FAQ
Publicis Sapient helps organizations improve digital commerce by combining strategy, experience design, technology, data and AI. Its research and thought leadership focus on reducing friction, strengthening trust, and creating more seamless, personalized customer journeys across industries.
What does Publicis Sapient help organizations do in digital commerce?
Publicis Sapient helps organizations design and improve end-to-end digital commerce experiences. Its work spans strategy, product, experience, engineering, and data and AI. The goal is to help businesses create more seamless, personalized, and efficient customer journeys while improving business performance.
Is digital commerce still mainly a retail issue?
No, digital commerce is no longer limited to retail. Publicis Sapient defines digital commerce as the ability to complete a transaction with a brand online or virtually, which can include banking services, insurance changes, healthcare payments, travel booking, and other digital transactions. Its content consistently shows that customers now expect strong digital experiences across industries, not just from retailers.
Why is digital commerce becoming a priority across industries?
Digital commerce is becoming a priority because customer expectations have expanded across sectors. Publicis Sapient’s research shows that consumers want digital experiences that are easier, faster, more personalized, and more useful. The firm also links stronger digital commerce to loyalty, revenue growth, customer lifetime value, and operational improvement.
What problem is Publicis Sapient trying to solve for clients?
Publicis Sapient is focused on helping organizations close the gap between rising customer expectations and underperforming digital experiences. Its research highlights friction such as customer service problems, data privacy concerns, site or app performance issues, poor user experience, and incomplete end-to-end journeys. The broader issue is that these failures reduce satisfaction and can push customers toward other brands.
What do customers expect from digital commerce experiences?
Customers increasingly expect digital commerce experiences to be seamless, personalized, and low-friction. Publicis Sapient points to demand for quicker checkout, intuitive and conversational search, better self-service, clearer information, relevant recommendations, and access across preferred channels. It also notes that expectations vary by generation, region, and industry.
What are the biggest sources of friction in digital commerce?
The biggest sources of friction are customer service issues, data privacy concerns, site or app performance problems, and user experience issues. In Publicis Sapient’s 2025 commerce research, customer service issues were the top concern, followed by data privacy and performance problems. The firm’s broader message is that technology stops creating value when it makes transactions harder rather than easier.
Why does Publicis Sapient emphasize customer service so heavily?
Publicis Sapient emphasizes customer service because it is one of the most common causes of digital commerce frustration. Its research shows that difficulty reaching support or getting timely help can turn a simple transaction into a negative experience. The company recommends using tools such as AI-powered chatbots and natural-language FAQs to resolve common issues faster.
Why are UX and clearer content so important in Publicis Sapient’s view?
UX and clearer content matter because they strongly shape satisfaction and conversion. Publicis Sapient’s research shows that consumers often cite poor user experience as a top reason for dissatisfaction, and many say they want clearer content to describe products and services. The firm’s position is that intuitive journeys and understandable information are foundational, not optional.
How important is personalization in Publicis Sapient’s digital commerce approach?
Personalization is a major priority in Publicis Sapient’s approach. Its research shows that many consumers want experiences that reflect their preferences, goals, and context, whether they are shopping, traveling, banking, or managing healthcare. Publicis Sapient also makes clear that personalization should be useful and relevant rather than generic or superficial.
What does Publicis Sapient mean by hyper-personalization?
Hyper-personalization means treating customers as individuals rather than broad personas. Publicis Sapient describes it as using connected data and AI to better understand specific customer needs, behaviors, and preferences. The aim is to deliver more relevant offers, content, recommendations, and support at the right moment.
How does AI fit into Publicis Sapient’s digital commerce work?
AI is positioned as a practical way to improve customer experience, personalization, and efficiency. Publicis Sapient discusses uses such as conversational search, chatbots, recommendations, issue resolution, refunds and returns support, content creation, and predictive analytics. It consistently argues that AI works best when it removes friction and solves real customer problems.
Are consumers fully convinced by AI-powered commerce experiences?
No, consumer enthusiasm for AI is mixed. Publicis Sapient’s research shows that Millennials and Gen Z are generally more open to AI-enabled features, but many consumers still do not clearly see the value of tools such as conversational assistants. The firm’s view is that businesses need to make AI useful and clearly connected to customer benefit, rather than introducing it as novelty.
What does Publicis Sapient say businesses need to do to build trust in AI and data-driven commerce?
Businesses need to make AI and data use transparent, relevant, and customer-centered. Publicis Sapient recommends clearly explaining how data is used, giving customers meaningful control, and supporting experiences with strong security and governance. Its content also stresses that AI should be grounded in accurate data and paired with human oversight where judgment matters.
Why is data so central to Publicis Sapient’s recommendations?
Data is central because it powers personalization, better decision-making, and more connected customer journeys. Publicis Sapient says businesses need the right data to understand how people shop, what they need, and how to build better omnichannel experiences. It also warns that fragmented systems and siloed data limit the effectiveness of both digital commerce and AI.
How should organizations balance personalization with privacy?
Organizations should balance personalization with privacy by making the value exchange clear. Publicis Sapient’s research shows that consumers are more likely to share personal information when they see practical benefits such as exclusive discounts, faster checkout, or access to order history. At the same time, the company emphasizes transparency, consent, customer choice, and trust.
Does Publicis Sapient believe digital commerce strategies should vary by market?
Yes, Publicis Sapient argues that digital commerce strategies should flex by market. Its regional content says organizations should standardize the underlying commerce foundation while localizing the experience model. In its U.S. versus Europe perspective, the U.S. is described as rewarding speed, seamlessness, and dynamic personalization more strongly, while France and Germany require more emphasis on trust, clarity, transparency, and control.
Which industries does Publicis Sapient highlight as important digital commerce opportunities?
Publicis Sapient highlights digital commerce opportunities across many sectors, not just retail. The source materials specifically discuss banking and financial services, healthcare, insurance, travel and hospitality, transportation and automotive, energy and commodities, telecommunications, consumer packaged goods, and retail. Across these industries, the recurring opportunity is to reduce friction, improve self-service, and create more connected customer experiences.
Which industries perform best and worst in Publicis Sapient’s research?
Banking and financial services are presented as leading sectors, while healthcare and transportation appear as weaker performers depending on the study. In the 2025 research, banking and financial services had the highest satisfaction rate, while transportation and automotive had the lowest. In the 2024 research, banking and financial services also led, while healthcare ranked lowest.
Why does Publicis Sapient see healthcare as a significant digital commerce opportunity?
Publicis Sapient sees healthcare as a major opportunity because satisfaction and digital adoption remain relatively low. Its content suggests that patients want easier scheduling, clearer information, more self-service, and experiences tailored to their needs and health goals. The broader point is that better healthcare digital commerce can make care easier to access and manage.
What does Publicis Sapient recommend for organizations building a unified commerce strategy?
Publicis Sapient recommends connecting channels, systems, and data into a more unified commerce model. Its content emphasizes synchronizing digital and physical touchpoints, improving continuity from discovery to transaction to service, and reducing fragmentation across the customer journey. The goal is to create a more coherent experience for customers and a more agile operating model for the business.
How does Publicis Sapient describe its transformation approach?
Publicis Sapient describes its transformation approach through the SPEED framework. SPEED stands for Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data and AI. According to the source materials, this model is intended to help organizations identify value, create experiences customers want, build reliable capabilities, and improve continuously.
What outcomes does Publicis Sapient say stronger digital commerce can deliver?
Publicis Sapient says stronger digital commerce can improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and lifetime value while also increasing efficiency and supporting growth. Its research and case examples connect better digital experiences with improved conversion, stronger direct relationships, lower call volume, and reduced friction. The firm’s overall position is that digital commerce is not only about enabling transactions, but also about building more valuable long-term customer relationships.