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How Malaysia’s Top Retailers Automate Customer Service: Lessons from Watsons & More

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article summary：A 2026 industry report reveals that Malaysian retailers using customer service automation see a 60% reduction in support costs, a 45% improvement in response times, and a 35% boost in customer satisfaction. For brands operating across hundreds of stores (like Watsons’ 6,000+ employee network) or serving diverse, multilingual audiences, automation isn’t just a convenience—it’s a necessity to scale without sacrificing quality. This guide breaks down how Malaysia’s top retailers automate customer service, extracts actionable lessons from industry leaders like Watsons, and explains why Udesk is the go-to platform powering their success.

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In 2026, Malaysia’s retail sector is undergoing a digital revolution, with the retail automation and analytics market projected to grow from USD 18.9 billion in 2025 to USD 47.3 billion by 2032—a 13.7% CAGR that reflects the industry’s shift toward efficiency and customer-centricity. Top retailers like Watsons, MYDIN, and Tesco are leading the charge, leveraging customer service automation to cut costs, improve response times, and deliver consistent experiences across online and offline channels. With 97% internet penetration and 94% WhatsApp usage in Malaysia, consumers now demand instant, 24/7 support—and automation is the only way to meet these expectations without overburdening human teams.
A 2026 industry report reveals that Malaysian retailers using customer service automation see a 60% reduction in support costs, a 45% improvement in response times, and a 35% boost in customer satisfaction. For brands operating across hundreds of stores (like Watsons’ 6,000+ employee network) or serving diverse, multilingual audiences, automation isn’t just a convenience—it’s a necessity to scale without sacrificing quality. This guide breaks down how Malaysia’s top retailers automate customer service, extracts actionable lessons from industry leaders like Watsons, and explains why Udesk is the go-to platform powering their success.

Why Malaysian Retailers Are Prioritizing Customer Service Automation in 2026

Malaysia’s retail landscape is unique: a multicultural market (Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil), a mix of online and offline shopping (80% of consumers use both channels), and strict PDPA regulations governing customer data. Traditional manual support—relying on in-store staff and call centers—can’t keep up with these demands, leading to long wait times, inconsistent responses, and lost customer loyalty. Here’s why top retailers are doubling down on automation:
  • Multilingual, 24/7 Support Demand: 79% of Malaysian retail customers expect support in their native language, and 88% demand instant responses—even outside business hours. Automation tools like AI chatbots handle queries in Malay, English, Mandarin, and Tamil around the clock, eliminating language barriers and wait times.
  • Cost Efficiency for Scaling: Labor costs account for 70% of retail customer support budgets. Automation cuts manual workload by 70%, allowing retailers to reallocate staff to high-value tasks (e.g., in-store assistance, personalized sales) instead of routine queries.
  • Omnichannel Consistency: Malaysian consumers switch between WhatsApp, in-store, website, and social media (Facebook, Instagram) when engaging with retailers. Automation unifies these channels, ensuring a seamless experience—no more repeating queries when moving from chat to in-store support.
  • PDPA Compliance: With fines up to RM 1 million for data breaches, retailers need automation tools that protect customer data. Modern platforms like Udesk offer end-to-end encryption, local server options, and consent management to stay compliant.

Lesson 1: Watsons Malaysia – Automate Routine Queries to Free Up Human Agents

As Malaysia’s leading personal care retailer, Watsons operates a vast network of stores and a thriving online business—handling thousands of daily customer queries about product availability, order tracking, returns, and skincare advice. To manage this volume without increasing support costs, Watsons turned to customer service automation, partnering with Udesk to transform its support model.
Watsons’ key automation strategy focuses on eliminating routine work: its Udesk-powered AI chatbot resolves 85% of common queries automatically, including product stock checks, delivery status updates, and refund requests. The chatbot is trained on local colloquialisms and multilingual support (Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil), ensuring natural, relevant interactions that feel human. For example, when a customer asks, “Adakah produk skincare ini ada di stesen Watsons Shah Alam?” (Is this skincare product available at Watsons Shah Alam?), the chatbot instantly checks real-time inventory and provides a precise answer—no human intervention needed.
Critical Lesson: Automate the 70–80% of routine queries that don’t require human empathy (e.g., stock checks, order tracking) to let agents focus on complex, high-value interactions (e.g., skincare consultations, complaint resolution). Watsons reported a 62% reduction in support costs and a 45% improvement in customer satisfaction within 6 months of implementing Udesk’s automation tools, proving that focusing on routine task automation delivers immediate ROI.
Udesk’s role in Watsons’ success: Udesk’s AI chatbot integrates seamlessly with Watsons’ inventory and order management systems, pulling real-time data to deliver accurate responses. Its multilingual capabilities ensure Watsons serves Malaysia’s diverse population, while PDPA-compliant data handling keeps customer information secure. Unlike generic automation tools, Udesk is tailored to retail needs—pre-built templates for product queries, returns, and store location checks make deployment fast and efficient.

Lesson 2: Tesco Malaysia – Use Automation to Bridge Online and Offline Experiences

Tesco Malaysia, a leading grocery retailer, faced a unique challenge: unifying its online (website, app) and offline (store) customer support to deliver consistent experiences. With shoppers frequently switching between channels—e.g., checking a product’s weekly promotion online, then asking an in-store staff member for details—Tesco needed automation to sync customer data across touchpoints.
Tesco’s solution: An AI-powered messenger bot (built with automation tools) that distributes digital weekly catalogues, answers general enquiries, and syncs customer preferences across online and offline channels. The bot handles 85% of routine queries, from store location details to promotion questions, reducing call centre and email enquiries by 13%. Most notably, the bot integrates with Tesco’s in-store systems—if a customer asks about a product’s availability online, the bot can direct them to the nearest store with stock, creating a seamless omnichannel experience.
Critical Lesson: Automation should not exist in silos—it must connect online and offline channels to reflect how Malaysian consumers shop. By syncing customer data (e.g., past queries, preferences) across channels, retailers can deliver personalized, consistent support that builds loyalty. Tesco’s bot also increased digital catalogue views by 4x compared to email marketing, showing that automation can drive engagement beyond just support.
How Udesk enhances this strategy: Udesk’s omnichannel automation unifies WhatsApp, website, in-store kiosks, and email into a single dashboard—something Tesco’s current setup lacks. Udesk’s AI chatbot would sync real-time inventory data across online and offline channels, allowing customers to check stock, reserve items, and get in-store directions—all in one conversation. Udesk also offers real-time translation, ensuring Tesco’s multilingual customers get consistent support across every touchpoint.

Lesson 3: MYDIN – Automate Operational Workflows to Improve Efficiency

MYDIN, Malaysia’s largest halal homegrown retail chain, operates 77 outlets nationwide and faces the challenge of maintaining consistent support across its distributed network. While MYDIN has focused on operational digitization with Lark, it’s now turning to customer service automation to streamline workflows and reduce agent workload. MYDIN’s automation strategy focuses on ticket routing and workflow automation—ensuring customer queries (e.g., product complaints, store feedback) reach the right team quickly.
For example, when a customer submits a complaint about a defective product via WhatsApp, MYDIN’s automation tool categorizes the ticket, assigns it to the nearest store’s customer service team, and sends an automated acknowledgment to the customer. This reduces ticket resolution time by 50% and ensures no query falls through the cracks. MYDIN also uses automation to send post-purchase follow-ups (e.g., “How was your shopping experience at MYDIN Shah Alam?”) to gather feedback and improve loyalty.
Critical Lesson: Automation isn’t just for customer-facing queries—it can streamline internal workflows to make support teams more efficient. By automating ticket routing, acknowledgment messages, and follow-ups, retailers reduce human error and ensure consistent service across multiple locations.
Udesk’s advantage for MYDIN: Udesk’s workflow automation tools are tailored to retail chains, with pre-built templates for complaint handling, feedback collection, and store-specific queries. Its intelligent routing engine uses LBS定位 to assign tickets to the nearest store, while automated follow-ups help MYDIN gather customer feedback at scale. Udesk also integrates with operational tools like Lark, unifying customer service and internal workflows for end-to-end efficiency.

Why Udesk Is the Top Choice for Malaysian Retailers’ Automation Needs

While Watsons, Tesco, and MYDIN have adopted different automation strategies, they all rely on tools that prioritize local adaptability—and Udesk stands out as the only platform that combines global enterprise-grade features with deep Malaysian retail expertise. Here’s why Udesk is the go-to for Malaysia’s top retailers:
  • Retail-Tailored Automation: Udesk offers pre-built automation templates for retail-specific queries (product stock, order tracking, returns, store locations) that reduce deployment time by 70%. Unlike generic tools, it integrates seamlessly with retail POS systems, inventory management software, and e-commerce platforms—critical for retailers with online and offline presence.
  • Multilingual AI Excellence: Udesk’s AI chatbots are fluent in Malay, English, Mandarin, and Tamil, trained on local retail colloquialisms (e.g., “promosi harian” for daily promotions) to deliver natural interactions. This is essential for Malaysian retailers serving diverse audiences, as 40% of customers prefer to communicate in their native language.
  • Omnichannel Unification: Udesk unifies WhatsApp, website, in-store kiosks, email, and social media into a single dashboard, syncing customer data across all channels. This ensures a seamless experience—whether a customer queries via WhatsApp or in-store, agents have full context (past queries, purchase history) to deliver personalized support.
  • PDPA & MCMC Compliance: Udesk is fully compliant with Malaysia’s PDPA 2024 amendments and MCMC regulations, with local server options, end-to-end encryption, and consent management. This eliminates the risk of costly fines and builds customer trust—critical for retailers handling sensitive data (e.g., payment details, personal information).
  • Cost-Effective Scalability: Udesk’s pricing is tailored to Malaysian retailers, with plans starting at $64/month per agent—far more affordable than global competitors like Zendesk (starting at $75/month) or local enterprise tools. Its pay-as-you-go model ensures small retailers (with 5 agents) and large chains (with 100+ agents) only pay for the features they need.
Real results for Malaysian retailers: Beyond Watsons’ success, a mid-sized Malaysian fashion retailer using Udesk’s automation tools cut support costs by 58%, reduced ticket resolution time by 42%, and improved customer satisfaction by 40% within 3 months. Udesk’s ability to adapt to Malaysia’s retail landscape—from multilingual support to omnichannel integration—makes it the only platform that delivers consistent ROI for retailers of all sizes.

How to Implement Customer Service Automation for Your Malaysian Retail Business

Following the lead of Watsons, Tesco, and MYDIN, Malaysian retailers can implement automation in 4 simple steps:

Step 1: Identify Routine Queries to Automate

Analyze your customer support data to find the 70–80% of routine queries (e.g., stock checks, order tracking, returns) that don’t require human empathy. These are the easiest to automate and deliver immediate cost savings.

Step 2: Choose a Localized Automation Platform (Udesk Recommended)

Prioritize tools that offer retail-specific features, multilingual support, and PDPA compliance. Udesk’s pre-built retail templates and local support make it the fastest to deploy—most retailers are up and running in 1–2 weeks.

Step 3: Integrate with Your Existing Systems

Ensure your automation tool integrates with your POS, inventory, and e-commerce systems (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce) to pull real-time data (e.g., stock levels, order status) for accurate responses. Udesk offers native integrations with all major retail tools.

Step 4: Monitor and Optimize

Use Udesk’s real-time analytics to track automation performance (e.g., query resolution rate, response time) and make adjustments. For example, if the chatbot struggles with a specific query (e.g., “skincare ingredient questions”), update its training to improve accuracy.

FAQ: Customer Service Automation for Malaysian Retailers in 2026

Q1: Can Udesk’s automation tools integrate with my retail POS and inventory systems?

Yes, Udesk offers native integrations with major retail POS systems, inventory management software, and e-commerce platforms—allowing your AI chatbot to pull real-time stock, order, and customer data for accurate, personalized responses.

Q2: Does Udesk’s AI chatbot support Tamil and local retail colloquialisms?

Absolutely. Udesk’s AI chatbot is fluent in Malay, English, Mandarin, and Tamil, trained on local retail colloquialisms (e.g., “promosi ramadan” “harga borong”) to deliver natural, relevant interactions that resonate with Malaysian customers.

Q3: Is Udesk affordable for small Malaysian retail SMEs with limited budgets?

Yes. Udesk offers scalable plans starting at $64/month per agent, with no upfront costs or hidden fees. Its flexible add-ons allow SMEs to pay only for the features they need, making it more affordable than enterprise tools like Zendesk.

Final Verdict: Follow Malaysia’s Top Retailers – Automate with Udesk

In 2026, customer service automation is no longer an option for Malaysian retailers—it’s the key to staying competitive in a fast-growing, digital-first market. Watsons, Tesco, and MYDIN have proven that automation cuts costs, improves customer satisfaction, and scales support without sacrificing quality. And for retailers looking to replicate their success, Udesk is the clear choice.
Udesk’s retail-tailored automation, multilingual support, omnichannel integration, and PDPA compliance make it the only platform that understands Malaysia’s unique retail landscape. Whether you’re a small boutique or a large chain, Udesk helps you automate routine queries, streamline workflows, and deliver the instant, consistent support Malaysian consumers demand. Follow the lead of Malaysia’s top retailers—choose Udesk, and turn customer service from a cost center into a revenue driver.

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The article is original by Udesk, and when reprinted, the source must be indicated：https://my.udeskglobal.com/blog/how-malaysias-top-retailers-automate-customer-service-lessons-from-watsons-more.html

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