The hidden cost of digital transformation: when efficiency kills customer experience
By Andile Masuku and Cameron John Walker
Just over a year ago, during a routine communal office lunch at 54 Collective (54CO), I found myself in an unexpectedly absorbing conversation with Cameron John Walker, the South African CEO of GotU Innovations.
While he was ostensibly at 54CO to consult on operational efficiency, our discussion quickly wandered beyond optimal delivery frameworks and success metrics.
Perhaps it was our shared experience as Third Culture Kids (TCKs) that sparked such instant rapport.
While typically defined as children who spend formative years in cultures different from their parents', the TCK lens has profoundly shaped both our worldviews, albeit in distinctly different ways.
However, I digress.
That initial chat sparked numerous conversations outside of work, and eventually spawned a kinship anchored by a mutual obsession with defining and quantifying socio-economic impact – particularly in commercial contexts.
Walker’s often contrarian, always passionate perspectives, honed through years of strategy, tech and operational optimisation consulting, tend to challenge conventional wisdom about the nature and purpose of digital transformation.
In this week's TechTides column hijack, he draws from a recent experience at his local Johannesburg supermarket to unpack a critical question facing African consumer-facing businesses.
Here’s what's on Walker’s mind, in his words:
Efficiency versus experience
Standing in the aisles of a Checkers grocery store recently, I found myself repeatedly jostled aside by the store's online order fulfilment shoppers.
These 60Sixty service personnel, focused intently on their picking devices, pushed past other customers without acknowledgement – efficiency clearly prioritised over basic human courtesy.
This scenario crystallises a critical question facing retail leaders today: In our rush to optimise digital transformation, are we sacrificing fundamental human experiences?
Digital disconnect
According to Gartner's CIO Agenda 2023, 91% of organisations are engaged in some form of digital initiative.
Yet according to Salesforce's latest State of the Connected Customer report, 84% of consumers say being treated like a person, not a number, is crucial to winning their business.
This disconnect exemplifies how the rush to digitise and optimise has created an unintended consequence – the erosion of fundamental human connections that build lasting customer relationships.
Through my work with major African retailers, I've observed this pattern consistently: organisations invest heavily in digital transformation and process optimisation, often at the expense of basic human interaction.
Omnichannel challenge
The pursuit of omnichannel strategies has further complicated this landscape.
While companies eagerly deploy multiple touchpoints across digital and physical channels to meet customers wherever they are, this approach often results in fragmented customer journeys.
The critical breakdown often occurs at channel intersections—those pivotal moments when customers transition from a chatbot to a call centre, or from an in-store experience to a digital platform. These handoff points frequently become friction points, as organisations struggle to maintain context and continuity across channels.
What begins as an effort to deliver seamless service instead becomes a fragmented experience, forcing customers to repeatedly reorient themselves. This leads to frustration, diminished satisfaction and, ultimately, a loss of trust.
Measuring omnichannel success requires a dual focus on operational efficiency and experiential metrics. Both are essential for meeting customer expectations and ensuring a truly integrated service experience.
Pillars of customer experience
At the core of exceptional customer experience lie three fundamental requirements: connection, competence and convenience. Can customers engage with your brand in a way that feels personal and genuine? Does your service delivery meet basic expectations consistently? Is it easy and intuitive for customers to achieve their goals?
The answers to these questions reveal whether an organisation truly recognises and values individual customer identity, builds trust through consistent interactions, and enables customer empowerment.
Delivering on expectations
The Checkers scenario represents a textbook case of optimisation at the expense of human experience. While their online fulfilment metrics might be impressive, the negative impact on in-store customer experience reveals a critical blind spot in their customer-centric strategy.
McKinsey research points to 71% of consumers expecting companies to deliver personalised interactions, and 76% getting frustrated when this doesn't happen.
Progressive retailers are finding success by:
• Establishing clear priorities for different customer segments (Understanding how many different customers you are servicing, Online vs In-Store)
• Training staff to prioritise human interaction alongside efficiency metrics (The Human touch point might have shifted but is still fundamental to customer experience)
• Implementing technology solutions that enhance rather than replace human connection (Where humans are the consumers of your technology)
• Measuring success through both operational and experiential metrics
Striking a balance
As we continue to navigate the digital transformation landscape, the key to sustainable success lies not in choosing between efficiency and human experience, but in understanding how to harmonise these seemingly competing priorities. The companies that will thrive are those that recognise that true customer centricity begins with acknowledging and addressing fundamental human needs.
So, the next time you're implementing a new customer experience initiative, ask yourself: Are we building on a solid foundation of human-centric service, or are we simply adding another layer of digital sophistication to a shaky foundation?
Andile Masuku is Co-founder and Executive Producer at African Tech Roundup. Connect and engage with Andile on X (@MasukuAndile) and via LinkedIn.
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