Infobip has partnered with NEXT to support fraud detection and enhance customer messaging experiences for the UK-based clothing retailer.
The collaboration involves the implementation of Infobip Signals, a solution powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, to help NEXT combat artificially inflated traffic and reduce the risk of fraudulent messages impacting its customers. NEXT has used the technology to block approximately 175,000 artificial messages each month, supporting the reliability and security of its SMS communications.
The financial impact of fraud in the UK has been significant, with annual costs estimated to exceed GBP £219 billion. Given this context, the partnership forms part of NEXT's ongoing investment in security measures aimed at safeguarding customers and maintaining trust during digital interactions.
In addition to fraud detection, NEXT has introduced Rich Communication Services (RCS) for Business, delivered through Infobip's platform. RCS enables multimedia messaging capabilities and provides verified sender profiles, contributing to enhanced brand identity and stronger consumer trust. The move to RCS is designed to deliver more valuable, interactive, and secure messaging for customers engaging with the retailer.
Raz Razaq, Head of Customer Contact Experience Technology at NEXT, said, "At Next, we are committed to protecting our customers from fraud while continuing to provide the rich, responsive, and reliable communication that they expect from us. To benefit from the latest anti-fraud technology, we partnered with Infobip to help keep both our customers and infrastructure safe from new and emerging threats. Combined, Infobip Signals and RCS will create secure conversational experiences for our customers."
Infobip Signals utilises artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to identify and filter out non-genuine messaging traffic, thereby reducing the volume of fraudulent communication attempts while maintaining the reliability of operational messaging channels.
James Stokes, Head of Enterprise, UK and Nordics, at Infobip, added, "Infobip is helping support one of the UK's best-known high-street retailers in their mission to provide a safe and seamless customer experience. Our AI-enabled solutions provide peace of mind, while RCS capabilities offer a richer customer experience."
"In the last year, we've seen a 500% growth in the adoption of RCS, a testament to the desire from brands like NEXT to offer customers an elevated experience, delivering personalised and conversational interactions. We look forward to continuing to provide first-class customer experiences through this collaboration."
Through the partnership, NEXT aims to combine proactive fraud mitigation with the deployment of advanced messaging formats to meet growing consumer expectations for both security and engagement. The adoption of RCS is intended to build further trust by verifying the retailer's identity to recipients and enabling conversations that go beyond traditional SMS capabilities.
The increased use of automated messaging and the introduction of new communication channels in the retail sector are being accompanied by measures to ensure message authenticity, with companies investing in technologies that aim to detect fraudulent attempts and streamline customer contact.
