When Customers Stop Answering: How Retail Can Reclaim the Voice Channel

From one-click purchases to door-to-door same-day delivery, retail has led the charge in convenience. But even as retailers perfect their omnichannel experiences, they’re facing a critical challenge in one of the oldest, tried-and-true communication methods: the phone call.

Calls that once delivered order confirmations, pickup reminders, or fraud alerts are now going unanswered. The culprit isn’t indifference. It's distrust.

Last year alone, more than 52 billion robocalls were placed in the U.S., a scale that has fundamentally changed consumer behavior to simply not pick up the phone. Nearly three in four adults (74 percent) have said they're concerned about robocall scams that pose as retailers claiming that a package is pending pickup or a refund is due. Add to the mix the 72 percent of adults who refuse to answer unknown calls, and it’s clear the trust pendulum is swinging in the wrong direction, especially for those businesses that rely on customers answering the call.

The Growing Trust Gap

The encouraging news is that the trust problem is solvable.

In the age of apps and chatbots, voice remains a preferred connection point, with consumers preferring voice calls from businesses over text messages in several situations, particularly when dealing with sensitive information or critical business decisions. For instance, 32 percent opt for voice when talking with credit card companies, while 33 percent prefer voice for communications with banks and lenders. Even more encouraging is that 81 percent of consumers say they would answer a call if it followed a recent action they themselves took with that brand. The key is in “knowing.”

The KYB and KYC Connection

The concepts that underpin effective call authentication borrow from frameworks already familiar to financial services professionals.

Know your business (KYB) processes confirm that the entity placing a call is a legitimate, verifiable organization. Know your customer (KYC) processes establish that the person being reached has a genuine relationship with that entity. Together, they create the conditions for a trusted communications exchange.

By verifying their identity at the network level before a call is placed, retailers can ensure that only authenticated, transparent interactions occur, protecting both their business and their customers from impersonation and fraud.

Branded Calling: Trust You Can See

KYB/KYC principles are being integrated into the voice channel through two core capabilities: spoof protection and branded calling.

First, spoof protection verifies that a call truly originates from the claimed business, preventing the unauthorized use of business phone numbers and limiting fraud-related disruptions so that teams can focus on real customer interactions.

Second, enterprise branded calling displays the company’s name and logo on the recipient’s screen at the moment the phone rings. Only authenticated, verified calls can carry this rich display, making it a visible signal that can be trusted.

Because of this, branded calling gives retailers a more reliable and trusted way to manage critical customer interactions, from taking and confirming orders to completing account applications, upselling, responding to online inquiries, handling complaints, and processing refunds. By displaying a verified name and logo, it reassures customers that the call is legitimate, which significantly helps improve answer rates.

In fact, retailers using spoof protection and branded calling report higher answer rates, longer call durations, and stronger engagement, which isn't surprising since research shows that 76 percent of Americans would prefer to engage with businesses that use branded calling over those that do not.

This added layer of transparency not only enhances engagement and extends call duration, but also drives higher conversion rates across sales and service touchpoints. Furthermore, it helps reduce fraud attempts, protects phone number reputation, and safeguards overall brand integrity. All of which ultimately helps in lowering fraud-related costs, minimizing exposure to compensation claims, and strengthening long-term customer trust.

Restoring Confidence and Connection

As retailers work to protect their reputations and ensure legitimate outreach cuts through the noise, embedding KYB- and KYC-style trust into call operations is becoming essential. In a retail landscape driven by personalization and transparency, trust is the true differentiator.

Whether the call is about a delivery update, loyalty offer or refund verification, customers want confidence that the voice on the line is real. Retailers that invest in trusted communications aren’t just lifting answer rates, they’re reclaiming one of their most powerful customer touchpoints.

Mike Schinnerer is vice president of trusted communications for TNS’s Communications Market.