Ambitious plans and layered technology investments didn’t necessarily translate to better retail customer service during last year’s holiday season. Unfortunately, many retail customer service departments suffered from high friction, slow response times, and a less-than-optimal customer experience.

This post highlights five of the most common mistakes retailers made with customer service in 2024 and describes how you can avoid them in 2025.

1. Not Allowing Enough Time to Ramp up Seasonal Support

Many retailers underestimated the lead time and number of seasonal hires. In some cases, agents weren’t trained well enough or weren’t hired until after the first wave of customer demand hit. The result? Long wait times, overworked agents, and many complaints on social media.

To better address the issue this year, plan seasonal hiring at least 90 to 120 days ahead of time.  Also, consider using a nearshore contact center outsourcing partner that has a sophisticated recruitment pipeline of pre-vetted agents open to seasonal work.

2. Relying Too Much on Automation When Customers Are at Their Most Stressed

Many retail brands moved to automated channels for sensitive interactions such as failed deliveries, late-arriving gifts, or returns. AI is useful, but it can’t replace empathy, especially during the holiday season when many customers are under the most stress.

To improve in 2025, build a tiered customer service model. Use automation for FAQs or simple questions but quickly move to human agents. Keep in mind that the holidays are an emotional time for many people, so empathy and sensitivity are more important than ever.

3. Lack of Coordination between Customer Service and the Supply Chain

Lack of transparency between headquarters and the contact center regarding shipping delays and inventory issues led to misunderstandings, vague answers, and more customer escalations.

This year, use your CRM or order management system to provide frontline agents access to real-time data regarding logistics and operations. If you hire an outsourced team, make sure they can work with your systems and share information across departments. Keep in mind that a nearshore contact center partner with the same business hours as your headquarters will be in a better position to respond to changes immediately without the time zone lag that can happen with offshore teams.

4. Lack of Attention to Gen Z Shoppers

Retailers that built service experiences mostly for Millennials and Gen X missed the mark with Gen Z, who have more buying power than ever. This generation balks at canned scripts and long wait times and want to know that they are seen, heard, and respected. Gen Z is also less forgiving of mistakes and more likely to complain in public.

To meet their needs:

• Prioritize mobile-first support and real-time response options (e.g., chat, SMS, and social DMs).
• Ensure retail customer service agents, especially seasonal staff, know how to speak in a natural, caring, and unscripted way.
• Offer proactive updates on orders, returns, and delays through the channels they most prefer.

5. Underestimating the Value of Social Media as a Real-Time Service Channel

Too many retailers in 2024 still viewed social media as a way to promote their business instead of a way to talk to customers. As a result, complaints went unanswered, responses took too long, and public frustration spread quickly. During busy times, unhappy customers often go straight to Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram to get a response. And when retailers don’t respond promptly, the potential for brand damage escalates quickly.

In 2025, retail brands should:

• Use social media as their main support channel instead of a backup.
• Use social listening tools to find service problems early.
• Deploy dedicated social media customer service agents who are well trained in brand voice and have the sensitivity and emotional intelligence to diffuse difficult situations in a public forum.

Why Retailers Should Consider Nearshore Outsourcing in 2025

For retailers who want to efficiently manage seasonality without giving up quality, nearshore contact centers are a great option. Some advantages of nearshore contact center outsourcing partners include:

• Time zones aligned to the U.S.
• A strong connection to U.S. culture and high levels of English proficiency
• Lower costs compared to U.S.-based centers, but higher quality than many offshore options.
• Faster ramp times for the holiday season

Make 2025 the Best Year Yet for Holiday Season CX

As a CX leader, your job isn’t just to fix problems, it’s to design systems and workflows that stop them from happening in the first place.

With that in mind, now is the time to:

• Invest in training and technology that make your retail customer service teams better
• Make support work more closely with logistics
• Explore outsourcing partnerships

Are you ready to change how you handle seasonal customer service in 2025? For more information about how Advensus supports retail customer service with contact center outsourcing solutions, contact us.