Digital Commerce Transformation in Non-Retail Industries: A Sector-by-Sector Deep Dive

As digital commerce and AI-driven customer expectations reshape the business landscape, the impact is being felt far beyond traditional retail. Sectors such as healthcare, banking, insurance, and energy are experiencing a profound transformation, each with its own unique challenges, opportunities, and consumer expectations. Drawing on Publicis Sapient’s research and expertise, this page explores how digital commerce is evolving across these non-retail industries, providing actionable insights for organizations seeking to lead in the next era of digital engagement.

The New Digital Commerce Imperative

Digital commerce is no longer confined to online shopping carts and retail checkouts. Today, it encompasses any transaction between a consumer and a brand that can be completed online—whether that’s opening a bank account, updating an insurance policy, paying a healthcare bill, or managing energy usage. As consumers grow accustomed to seamless, personalized, and AI-enhanced experiences in retail, they increasingly expect the same from every sector they interact with.

However, satisfaction and adoption rates for digital commerce vary widely across industries. Understanding these differences is critical for organizations aiming to close the digital gap and deliver on rising customer expectations.

Banking & Financial Services: Leading the Pack

Customer Satisfaction: Banking and financial services consistently report the highest satisfaction rates for digital commerce, with over 60% of consumers expressing satisfaction. This sector’s early investment in digital channels, robust security, and user-friendly interfaces has set a high bar for others to follow.

Key Drivers of Success:

Personalization: Banks have excelled at using data to tailor product recommendations, alerts, and offers, making digital interactions feel relevant and timely.
Omnichannel Integration: Customers can seamlessly move between mobile apps, web platforms, and in-branch services, with consistent experiences and access to their data.
AI Adoption: From chatbots handling routine queries to AI-driven credit scoring and fraud detection, banks are leveraging AI to improve efficiency and customer service.

Challenges:

Regulatory Complexity: Compliance and data privacy remain top concerns, requiring ongoing investment in secure, transparent systems.
Legacy Systems: Many banks still struggle with integrating new digital capabilities into legacy infrastructure, slowing innovation.

Opportunities:

Hyper-personalization: As AI matures, banks can further individualize customer journeys, offering proactive financial advice and tailored products.
Agility: Cloud migration and agile operating models are enabling faster innovation and improved customer responsiveness.

Healthcare: A Sector in Need of Digital Acceleration

Customer Satisfaction: Healthcare lags behind, with only about a third of consumers satisfied with their digital commerce experiences. The sector faces unique barriers, including regulatory constraints, complex user journeys, and a diverse patient population with varying digital literacy.

Key Barriers:

User Experience: Patients cite confusing interfaces, lack of clear information, and fragmented services as top sources of dissatisfaction.
Adoption Gaps: Older generations and certain regions show lower adoption rates, often due to concerns about privacy, security, and accessibility.

Opportunities:

End-to-End Digital Journeys: Streamlining appointment booking, bill payment, and access to health records can significantly improve satisfaction and outcomes.
Personalized Care: AI and data analytics can enable more personalized health recommendations, reminders, and support, improving engagement and adherence.
Trust and Transparency: Clear communication about data use and privacy, along with robust security, is essential to build patient trust.

Impact:

Patients who engage with digital healthcare services are significantly less likely to have unmet health needs, highlighting the potential for digital transformation to drive better outcomes.

Insurance: Bridging the Digital Divide

Customer Satisfaction: Insurance sits in the middle, with around 40% of consumers satisfied with their digital commerce experiences. While many insurers have digitized policy management and claims, the sector still faces hurdles in delivering seamless, customer-centric experiences.

Challenges:

Complex Products: Insurance offerings are often difficult to understand, and digital platforms may not provide sufficient guidance or personalization.
Fragmented Journeys: Customers encounter friction when moving between channels or attempting to complete end-to-end transactions online.

Opportunities:

AI-Powered Support: Chatbots and virtual assistants can simplify policy selection, claims processing, and customer service, reducing friction and improving satisfaction.
Personalized Offers: Leveraging data to tailor coverage and pricing can enhance relevance and loyalty.
Transparency: Clear, accessible information and proactive communication about policy changes or claims status build trust and confidence.

Energy & Commodities: Emerging Digital Opportunities

Customer Satisfaction: Energy and commodities companies are making strides, with over half of consumers expressing satisfaction with digital commerce experiences. The sector is evolving rapidly as consumers demand more control, transparency, and sustainability in their energy usage.

Key Trends:

Self-Service Platforms: Customers increasingly expect to manage accounts, monitor usage, and pay bills online or via mobile apps.
Personalized Insights: AI-driven analytics can help consumers optimize energy consumption, receive tailored recommendations, and access incentives for sustainable behaviors.
Sustainability: Digital platforms are key to communicating and enabling green energy choices, carbon tracking, and participation in new energy programs.

Challenges:

Legacy Infrastructure: Integrating digital capabilities with existing systems and processes remains a significant hurdle.
Data Privacy: As energy data becomes more granular and personal, robust privacy and security measures are essential.

Cross-Sector Insights: What Drives Success in Digital Commerce Transformation?

Across all non-retail sectors, several themes emerge as critical to successful digital commerce transformation:

Customer-Centric Design: Simplifying digital journeys, reducing friction, and focusing on clear, accessible information are essential to drive adoption and satisfaction.
Personalization and AI: Leveraging data and AI to deliver relevant, timely, and proactive experiences is increasingly expected by consumers, especially younger generations.
Trust and Transparency: Clear communication about data use, privacy, and security is non-negotiable. Building trust is foundational to encouraging data sharing and deeper engagement.
Agility and Integration: Modernizing legacy systems, adopting cloud infrastructure, and enabling seamless omnichannel experiences are key to keeping pace with evolving expectations.
Proactive Problem-Solving: Addressing common pain points—such as customer service issues, confusing interfaces, and lack of personalization—can turn negative experiences into opportunities for loyalty and growth.

The Path Forward: Actionable Steps for Non-Retail Industries

Invest in foundational digital capabilities: Prioritize user-friendly platforms, robust security, and integrated data systems to enable seamless experiences.
Embrace AI where it adds value: Focus on AI applications that directly address customer needs, such as personalized recommendations, automated support, and predictive analytics.
Tailor strategies to your sector’s unique context: Recognize the specific barriers and opportunities in your industry, and design solutions that address them head-on.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement: Use data and customer feedback to iterate and enhance digital offerings, ensuring they remain relevant and effective.
Build trust through transparency: Clearly communicate how customer data is used and protected, and offer meaningful incentives for data sharing.

Why Publicis Sapient?

Publicis Sapient is at the forefront of digital business transformation across industries. Our deep sector expertise, combined with advanced AI and experience design capabilities, enables us to help organizations in banking, healthcare, insurance, energy, and beyond reimagine their digital commerce strategies. We partner with clients to bridge the digital divide, exceed customer expectations, and unlock new sources of value in an AI-led world.

Ready to accelerate your digital commerce transformation? Let’s talk about how to apply these insights to your business.