Lünendonk study confirms Reply's top position in "Digital Experience Services" and highlights the growing importance of generative AI

3 November 2023

Reply is one of the leading full-service providers of Digital Experience Services (DXS) in the latest "Market for Digital Experience Services in Germany 2023" study by Lünendonk, the market research company. 

Lünendonk analysed the portfolio and business development of 28 German and international IT and management consultancies and digital agencies. The ranking considers the revenues generated in 2022 in three categories - digital consulting services, digital agency services and digital technology services - as well as the assessment of portfolio breadth and depth by providers and users of digital experience services.

According to the Lünendonk study, digital experience services are becoming increasingly important for the surveyed service providers. According to the forecast, revenues in the digital experience services segment will continue to grow by 14.7% by 2024. For this reason, Reply continues to invest in Digital Experience capabilities and services such as digital assistants, holographic pop-up stores and hyper-personalisation to support companies in DX projects and develop a holistic digital experience with creativity, data and innovative technologies that enable comprehensive business growth.

Lünendonk’s survey of user companies confirmed that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly important. 78% of the companies stated that applications such as Chat GPT are currently of high or even very high relevance to them. This makes generative AI the fastest growing technology trend, with an increase of 36% compared to last year.

Reply has extended its core offering in the field of generative AI with new components such as digital assistants. These digital assistants make it possible to process and analyse large amounts of data, learn from it and then make informed decisions. The knowledge required to provide individual answers in real time is done using a combination of Generative AI models such as GPT-3, ChatGPT, the LangChain and LLamaIndex frameworks and fine-tuning techniques on OpenAI models. Thanks to these capabilities, digital humans are able to understand complex patterns, adapt to new situations and thus create a unique customer experience for digital service requests in web shops or in retail.

84% of enterprises and 96% of service providers surveyed by Lünendonk expect generative AI to automate standard activities. This will allow employees to focus more on value-adding activities in the future. Around two-thirds of respondents expect an increase in creativity in the DX area as a result. Reply uses AI and generative AI to create text, video and graphic content, as well as brand strategies, service and product design for clients and the company’s own communication channels.

The user companies surveyed by Lünendonk confirm that the investments made in recent years are paying off and that the maturity of DX is increasing. Additionally, other technology trends, such as IIoT, VR and data analytics platforms, are becoming increasingly important, according to the study. Reply uses these technologies to develop customised communications and customer experiences, as well as to gain customer insights and develop the company's services and products.

Thomas Hartmann, member of board of Reply Deutschland SE, adds: “Our customers are strongly demanding AI applications - especially generative AI solutions in the areas of data-driven marketing and personalisation, as well as cloud-native digital experience solutions. These businesses have grown significantly recently. Investment in new technologies and AI-enabled business models is currently at the forefront of our clients' minds. The design of personalised customer experiences is no longer possible without the use of AI. It can be used to automate processes, target data and develop contemporary customer experiences.”