on theirbenefit.
(02:28):
What can they get out of itinstead of really thinking
about, you know, we just want tosell more.
The other thing we want to dois really think about those
micromoments that I love totalk about.
I define micromoments as themoments that can either build or
erode trust, but are oftenneglected.
They are sometimes thein-between moments or what I
(02:50):
call the meh moments.
These can be things like aconfirmation email or something
like, you know what, if ifyou're about to send out
something saying your order isbeing shipped, those little
moments along the customerjourney that are pretty
transactional.
What can we do to warm thoseup?
There are some great ways I'veseen this done.
(03:12):
One is instead of sayingsomething like, your order has
been placed, uh, say somethingmore about them, about how
excited you are for them.
You're going to love this thingthat you ordered.
Here's what other people havesaid about it.
I would love to know yourfeedback once you receive this
item.
Just really making it aone-to-one conversation.
(03:35):
Now, the other thing is how dowe really weave this in in those
neglected moments?
Those neglected moments areimportant to look for in your
journey as well.
Now, when we talk aboutcustomer journey mapping, this
is one of the things we lookfor.
We want to look for thosemicromoments.
What are those moments that,yeah, they're fine, but they're
(03:57):
not great.
They're not personal, they'renot warm, they're not human
feeling.
So as you look at your owncustomer journey, I encourage
you to think about where arethose micromoments where we
could turn up the warmth alittle bit.
We could make them feel seenand understood.
We could suggest the next stepfor them before they have to ask
for it.
So all of that would be a greatway to warm up the digital
(04:20):
experience.
Now, the other thing toremember is that we like humans.
We like to see people, we liketo see faces.
So let's use humansproactively.
When we are talking with ahuman being, it feels different.
We like knowing that there'ssomebody who is really looking
(04:40):
out for us.
So if you have something like achat bot on your site where
maybe you have people some ofthe time and maybe it's AI some
of the time, be very, verytransparent about that.
And then also, I've seen somereally creative ways that brands
are starting to use photos ofthe real team members there or
an avatar, a fun avatar.
(05:02):
So if you are talking to an AIbot, you know who you're talking
to, essentially.
So look into ways that you canwarm up those types of purely
digital transactions so thatpeople feel like they know who
they're speaking to.
Uh, the other things that I'veseen sometimes are around really
showcasing the team that isputting your order together.
(05:24):
Look, this is this is uhMirabella, and she is packing
your package for you.
One of my favorite examples,which I've shared in my keynotes
and other places, is when Iordered some Halloween costumes
for my kids online, and I got anamazing confirmation email, and
they sent a video where theyshowed people actually getting
(05:46):
really excited that I hadordered.
They had everybody in thewarehouse kind of cheering, and
then they went through a littlejourney of saying, look, we're
gonna get it from here and we'regoing to package it up, and
it's on, it's going to be on itsway to you very shortly.
Now, of course, this was not acustom video for me as a
customer, but every customer whoordered got that amazing, warm
(06:08):
personal touch that made us feellike, oh, this is a real team.
This is not a facelessorganization.
So anytime you can add that,that can be very helpful.
Nordstrom is doing somethinginteresting.
They've been doing this for thelast couple of years, where
they actually show theirin-store stylist in a little
video explaining why an item ispopular, how to wear it, how to
(06:31):
style it, all of those things.
So sometimes they even say thisitem was selected as our item
of the week by the stylist inMinneapolis or in, you know,
California, wherever they are.
It's just a little human touchto help that digital experience.
And then, of course, you'veheard me talk about this before:
reassurance, reassurance,reassurance.
(06:53):
We have to be proactive aboutanswering the questions that our
customers have before they havethem.
So if you are shoppingdigitally on a retail site, you
might have questions like, isthis really the color?
Because we've all had thoseexperiences where we order
something and it comes to us andwe're like, whoa, that color
was really off when in thepicture.
(07:15):
Um, we want to see how it wouldlook on ourselves like clothes
or in a room.
We want to ask questions like,okay, well, you know, this says
this is a certain size, but isit really?
So all of those questions, themore that we can proactively
answer those for folks and letthem know they're not alone with
those questions, that can bereally good too.
(07:37):
One of the things that some ofthe digital retailers do is also
share this item is returnedoften, or this item is is not.
That gives you reassurance aswell.
The other way to reassure folksis to say, this is exactly how
you can return this easily.
So it takes away that barrierof, oh my gosh, I don't want to
(07:58):
get something, and if it doesn'tfit, I don't know what to do
with it.
So anyway, you can break downthose barriers, those points of
friction, so they don't have toask those questions.
They get that reassurance alongthe way.
This is also especiallyimportant with shipping.
Right now, today, we arehearing about customers getting
surprised by uh having to payduties or tariffs or things like
(08:23):
that.
So make sure that howeveryou're shipping things, you are
setting the right expectationsaround the timing and the cost
and anything else.
For instance, going back to thereturns, will they have to pay
extra to send something back intoday's market?
These are questions you have tolook into for where you are and
(08:44):
how you're shipping things out.
But it's very, very importantthat you are being very direct
and transparent and honest withcustomers throughout this.
So any way you can provide thatclear, empathetic guideline
around what will happen next,what could happen, and how to
help the customer proactively,that reassurance will reduce the
(09:07):
anxiety and really create asense of we are valuing you, we
are caring for you.
And then the other thing Iwould say is let's make sure
that we celebrate the moments,right?
Like if somebody's making uptheir mind on something, and it
could be a small purchase, itcould be a large one.
People order cars online now,they order furniture.
(09:29):
So if they're making a purchaselike that, that's a big deal.
And we want to celebrate that.
Like, congratulations on yournew car.
That's amazing.
But we could also do that forthe small things.
Oh my gosh, you're gonna lovethis tea kettle.
All of our customers love thistea kettle because it's fast and
it looks great.
It's going to look great inyour kitchen.
(09:49):
You know, really humanizing inthe way that we would if they
were right in front of us.
That can be really fun.
You can also make some thankyou videos, I've seen that, um,
progress updates that feel veryhuman.
So things like, hey, I'mso-and-so in the warehouse and
we're packing it up right now,and it will be shipped to you in
two to three days.
(10:10):
So just making sure that we arekeeping them connected and
communicating in that reallyhuman way.
Now, the other consideration isthat we have to understand how
our customers like to becommunicated with.
A lot of organizations now havedifferent options.
And so you want to see is anemail better?
(10:31):
Would you rather have textupdates?
What works for you?
And with those text updates,you can be even more creative.
You can use those emojis, youcan use different fun things.
Don't be afraid to do that.
If you were talking to afriend, how would you reassure
them?
How would you add some humor?
How would you add somehappiness?
That's what I want you to thinkabout as you design these
(10:55):
experiences.
And then finally, you know, Ithink sometimes the transaction
leading up to the sale can bevery warm.
And then a lot of timesafterwards, it feels very
transactional.
We get those ugly emails thatsay, you know, confirmation.
We might get something aftersaying, here's a survey.
But what if we warmed that partup?
(11:15):
What if we kind of close theloop more like a human?
And we said, how did everythinggo?
Right?
Like, what can we do next time?
If we start the conversationthat way, it feels very
different than, hey, customer,fill out this survey.
So there is so much opportunityhere with digital journeys to
really warm things up, to makethem more human, and to do it at
(11:39):
scale.
And I think that we aren'ttaking advantage of all of these
things in the way that wecould.
We are kind of staying in thattransactional lane sometimes.
So shake it up, try things out,see what messages resonate, see
what your customers want andhow they want to be communicated
with, and then go for it.
Be human.
(11:59):
It's okay.
So I hope that as you approachyour digital journeys, you will
take note too when you are acustomer and it feels warm.
Make little notes about thatbecause that's how we can all
learn from each other as well.
So thank you for asking thisquestion.
Always a good one.
And I just want to say thisyear has been phenomenal.
(12:21):
We are at the end of 2025 here,and I am so proud of each of
you.
I really am.
The questions that you ask, theway that you are leading right
now, it is impressive.
So give yourself a pat on theback.
You have made it through 2025,which, you know, we've had a lot
of ups and downs, haven't we?
But you've you've done it.
(12:43):
And you've done it with graceand empathy and compassion.
And you've also done it as aleader.
And so as we look to the futureof 2026, I really encourage you
to think about how you can leadin an even more empathetic and
strategic way.
How can you deliver thoseresults that your organizations
(13:05):
want based on deliveringexceptional customer
experiences?
Because that's what we allwant.
So next year, I'm going to be,you know, sharing a lot more
about my book, Experience isEverything.
We have a lot of great thingsin store for you.
So I hope you will check thatout and visit us at
experienceinvestigators.com.
And hey, if you've loved thispodcast, please do us a solid
(13:28):
and leave a rating.
Make sure you leave us a littlereview.
That really helps others findthis podcast, and it helps us a
lot too.
So thank you for everything youdo.
I can't wait to talk to yousoon.
And I can't wait to hear yournext question on the Experience
Action Podcast.
Let's face it, we live in a digital world.
Let's dive into it in thisedition of Experience Action.
Listener Question (00:09):
Hi Jeannie.
I work for a retail brand wherethe buying journey is mostly
digital, but customers stillexpect that personal human
touch.
I'm struggling to figure outhow to make an online experience
feel as warm and engaging as anin-store interaction.
What are some ways to bringthat emotional connection into
(00:31):
the digital shopping experiencewithout it feeling forced?
Thank you.
Jeannie Walters (00:37):
Such a fantastic question because
really, when we are talkingabout digital journeys, we
aren't really translating whatthe customer is experiencing.
The customer is simply goingfor something.
They are going to purchasesomething.
They are trying to rectifysomething online.
They are simply having anexperience.
(00:59):
So we, So it's up to us ascustomer experience leaders to
really understand what is itthey're trying to do and how can
we bring the human experienceto them.
Because really, they're notcomparing this experience that
they're having against otherdigital experiences.
They're comparing this to all the experiences they have (01:23):
human, face-to-face, on mobile, on the
digital desktop, whatever itis.
So the first thing we have tothink about is how can we weave
in some ways to treat them justlike we would treat them face to
face?
Now, one way to do this ispersonalization, but we have to
walk that line.
(01:43):
We have to understand this ispersonalization that feels
helpful and not creepy.
We don't want to say, wow, it'sbeen a while since we've seen
you, right?
That would be creepy.
But we might say, you knowwhat?
You were looking for thosetypes of sweater.
Can I make a suggestion?
Can I share something that goeswith that?
When we ask those questions ina digital channel, a lot of
(02:08):
times people do feel like it'shelpful.
We are predicting what theymight need next, just like a
really great salesperson in astore would do that.
So think about the actualexperience that they have and
how to personalize that as theygo through your digital
experience, but focus on theirbenefit.
(02:28):
What can they get out of itinstead of really thinking
about, you know, we just want tosell more.
The other thing we want to dois really think about those
micromoments that I love totalk about.
I define micromoments as themoments that can either build or
erode trust, but are oftenneglected.
They are sometimes thein-between moments or what I
(02:50):
call the meh moments.
These can be things like aconfirmation email or something
like, you know what, if ifyou're about to send out
something saying your order isbeing shipped, those little
moments along the customerjourney that are pretty
transactional.
What can we do to warm thoseup?
There are some great ways I'veseen this done.
(03:12):
One is instead of sayingsomething like, your order has
been placed, uh, say somethingmore about them, about how
excited you are for them.
You're going to love this thingthat you ordered.
Here's what other people havesaid about it.
I would love to know yourfeedback once you receive this
item.
Just really making it aone-to-one conversation.
(03:35):
Now, the other thing is how dowe really weave this in in those
neglected moments?
Those neglected moments areimportant to look for in your
journey as well.
Now, when we talk aboutcustomer journey mapping, this
is one of the things we lookfor.
We want to look for thosemicromoments.
What are those moments that,yeah, they're fine, but they're
(03:57):
not great.
They're not personal, they'renot warm, they're not human
feeling.
So as you look at your owncustomer journey, I encourage
you to think about where arethose micromoments where we
could turn up the warmth alittle bit.
We could make them feel seenand understood.
We could suggest the next stepfor them before they have to ask
for it.
So all of that would be a greatway to warm up the digital
(04:20):
experience.
Now, the other thing toremember is that we like humans.
We like to see people, we liketo see faces.
So let's use humansproactively.
When we are talking with ahuman being, it feels different.
We like knowing that there'ssomebody who is really looking
(04:40):
out for us.
So if you have something like achat bot on your site where
maybe you have people some ofthe time and maybe it's AI some
of the time, be very, verytransparent about that.
And then also, I've seen somereally creative ways that brands
are starting to use photos ofthe real team members there or
an avatar, a fun avatar.
(05:02):
So if you are talking to an AIbot, you know who you're talking
to, essentially.
So look into ways that you canwarm up those types of purely
digital transactions so thatpeople feel like they know who
they're speaking to.
Uh, the other things that I'veseen sometimes are around really
showcasing the team that isputting your order together.
(05:24):
Look, this is this is uhMirabella, and she is packing
your package for you.
One of my favorite examples,which I've shared in my keynotes
and other places, is when Iordered some Halloween costumes
for my kids online, and I got anamazing confirmation email, and
they sent a video where theyshowed people actually getting
(05:46):
really excited that I hadordered.
They had everybody in thewarehouse kind of cheering, and
then they went through a littlejourney of saying, look, we're
gonna get it from here and we'regoing to package it up, and
it's on, it's going to be on itsway to you very shortly.
Now, of course, this was not acustom video for me as a
customer, but every customer whoordered got that amazing, warm
(06:08):
personal touch that made us feellike, oh, this is a real team.
This is not a facelessorganization.
So anytime you can add that,that can be very helpful.
Nordstrom is doing somethinginteresting.
They've been doing this for thelast couple of years, where
they actually show theirin-store stylist in a little
video explaining why an item ispopular, how to wear it, how to
(06:31):
style it, all of those things.
So sometimes they even say thisitem was selected as our item
of the week by the stylist inMinneapolis or in, you know,
California, wherever they are.
It's just a little human touchto help that digital experience.
And then, of course, you'veheard me talk about this before:
reassurance, reassurance,reassurance.
(06:53):
We have to be proactive aboutanswering the questions that our
customers have before they havethem.
So if you are shoppingdigitally on a retail site, you
might have questions like, isthis really the color?
Because we've all had thoseexperiences where we order
something and it comes to us andwe're like, whoa, that color
was really off when in thepicture.
(07:15):
Um, we want to see how it wouldlook on ourselves like clothes
or in a room.
We want to ask questions like,okay, well, you know, this says
this is a certain size, but isit really?
So all of those questions, themore that we can proactively
answer those for folks and letthem know they're not alone with
those questions, that can bereally good too.
(07:37):
One of the things that some ofthe digital retailers do is also
share this item is returnedoften, or this item is is not.
That gives you reassurance aswell.
The other way to reassure folksis to say, this is exactly how
you can return this easily.
So it takes away that barrierof, oh my gosh, I don't want to
(07:58):
get something, and if it doesn'tfit, I don't know what to do
with it.
So anyway, you can break downthose barriers, those points of
friction, so they don't have toask those questions.
They get that reassurance alongthe way.
This is also especiallyimportant with shipping.
Right now, today, we arehearing about customers getting
surprised by uh having to payduties or tariffs or things like
(08:23):
that.
So make sure that howeveryou're shipping things, you are
setting the right expectationsaround the timing and the cost
and anything else.
For instance, going back to thereturns, will they have to pay
extra to send something back intoday's market?
These are questions you have tolook into for where you are and
(08:44):
how you're shipping things out.
But it's very, very importantthat you are being very direct
and transparent and honest withcustomers throughout this.
So any way you can provide thatclear, empathetic guideline
around what will happen next,what could happen, and how to
help the customer proactively,that reassurance will reduce the
(09:07):
anxiety and really create asense of we are valuing you, we
are caring for you.
And then the other thing Iwould say is let's make sure
that we celebrate the moments,right?
Like if somebody's making uptheir mind on something, and it
could be a small purchase, itcould be a large one.
People order cars online now,they order furniture.
(09:29):
So if they're making a purchaselike that, that's a big deal.
And we want to celebrate that.
Like, congratulations on yournew car.
That's amazing.
But we could also do that forthe small things.
Oh my gosh, you're gonna lovethis tea kettle.
All of our customers love thistea kettle because it's fast and
it looks great.
It's going to look great inyour kitchen.
(09:49):
You know, really humanizing inthe way that we would if they
were right in front of us.
That can be really fun.
You can also make some thankyou videos, I've seen that, um,
progress updates that feel veryhuman.
So things like, hey, I'mso-and-so in the warehouse and
we're packing it up right now,and it will be shipped to you in
two to three days.
(10:10):
So just making sure that we arekeeping them connected and
communicating in that reallyhuman way.
Now, the other consideration isthat we have to understand how
our customers like to becommunicated with.
A lot of organizations now havedifferent options.
And so you want to see is anemail better?
(10:31):
Would you rather have textupdates?
What works for you?
And with those text updates,you can be even more creative.
You can use those emojis, youcan use different fun things.
Don't be afraid to do that.
If you were talking to afriend, how would you reassure
them?
How would you add some humor?
How would you add somehappiness?
That's what I want you to thinkabout as you design these
(10:55):
experiences.
And then finally, you know, Ithink sometimes the transaction
leading up to the sale can bevery warm.
And then a lot of timesafterwards, it feels very
transactional.
We get those ugly emails thatsay, you know, confirmation.
We might get something aftersaying, here's a survey.
But what if we warmed that partup?
(11:15):
What if we kind of close theloop more like a human?
And we said, how did everythinggo?
Right?
Like, what can we do next time?
If we start the conversationthat way, it feels very
different than, hey, customer,fill out this survey.
So there is so much opportunityhere with digital journeys to
really warm things up, to makethem more human, and to do it at
(11:39):
scale.
And I think that we aren'ttaking advantage of all of these
things in the way that wecould.
We are kind of staying in thattransactional lane sometimes.
So shake it up, try things out,see what messages resonate, see
what your customers want andhow they want to be communicated
with, and then go for it.
Be human.
(11:59):
It's okay.
So I hope that as you approachyour digital journeys, you will
take note too when you are acustomer and it feels warm.
Make little notes about thatbecause that's how we can all
learn from each other as well.
So thank you for asking thisquestion.
Always a good one.
And I just want to say thisyear has been phenomenal.
(12:21):
We are at the end of 2025 here,and I am so proud of each of
you.
I really am.
The questions that you ask, theway that you are leading right
now, it is impressive.
So give yourself a pat on theback.
You have made it through 2025,which, you know, we've had a lot
of ups and downs, haven't we?
But you've you've done it.
(12:43):
And you've done it with graceand empathy and compassion.
And you've also done it as aleader.
And so as we look to the futureof 2026, I really encourage you
to think about how you can leadin an even more empathetic and
strategic way.
How can you deliver thoseresults that your organizations
(13:05):
want based on deliveringexceptional customer
experiences?
Because that's what we allwant.
So next year, I'm going to be,you know, sharing a lot more
about my book, Experience isEverything.
We have a lot of great thingsin store for you.
So I hope you will check thatout and visit us at
experienceinvestigators.com.
And hey, if you've loved thispodcast, please do us a solid
(13:28):
and leave a rating.
Make sure you leave us a littlereview.
That really helps others findthis podcast, and it helps us a
lot too.
So thank you for everything youdo.
I can't wait to talk to yousoon.
And I can't wait to hear yournext question on the Experience
Action Podcast.
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