Emirates, HSBC, Vox offer best customer experience among UAE firms, shows study

Emirates airline, HSBC Bank and Vox cinemas offer the best customer experience, according to a study released by KPMG on Wednesday.

It said the UAE’s overall performance on customer experience has increased by seven per cent since 2018. Companies were ranked across KPMG’s six pillars of customer experience excellence (CEE): personalization, integrity, expectations, resolution, time & effort, and empathy.

Emirates airline is again the number one brand, leading across the six pillars. The top 10 performers in the UAE also include Emirates NBD, Carrefour, DEWA, Centrepoint, FedEx, Spinneys and DHL. Companies scoring high on customer experience typically record higher revenue growth.

Pilar De Miguel Veira, Partner, Head of Experience Design & Innovation at KPMG Lower Gulf, explained: “In a post-Covid-19 world, consumers may expect the brands they interact with – digitally or physically – to deliver better, safer and more seamless interactions at a lower cost. We have seen many companies establish their integrity, striving to act in the best interests of their customers, doing the right thing regardless of profit impact, and caring for employees and customers. This is reflected in UAE companies’ improved customer experience excellence metrics.”

Overall, quality of customer experience has improved across the UAE since the last survey in 2018. Every sector has seen improvement, with Utilities (+10%) and Financial Services (+10%) seeing the largest increase. Entertainment & Leisure has the highest score (8.15) for its customer experience. Despite the impact of Covid-19, the Travel & Hotels sector (scoring 7.80) performed better in the UAE than in most other countries.

There has been a significant increase in performance across The Six Pillars in this year’s research, with Expectations seeing the greatest improvement (12% average increase across all brands). These pillars represent the key elements of customer interaction for brands during Covid-19, setting new standards in an unprecedented situation.

Strong performance across the six pillars is likely to lead to improved brand Loyalty and Advocacy. In order to understand customers’ likelihood to recommend a brand (Advocacy), they were asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend each brand to a friend or colleague. In addition, customers were probed regarding Loyalty — how likely they were to continue buying goods or services in the future.

When it comes to driving both Loyalty and Advocacy, the KPMG study this year found UAE customers to be most focused on a brand’s Integrity and Personalization. Unsurprisingly, the impact of these two Pillars on Loyalty and Advocacy is slightly lower this year due to Covid-19 – likely related to customers increased concern about having their evolving needs met and their problems resolved.

“New technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can enable customer experiences that are highly personalized, frictionless and easy to navigate. For organizations able to navigate these challenges, there are likely opportunities to accelerate economic recovery, lock in long-term cost savings and create enormous value, for both shareholders and society,” Pilar concluded.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE