Analysis of respondents' opinions allowed us to group research findings into 8 trends. These are:

1. Client-centric organization

   Nowadays, the slogan customer centered is increasingly appearing as a direction in company strategy. Companies are taking a conscious approach to building a customer-centered organizational culture. ICAN Research's research shows that the most dynamic companies are those that are more customer-centered, those that can not only improve products, but discover new niches and needs of their customers.

2. Experience in the purchasing process

   Nowadays, selling is key, and the distance between CX and sales is shortening. A well-planned process guarantees sales success and customer satisfaction. However, it must be consistent, easy to follow across all channels of contact. Any process that guarantees assortment matching, transparency and functionality of the store shelf, and service during and after the purchase has become important. The sales process must be seamless, convenient and engaging shopping "journeys," minimizing any burden and taking as much of the operations that the salesperson takes over from the customers' shoulders as possible.

3. Hyper-personalization

   This is the future in probably every field. CX is not lagging behind here. Recommendation engines or other sales algorithms alone are only the beginning of the road, according to experts. Personalization based on historical data is just the beginning. The ability to build behavioral models based on real and current customer needs, verified by sources from multiple data, is the direction that CX leaders in Poland are thinking about today.

4. Omnichanel

   Much has been said about multichannel, but companies are still at the beginning of the road when it comes to implementing it properly. What's more, purchasing processes are changing dynamically, and changing sales processes is not always easy or quick. To ensure customer loyalty, companies strive to build a consistent brand image that represents values that are important to customers. The way of service and marketing communication is confirmed at each stage of the purchase path regardless of the sales channel. Thanks to technology, interesting sales models continue to emerge: direct to customer, store-in-store concepts, self-service stores, brand stories, apps, shopping platforms.

5. Single source of customer knowledge

   Today, the collection of customer knowledge provides more and more opportunities. Companies are inundated with data which, however, they fail to use in increasing business. Critical are the ability to integrate knowledge, analyze, draw conclusions, and access data quickly. ICAN Research shows that building solutions with access to integrated customer knowledge from all sales channels and touch points is the direction companies will be working on in 2023.

6. Automation and self service

   This is already a very advanced trend. Organizations are looking for solutions that will increase the availability of the service, give the ability to access it 24/7. They range from simple tools to advanced ones based on artificial intelligence like bots.

7. Real-time customer

   Ongoing access to information is changing the way customer experience is managed. There is a growing role for monitoring, speed of response to difficulties encountered by customers. This is especially true for self-service solutions, where human support is eliminated and the process is digitally controlled.

8. Mobile applications of stores and service points

   This is an increasingly advanced direction at the interface between sales and CX. It allows, on the one hand, to have constant access to the customer, on the other hand, it gives the opportunity to tailor offers and better promotions. Ultimately, it comes down to the development of store and point-of-sale applications, which provide more and more value, are highly rated and liked by customers, and offer huge sales potential.