Reinvent consumer journeys to reduce decision stress

Consumers are overwhelmed with noise when it comes to decision-making. Our recent research reveals that 75% of people feel bombarded by advertising and 73% are overwhelmed with too many options. Consumers want to make informed decisions to ensure they get the best value, but the sheer volume of choices and conflicting information makes this process increasingly frustrating for them.

In response to consumers’ desire for more information and better choices, many companies have increased their focus on tailored communications and personalized experiences. Yet despite these efforts to simplify, 4 in 10 consumers (41%) still feel that it takes more time and effort to decide than it did three years ago.

Given the persistence of decision stress, it is crucial for companies to reinvent three key phases of consumer journey, from discovery to conversion and loyalty.

CPG companies can reduce the decision stress and transform the consumer experience by facilitating discovery with evidence-based information—improving conversion through hyper-personalized experiences and simpler information at the point of purchase and enhancing loyalty with relevant value exchanges.

Gen AI presents an opportunity to streamline and simplify experience

Imagine the new types of interactions that consumers could have with brands through gen AI-enabled, end-to-end experiences. Consumers could have access to personalized answers for every question—an advisor that supports every aspect of their consumer journey and a personal assistant who takes on both mundane tasks and complex missions to alleviate their personal workload.

These interactions will shift consumer experiences from transactional to relational, making brands proactive partners in everyday life, anticipating needs and offering seamless, context-aware support at every turn.

This human-by-design technology can solve human needs by opening the door to broader, more holistic offerings. It changes the conversation from "I want to find this item" to "I want to solve this problem"—or even “solve this problem for me”, depending on how hands-on—or hands-off—a consumer wants to be.

One of the key strengths of gen AI tools is that they can bridge the gap between abstract ideas and concrete actions. By quickly gathering and analyzing vast amounts of structured, unstructured and synthetic data, gen AI can deeply understand consumers, identifying the most relevant solutions for them in a matter of seconds. Its capacity to understand context and offer nuanced and convincing recommendations is remarkably “human.” And it continually learns as it works, understanding the drivers of the individual’s decision in the moment, given the context—whether they are looking for cheapest options, easy returns or a renowned brand—becoming more relevant and sophisticated over time.

Consumers are ready for this. More than half (51%) of the respondents in our study are already open to using conversational AI solutions when making purchasing decisions about different categories.

In Accenture's Technology Vision 2024, we forecasted that by 2029, generative AI advisors would surpass traditional search in terms of traffic. However, this shift may occur even sooner, with predictions indicating that search engine traffic could decline by 25% by 2026 due to the rise of AI chatbots and virtual agents.

Leveraging gen AI capabilities to reduce decision-stress for consumers

A look at decision-making scenarios reveals how gen AI solutions can help companies strike the right chord with consumers at the right time.

Curated experiences with targeted content

When consumers try to make decisions on their own—whether for speed or control—they want to quickly and easily find the information that matters most to them. Seventy-five percent of consumers wish they could more quickly and easily identify options that meet their needs.

Curated experiences with targeted content, powered by generative AI, offer a solution. For example, companies can implement semantic search, which uses AI to understand the intent behind a query and deliver highly relevant information, rather than just matching keywords. This helps consumers find exactly what they need in a sea of options.

In another approach, companies like Brown-Forman Corporation are leveraging AI to personalize advertising and content. Brown-Forman tailors its messaging across product display pages to match each stage of the customer journey. As consumers get closer to making a purchase, the content shifts from creative, brand-focused messages to more practical information, simplifying decision-making and enhancing the overall shopping experience.

Fact-based tailored guidance with gen AI advisors

What if a consumer needs help with a decision? Our research found that frequency of purchase was the top driver of decision-making confidence. For products or services that are less familiar, many consumers will welcome the advice of an expert who can guide them through the various choices, to help land on the one that’s right for them.

Historically, this advice has come from brand ambassadors, in-store assistants, advisors, or even peers. Now, gen AI enables companies to provide expert advice at scale, offering personalized guidance that is tailored to a consumer’s unique needs, preferences and feedback. Top criteria for use of such a tool include providing specific recommendations that can always be relied upon (81%), providing rationale (81%) and empowering the consumer through the conversational interface (81%)—all whilst protecting personal data (85%).

L’Oréal Paris Beauty Genius is an AI virtual beauty assistant that analyses consumers’ skin to recommend what they need, using discovery as an engagement tool. Beauty Genius offers tailored recommendations from over 750 L’Oréal Paris skincare, makeup and hair color products, along with virtual try-on options. It also offers personalized education and consumer support in a safe digital space for sensitive beauty questions.

Beauty Genius integrates over ten large language models and is trained on more than 6,000 images representing a diverse range of skin types. Makeup artists have evaluated it on over 10,000 products in 50 countries. Its skin diagnosis service is powered by algorithms trained on over 16,000 diverse images and more than 150,000 dermatologist-annotated images.

When using gen AI advisors for purchases, 76% of consumers desire suggestions that surprise them.

Enable personal assistance with gen AI agents

Then there are the decisions that consumers prefer to avoid. These will be different for everyone. For some it may be the most complex decision. For others, it might be those that are simpler, yet tedious. As 71% of consumers in our research confirmed, they ultimately want to spend less time researching potential purchases, and more time doing the things they like.

Generative AI agents are poised to take on decision-making roles for consumers, functioning as personal assistants capable of handling complex decisions and executing them autonomously. Their success hinges on the value exchange that consumers foresee: a willingness to share personal data with the agent to enhance its understanding of their preferences, in return for the convenience of delegating entire tasks that the agent can manage independently. Our research indicates that, on average, consumers are more inclined to adopt gen AI agents over AI advisors.

In January, Walmart announced an extension to their in-home replenishment that can anticipate needs and automatically place orders for delivery. The AI-powered feature can learn a consumer’s purchasing patterns, including product types, frequency and quantity, ensuring they never run out of essentials without needing to intervene. By proactively anticipating a consumer’s needs, it removes the mental and physical effort of decision making and formalizes the brand as a trusted partner.

Leading the way in consumer experience with gen AI

Gen AI has the potential to completely transform the relationship between consumers and the manufacturer. The right technology can help companies foster a culture of trust and loyalty with consumers. The opportunity for companies is to use gen AI tools and assistants to improve on these values to achieve breakthrough growth.

Contact Oliver Wright to learn more about how you can use gen AI to reinvent consumer journeys and deliver simpler experiences.

Contributor

Emma J. Blackburn, Consumer Insights Lead, Accenture Research