Making retail operations digital is usually an improvement. Done properly, digital can be more efficient, faster and cost-effective and can capture far more information. it is also often the kind of interactions many younger consumers prefer. But don’t let that lengthy list of advantages blind you to the reality that you’re still losing something. That pro/con list may be lopsided, but it still has two sides.

Consider Jack in the Box, which a year ago shut down all of its customer call centers, pushing customer service online, according to this profile in Digiday. The story certainly described a lot of benefits of, if you will, hanging up all of those phones.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here