How retailers are leaving money on the table by treating CX as a cost center

In an environment where acquisition costs are rising and loyalty is fragile, brands that still view CX as a post-sale, problem-solving unit are falling behind. That’s because the reality is that modern customer service drives revenue — it converts, retains, differentiates, upsells and cross-sells.

Retailers who fail to evolve their CX approach are not just missing out — they’re actively diminishing customer trust, short-term purchases and long-term value.

CX moves from cost containment measure to revenue growth driver

In the recent past, treating CX like a cost center made sense for retailers. They staffed support teams with generalists and optimized those teams to address break-fix inquiries. Customer service success was measured by metrics like call deflection and average handle time. However, that model was focused on a containment strategy — keeping overhead low, while providing just enough service to solve the issue.

The retail landscape has evolved, and today’s customer journey is nonlinear. That journey now spans multiple channels, involves real-time decisions and often includes a mix of service, sales and brand engagement — all in a single interaction. For example, a customer who inquires about making a return might also ask about gifting, sizing or product recommendations. Service is no longer just about solving problems — it’s about extending the brand experience and driving sales.

Furthermore, recent research from McKinsey and Company found that 70% of buying decisions are influenced by how customers feel they’re being treated during the customer journey. Forward-thinking retailers have recognized this shift in consumer mindset and are already driving meaningful revenue through their support centers.

How retailers turn CX support teams into sales engines

Many retail leaders have begun reimagining customer service support as consultative selling. That doesn’t mean they’re taking a traditional commission-based approach to selling, but rather relying on CX agents to advise customers, recommend products and deepen retailer-consumer relationships.

According to research from Accenture, companies that shift their perspective on customer service from viewing it as a cost center to a value center experience a remarkable 3.5 times growth in revenue.

One large home goods retailer transformed its CX center into a value center by using AI to equip CX agents with additional customer details, such as order history, product preferences and past conversations. The retailer successfully turned everyday service interactions into revenue-generating moments by arming its CX agents with this deeper context. Today, the retailer’s CX center consistently ranks among its highest-performing departments in terms of monthly revenue.

This move from traditional customer support to consultative selling isn’t contained to home goods retailers. It’s becoming a critical touchpoint for building consumer loyalty and driving long-term value across retail verticals by using the right tools and data.

AI accelerates the shift from cost center to revenue driver — when done correctly

Many retailers are experimenting with AI to cut costs, but cost-cutting alone isn’t a comprehensive AI strategy. The real opportunity lies in using AI to elevate human interactions, upsell and cross-sell, enrich the customer experience, and drive revenue.

AI that understands a customer’s history, sentiment and relationship with a brand can contextually triage simple tasks and prepare CX agents to deliver high-value customer moments. But that only works when AI is embedded in a platform that’s been designed to remember customers — not one built around disconnected CX tickets or one-off service interactions.

Most legacy systems fall short when it comes to incorporating AI tools because they retrofit AI onto a fragmented infrastructure, creating automation that’s fast, but rarely helpful. The result is inconsistency, repetition and customer frustration.

By contrast, when AI operates in a continuous conversation model designed around people — one that spans channels, carries memory and shares context with human agents — it becomes a multiplier that drives efficiency and deepens relationships.

To transition their CX departments from cost centers to revenue drivers, brands have to invest in AI that supports optimizing every CX conversation to move shoppers from interest to purchase. This level of AI incorporation helps businesses convert more customers without relying on discounts or promotions. It also increases order size and keeps margins healthy in a high-cost environment by recommending the right products to consumers and promoting premium purchasing options.
For example, one technology-forward airline achieved 40% year-over-year customer growth without increasing the number of customer interactions. Seventy-one percent of conversations were assisted by AI, freeing the CX team to focus on higher-impact, brand-building moments.

Retailers’ success metrics evolve along with CX teams’ revenue roles

Retailers shifting CX from a cost center to a revenue driver must also rethink how they measure team success. Brands shouldn’t run a revenue-focused service operation by relying on outdated, cost-focused metrics like deflection rates, resolution time and number of tickets closed.

Instead, CX agents that are expected to drive customer value should be evaluated based on meaningful outcomes, such as revenue per conversation, customer satisfaction and retention, lifetime value uplift, and conversion from support to sale.

Shifting how retailers measure performance is just as important as shifting how they deliver it.

Flipping the CX model empowers teams, builds customer relationships and optimizes revenue

The idea that customer service must be either efficient or impactful is a false choice. In the current economy and with today’s high customer expectations, retailers who still manage their CX teams like cost centers are leaving money on the table.

Today’s most successful retailers are those who’ve flipped the model — investing in service as a growth driver, not a line item to shrink.

When brands treat CX as a growth function:

● Teams are empowered to act with intelligence and empathy

●  AI handles repetitive work without degrading the experience

●  Conversations turn into conversions

That doesn’t mean that retailers have spent more to achieve these results. Rather, they’ve invested in smarter systems, AI tools and CX strategies that unlock the full potential of every customer conversation.

When retailers build CX to drive revenue, it does.

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