Accent Group elevates CX with Zendesk messaging

Accent Group made the decision to migrate to Zendesk messaging in order to elevate the company’s digital customer support experience to match the premium service offered in-store. Accent Group recognized that to truly honor its customer-first values, support had to be seamless, continuous, and reflective of the brand’s high standards.

“Messaging just made sense. It aligns with our brand standards, gives customers the experience they should expect, and gives our agents a better experience, too,” says Laura Cran, Head of Customer Experience at Accent Group.

Solving core customer challenges

With Zendesk Messaging, Accent Group can now offer round-the-clock support to customers.

Further, switching to messaging allows the company access to better data; now the team can more clearly understand customers’ complex inquiries that require agent support, rather than focusing on inquiries about chat’s dysfunction.

“Before messaging, our second-highest contact reason was chat disconnections. That meant we often didn’t even understand what our customers needed in the first place,” explains Cran.

Messaging allows Accent Group to focus on customer solutions, rather than technical difficulties. The new experience not only looks better-—it works better–for both customers and agents.

Seamless migration, standout results

Accent Group strategically launched Zendesk messaging in with a smaller retail banner to fine-tune the experience. Within just six weeks, the migration was underway across additional and larger brands, with the final launch completed just two months later.

Messaging quickly became the preferred tool among agents and brands alike, and Accent Group saw tangible results such as:

— A 90 percent decrease in average customer wait times, from over 10 minutes to under 1 minute YOY
— A 75 percent containment rate in the messaging widget across all brands
— A 10-plus percentage point CSAT increase during key shopping periods like Cyber Week right after migration and an additional three percentage point increase since then

“We set a goal of a 10 percent containment rate, and we were pleasantly surprised to hit a 75 percent containment for our brands,” shares Cran.

Seamless agent adoption

Another pleasant surprise was agent appetite for messaging across brands. Although Accent Group manages 20+ retail banners and 14 global brands, the team found it simple to configure core flows and adapt them to each brand’s identity. Accent Group rolled out messaging gradually, implementing it on one brand per week.

Teams tested the flows in a sandbox before launch, and frontline feedback informed real-time updates. Messaging was so popular, agents were actively requesting it before their brands had even launched.

“It was really interesting—our agents were the ones asking for messaging to replace chat. People can be fearful of change, but they clearly saw the value here,” recalls Cran.

Aligned with customers, built for scale

Since adopting messaging, Accent Group has created a more unified, customer-centric support model across its brands. And because the configuration was flexible, replicable, and rooted in brand voice, the migration scaled quickly and efficiently.

“Unlike chat, messaging feels worthy of our websites. It’s aligned to the high standards we set in our stores,” boasts Cran.

With asynchronous support, faster responses, and more reliable customer insights, Accent Group now delivers a service experience that’s not just easier to manage—it’s better for customers.

Cran’s advice for those considering a switch? “It’s low risk and high reward. Don’t get scared off by configuration. Just turn it on, adapt it, and get on with it.”