• Login
  • Status
  • Support
  • Partners
  • Pricing
  • Careers
  • ENLanguages
    • English
    • Deutsch
    • Français
    • 日本
    • 简体中文
    • العربية
    • 한국
    • Español
Customer Experience (CX) AI Platform
  • Customer Experience (CX) AI Platform×
  • Platform

      CXone Mpower Platform

      • Platform Overview

        Complete AI platform for customer service automation

      • Enlighten AI

        Powering smarter CX with AI-driven insights and automation.

      • Cloud Architecture

        Innovative cloud-native foundation to rapidly scale extraordinary CX

      • Dashboards & Reporting

        Gain a full operational picture of your contact center, with enhanced visualization of real-time and historical insights

      • Integrations

        Seamlessly connect your business systems with our platform

      • Trust & Compliance

        Securing your trust with every interaction

      Discover the full value of AI in customer service

      Understand the benefits and cost savings you can achieve by embracing AI, from automation to augmentation.

      Calculate your savings

    • Products
      • Explore all Products

      • Capabilities

      • Interaction Orchestration

        Interaction Orchestration

        Orchestrate all interactions and workflows across every customer service touchpoint.

        Learn more

        • Omnichannel Routing

          Reduce wait times and boost conversions with smart customer-agent matching.

        • Proactive Engagement

          Generate more revenue, minimize hang-ups, and proactively connect to reduce friction.

        • AI Orchestrator

          Unify and optimize every customer service workflow from intent to fulfillment.

        • Agent Desktop Workspace

          Connect front and back office teams with data, conversations, and workflows together in one place.

      • Workforce Augmentation

        Workforce Augmentation

        Amplify team performance with specialized AI copilots for every role.

        Learn more

        • Specialized AI Copilots

          Elevate human performance with specialized AI copilots for every role.

        • Workforce Engagement Management

          Elevate employees, adapt to flexible work, and meet expectations - without compromise.

        • Automated Agent Notetaking

          Instantly summarize interactions - accelerating resolution times and agent efficiency.

        • Voice of the Customer

          Unlock customer insights to enhance experiences, drive loyalty, and boost business growth.

        • Interaction Analytics

          Gain AI-powered insights from 100% of interactions to drive continuous improvement.

      • Service Automation

        Service Automation

        Automated customer self-service solutions increasing retention rates.

        View Products

        • Intelligent Virtual Agent

          Boost self-service satisfaction and conversion with conversational AI agents.

        • Experience Optimization (XO)

          Synthesize real customer conversations to identify your top automation opportunities.

        • Proactive AI Agent

          Keep customers engaged in conversation from onboarding to installation, service, and retention.

        • Knowledge Management

          Activate AI-powered enterprise knowledge to increase self-resolution rates and loyalty.


      • Solutions

      • By Industry

        By Industry

        • BPO

          Business Process Outsourcers

        • Financial Services

          Customer experiences that count

        • Government

          Elevate citizen trust

        • Healthcare

          Healthy patient experiences

        • Insurance

          Secure policyholder experiences

        • Retail

          Delight customers where they shop

        • Telecom

          CX for Telecommunications

        • Travel & Hospitality

          Boost traveler and guest loyalty

        Discover the full value of AI in customer service

        Understand the benefits and cost savings you can achieve by embracing AI, from automation to augmentation.

        Calculate your savings

      • By Business Initiative

        By Business Initiative

        • Grow Revenue

          Boost conversions and win rates to accelerate growth

        • Engage & Empower Employees

          Create a workplace of truly engaged employees

        • Boost Customer Loyalty

          Improve customer loyalty on interactions across the journey

        • Drive Digital Transformation

          Integrate digital technology at the center of CX

        • Small and Medium Business

          Drive growth and boost revenue with smarter, cost-effective customer service built for SMBs.

        • Call Center Software

          Empower agents to provide better experiences

        • Increase Operational Efficiency

          Leverage AI and automation to increase agent retention

        • Move to the Cloud

          Elevate experiences by moving operations to the cloud

        • Improve Compliance

          Protect your consumers with pre-built compliance solutions

        • Proactive Customer Engagement

          Elevate customer satisfaction with proactive conversational AI

      • Integrations & Custom Solutions

        Integrations & Custom Solutions

        • CXexchange Marketplace

          Discover partner solutions to extend capabilities on our platform

        • Pre-Built Integrations

          Seamlessly connect your business systems with our platform

        • Developer Tools & APIs

          Endless customization options with RESTful APIs and robust SDKs

        • Partner Ecosystem

          Embark on a journey of shared success and collaboration

        91% of customers recommend NiCE as a preferred CCaaS vendor

        Gartner® named NiCE the only Customers’ Choice CCaaS vendor in its 2024 Peer Insights™ “Voice of the Customer for Contact Center as a Service” report.

        Get report


      • View All Products
    • Services
      • Explore all Services

      Professional Services

      • Professional Services

        Industry-leading expertise, tools and know-how

      • Implementation Partners

        NICE-certified implementation partners

      • Business Consulting

        Your partner for successful transformation

      Training

      • Contact Center Training

        Tailored education delivered by CX experts

      Support & Assistance

      • Customer Support

        Global support you can depend on

      Make the smartest buying decision with the latest Gartner analysis

      NiCE has been named a Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for Contact Center as a Service for the 10th consecutive year and is positioned furthest on Completeness of Vision.

      Get report

    • Resources

        Knowledge Base

        • All Resources

          Whitepapers, datasheets, demos and more

        • Analyst Perspectives

          Contact center reports from third party analysis

        • Terms Glossary

          Detailed descriptions of industry-related terms

        • FAQs

          Contact center focused frequently asked questions

        • Guides

          Expert insights for superior CX

        Learning & Insights

        • On-Demand Webinars

          Browse our extensive webinar catalog

        • Interactive Product Tours

          Explore the complete platform with our self-guided demos

        • Blog

          CX industry guidance by contact center experts

        • Why NiCE? Video Series

          Step Inside The Room Where It Happened to see CX AI in action

        • NiCE & Simple: Video Demo Series

          Brilliant, bite-sized videos from our top product pros

        Community

        • Events

          Upcoming events and webinars

        • Customer Stories

          Our customer's success is paramount. Read case studies about real CX transformation

        • NiCE Clubs

          Collaborate, learn, and share best practices for customer service excellence

        Discover the full value of AI in customer service

        Understand the benefits and cost savings you can achieve by embracing AI, from automation to augmentation.

        Calculate your savings

      • Company

          Company

          • About Us

            Powering seamless cloud experiences

          • Investors

            Investors relations, reports and filings

          • Global Offices

            Interactive map of locations worldwide

          • Careers

            View job openings and learn about our culture

          • NiCE Leadership

            Meet our global leadership and executive team

          News & Media

          • Events

            Upcoming events and webinars

          • Press Releases

            Find the latest updates from NiCE

          • Media Center

            Media contacts and resources

          Corporate Governance

          • NiCE Trust Center

            Securing your trust with every interaction

          • Market Leadership

            Discover why NiCE is the market leader

          • Corporate Responsibility

            In a world where you can be anything, be NiCE

          Make the smartest buying decision with the latest Gartner analysis

          NiCE has been named a Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for Contact Center as a Service for the 10th consecutive year and is positioned furthest on Completeness of Vision.

          Get report

          • ENLanguages
            • English
            • Deutsch
            • Français
            • 日本
            • 简体中文
            • العربية
            • 한국
            • Español
          • Get Started
            • Login
            • Status
            • Support
            • Partners
            • Pricing
            • Careers

          Company

          • About Us
          • Careers
          • Global Leadership
          • Media Center
          • Investors
          • Awards
          • Global Office Locations
          • Contact Us
          • CCaaS
          • Customer Experience
          • NiCE Public Safety
          • NiCE Actimize
          • NiCE RPA

          Partners

          • NiCE Partners Overview
          • Developer Partners (DEVone)
          • CXone Mpower Partner Portal
          • NiCE Help Partner Portal
          • NiCE User Group

          Customer Support

          • Customer Support Overview
          • CXone Mpower Support Login
          • NiCE Customer Support
          © 2025 NiCE
          • Terms of Use
          • Site Map
          • Privacy Policy
          • Legal
          • Cookies Settings
          • Accessibility

          Stay Connected

          © 2025 NiCE
          • Home
          • Resources
          • Case Study: Vera Bradley

          Case Study: Vera Bradley

          Vera Bradley logo

          Vera Bradley Embraces Digital-First Omnichannel with NiCE CXone

          Luggage, handbag, and accessory retailer Vera Bradley has been modernizing a business model started in 1982 to meet changes in customer expectations as well as evolution in service models and technology.

          View story

          Download PDF version

          Customer Story

          • CUSTOMER PROFILE
          • 01 THE BEFORE
          • 02 DESIRE TO CHANGE
          • 03 THE SOLUTION
          • 04 THE RESULTS
          • 05 THE FUTURE
          • What can NiCE do for you?

          • VIEW A DEMO

          CUSTOMER PROFILE

          Luggage, handbag, and accessory retailer Vera Bradley has been modernizing a business model started in 1982 to meet changes in customer expectations as well as evolution in service models and technology. After a successful transition from aging contact center software to NiCE CXone, the organization has investigated ways to both broaden and deepen the solution’s reach. An examination of long-term consumer preferences for service channels sparked interest in a digital-first omnichannel strategy and highlighted the advantages of bringing a wider range of contact options to customers.

          01 THE BEFORE

          Moving past shopworn contact center software

          Vera Bradley’s previous on-premises contact center system was a multi-vendor environment—fragmented and in clear need of replacement. Voice and chat were siloed. SMS and social media were unsupported. Reporting was extremely limited and business experts could not configure skills. Scheduling was completely manual, from spreadsheets to individual time-off requests. Small configuration changes required significant IT intervention, and real-time insights were impossible to obtain. “We did not have a way to analyze basic essential KPI's such as contacts per hour, handle times, productivity or average speed to answer,” said Susan Campbell, Vera Bradley’s Director of Customer Experience.

          02 DESIRE TO CHANGE

          A breaking point highlights new opportunities

          The previous voice solution would sometimes fail outright, presenting callers with silence or a dial tone. Digital queues would also become difficult to manage during peak periods. Those thwarted customers were not shy about alerting Vera Bradley’s senior management to the issue. “Some would find our CEO on LinkedIn and send a message. That fact, and input from our IT team, were important drivers to create an updated customer experience,” Campbell said.

          The company noticed a steep long-term decline in demand for voice interactions (down to just 34% of contacts in 2023 from 60-80% in recent years) and wanted to better meet customer demands for flexible channel choice. “Customers want to talk to us through their channel of choice, not our channel of choice or what we think is best for us,” Campbell said.

          Aside from these factors, cybersecurity requirements for retailers in general put all of Vera Bradley/s operating practices under review. NiCE offered the necessary PCI compliance protocols. For the first time, Agents could work from home. Prior to the pandemic, 82% of the department was certified to work from home, making the transition during COVID flawless.

          03 THE SOLUTION

          A fresh omnichannel approach to contemporary CCaaS

          Vera Bradley wanted a cloud-based system that would consolidate communication channels, offer real-time reporting, shore up PCI Level II compliance while allowing agents to spend some days working from home in a hybrid model, and provide agent engagement through gamification. The company implemented NiCE CXone and related workforce and quality management solutions to support these business goals. “Moving to a cloud-based system from an on-premises system provided us with so many additional opportunities, including working from home,” Campbell said. “And it was exciting to move to the CXone native chat and gain features like team calling during an escalated chat.”

          CXone makes it easy for Vera Bradley to delineate between sales and service contacts for more precise reporting, staffing, and revenue attribution. Self-service options are also significantly improved and better meet the needs of the 80% of Vera Bradley customers who say they want self-service options for tasks like product returns, warranty information, and product registration. A comprehensive gamification and incentive program keeps agents informed and motivated to achieve both tangible cash bonuses and superior rankings on performance management dashboards.

          The contact center handles more than 200,000 annual customer inquiries through NiCE solutions through calls, chats, email, and now SMS. With SMS and the beginnings of social media support in place, Vera Bradley decided to begin implementing a digital-first omnichannel approach. “This will streamline our preferred vendors, create synergies between brands and create revenue savings,” Campbell said.

          04 THE RESULTS

          Strong payback on key initiatives

          Each initiative has shown substantial payback. The IVR selfservice function alone generates $50,000 in annual savings, as an IVR resolution costs less than 4% of the cost of an average agent connection. Workforce optimization analysis showed Vera Bradley that it could eliminate 23.5 hours per week from the contact center’s hours of operation, which saves the organization $1 million annually. Improved platform stability has significantly improved call abandonment rates, now down 70%. Internal NPS scores show improvements, with agents signaling above-average ratings in overall departmental satisfaction as well as feeling equipped for their jobs. Customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores are also holding steady despite several business updates. “With NiCE, we were able to manage volume and skill to campaigns where we needed extra help,” Campbell said.

          Vera Bradley can keep its current hybrid work policies (one day per week in-office) running strong with the CXone CCaaS architecture, which is accessible from remote locations as well as in the physical contact center. Email workflow is also more robust, switching from a “pull” queue model to a “push.” The company has further refined this approach to keep its top agents in digital channels free during peak hours or larger-than-usual queue sizes.

          Time is the other watchword of Vera Bradley’s results - both freeing more of it and better controlling it. Because business users can extensively customize CXone, the contact center is not so dependent on outside communications with IT organizations just to make modest changes. And team leads have complete control over intraday schedule changes and skills availability.

          05 THE FUTURE

          A “future-focused” continued pivot to digital-first omnichannel

          With the CXone technology and experience now wellestablished, Vera Bradley continues to look at the realities of its planned digital-first omnichannel strategy, which will allow customers to have exchanges with agents who know the complete history of their interactions, regardless of channel. “NiCE gives us the ability to be future-focused,” Campbell said.

          The company is looking ahead to optimizing the DFO platform. Vera Bradley is also keen to incorporate AI into the customer experience. “We would like to improve our chatbot experience to be more interactive,” Campbell said. “We love idea-sharing and exploring possibilities with other NiCE users in the NiCE User Group.”

          “I feel like NiCE wants to make us a better version of ourselves. And there aren’t a lot of other companies that really invest in thought leadership, especially around how AI will forever change the face of the contact center.””

          DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
          VERA BRADLEY

          Contact us

          If you would like to know more about our platform or just have additional questions about our products or services, please submit the contact form. For customer support, please visit our support page to log into the Customer Community portal.

          SUSAN CAMPBELL

          Get Started with NiCE

          Join the thousands of businesses who trust NiCE to create exceptional customer experiences with purpose-built AI.

          Get a quote

          ABOUT

          Founded in 1982, Vera Bradley designs, manufactures, and sells handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and gifts through its own stores, verabradley.com, select department stores and 1,600 specialty retail locations.

          INDUSTRY

          Retail

          WEBSITE

          www.verabradley.com

          LOCATION

          Headquartered in Roanoke, IN

          SIZE

          70 agents

          GOALS

          • Convert processes to digital-first omnichannel
          • Add sister brand to cloud contact center solution
          • Enhance agent flexibility
          • Improve agent activity insights
          • Improve customer self-service options

          PRODUCTS

          • NiCE CXone
          • Omnichannel Routing
          • Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
          • Workforce Management
          • Performance Management
          • BI Reporting and Dashboards

          FEATURES

          • Digital-first-omnichannel workflow for customers and agents
          • Highly configurable IVR
          • Agent engagement and gamification programs
          • Available AI-enabled bot experience
          • Flexible, automated scheduling
          • Surfly