Today’s shoppers want more than transactions—they expect guidance, curation, and relevance. High-touch retail experiences, delivered via messaging and powered by automation, are helping fashion brands stand out in a saturated digital world.
What is high-touch customer service in retail?
High-touch customer service is all about personalised attention and relationship-driven interactions. Traditionally, it’s what you’d find in high-end stores: personal shoppers, stylists, fragrance consultants, or jewellers offering hands-on, expert advice.
Now, technology is changing the game. Messaging apps and automation platforms are enabling brands to bring this same level of service online. With Sales AI Agents and conversational interfaces, retailers can offer tailored, human-like interactions at scale through the channels their customers already use, like WhatsApp.
Why high-touch experiences benefit retailers
High-touch is a performance driver. Guided service leads to longer engagement, higher AOV, and stronger loyalty. Styling guidance, size advice, and tailored product suggestions not only increase confidence but also reduce returns and improve satisfaction. Customers feel seen, and that feeling drives sales.
High-touch service has traditionally been the hallmark of luxury retail. But today, these experiences are rapidly moving into the digital space and are becoming accessible to practically any retailer.
As more shoppers engage with brands through messaging apps and online platforms, high-touch service is being reimagined through conversational commerce and AI-powered assistance. This translates into an improved ecommerce customer experience that, in contrast to traditional sales channels and strategies, aligns better with customers’ expectations.
The new era of high-touch retail is messaging-first
Messaging channels like WhatsApp and Instagram are becoming the new front doors for customer service. Unlike email or phone support, messaging is asynchronous, mobile-first, and seamlessly integrates into customers’ lives.
Smart conversational apps powered by AI can offer curated advice, route questions to the right agent, and follow up with timely reminders or recommendations. Sales AI Agents are emerging as digital counterparts to in-store advisors—scalable, efficient, and always on.
These automated journeys don’t stop at checkout. Post-purchase flows, loyalty follow-ups, and re-engagement campaigns all benefit from the same personalised, messaging-first approach.
Automation scales high-touch customer experiences
Automation allows retailers to replicate high-touch experiences without the overhead. Routine queries are handled automatically, leaving human agents to focus on high-value interactions.
AI-powered style advisors guide customers through product discovery, gather preferences, and hand off to human agents when deeper support is needed. The results are clear: brands like Guess saw a +60% lift in basket size through their WhatsApp personal shopper powered by Hubtype.
How fashion brands are using messaging to deliver high-touch CX
Guess — Using Hubtype’s Sales AI Agent, Guess created a WhatsApp-based personal shopper experience that delivers tailored styling advice. Customers who engaged with the flow spent 40% more and increased their basket size by 60%.
Global Fashion Brand — A leading fashion retailer launched a guided style advisor inside WhatsApp. Customers explored curated outfits, received personalised suggestions, and completed purchases all within the chat, boosting engagement and conversion in the process.
What to look for in a high-touch CX automation platform
To successfully scale high-touch service, brands need platforms that combine flexibility, personalisation, and operational efficiency. Here’s what to prioritise:
Integration with CRMs and CDPs
Customer data is the fuel for personalisation. Seamless integration with CRMs and CDPs ensures that every interaction—automated or human—is informed by past behaviour, preferences, and purchase history.
Automation + human orchestration
Look for platforms that let AI handle routine tasks (like qualification, recommendations, or FAQs) while giving agents the tools to step in at critical points. A smooth handoff between automation and humans is essential for a high-touch feel at scale.
Support for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Webchat
Today’s high-touch service is not exclusive to in-store—it happens on mobile as well. The right platform should allow you to deploy personalised shopping journeys on messaging channels where your customers already spend their time.
Personalisation features that go beyond live chat
Live chat is reactive. High-touch personalisation requires proactive engagement, like timely product suggestions, back-in-stock alerts, or triggered promotions based on behaviour. Your platform should support these advanced, conversational capabilities.
Hubtype provides all of this and more, giving retailers the tools to deliver VIP-level service across every digital touchpoint.
The future of high-touch is hybrid, messaging-first, and always on
High-touch service is no longer exclusive to boutiques and high-end stores. With the right strategy and tools, every retailer can deliver curated, relevant, and scalable service through messaging and turn service into a strategic growth driver.
With Hubtype, high-touch experiences become scalable, efficient, and revenue-generating. Discover how messaging, automation, and AI can help your brand deliver personalised service that drives loyalty, boosts AOV, and sets you apart.
If you’re ready to create retail’s most personal—and highest-converting—shopping experience, let’s talk!
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