Customer Experience Outsourcing Services in Europe, Forecast to 2029

Customer Experience Outsourcing Services in Europe, Forecast to 2029

Growth rates for the European customer experience (CX) outsourcing market have declined from the double-digit pace of 2020 and 2021, partly due to economic headwinds such as rising interest rates and fluctuating exchange rates. Moderate growth is expected between 2023 and 2025, with a recovery expected to start in 2026. The introduction of generative AI is driving more interest in digital, automation, and self-service applications, creating opportunities in the long term for the outsourcing model as companies look to partners to manage AI complexity. Generative AI stands to impact long-term full-time employee (FTE) headcount, leading to a potential reduction in agents as more automation and self-service applications begin to take hold. However, there will be new upskilled roles for agents in support of AI initiatives, resulting in a flattening of FTE growth.

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity will continue to build momentum globally, impacting market share at both the continent and country levels while also opening up growth opportunities for smaller and mid-sized firms to leverage merger-related disruptions at larger firms. As return-to-work initiatives begin to take hold, the hybrid work environment is becoming commonplace. Remote work is forecast to dip below 50% in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic-driven work-from-home trend began. Larger verticals, including healthcare, financial services, and retail/eCommerce, show the most growth potential, while growth in telecom and utilities is slowing, partly due to relative saturation.

This study provides a detailed analysis of revenue opportunities by:

Source country (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Benelux, Nordics, and the Rest of Europe)

Fulfillment region (onshore, nearshore, and offshore)

FTE by fulfillment region

Work-from-home employees

Industry vertical

Born-digital vs. traditional companies

Service function

Interaction channel

It also provides a market share analysis by country (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy). The study identifies the factors driving and restraining growth and highlights the opportunities emerging from this space for market players to leverage. The base year is 2022, and the forecast period is from 2023 to 2029.