Retailers have access to more customer data than ever – but are you making the most of it? Personalization has long been a cornerstone of great retail CX but, until now, it’s never quite been fully realized.
Personalization is key to delivering the seamless, high-touch interactions today’s shoppers expect and make every shopping experience feel white-glove. But fragmented data, legacy systems, and misused AI tools are holding many brands back.
That will change in 2026, when data-backed insights will take personalization in retail to new heights. It’s one of the top customer experience (CX) trends we’re forecasting in our trends report, CX Trends 2026: Fast Forward.
As technology advances, AI becomes more woven into CX, and retailers become savvier at using insights, brands will be able to pinpoint personalized offers and efforts more strategically than ever before.
Shoppers crave personalized CX
The potential ROI on personalization has never been greater. A recent global survey of consumers by Attentive found 81 percent of consumers ignore irrelevant marketing messages but 96 percent say they’re likely to purchase when brands send personalized messages. The survey also found:
- 71% of consumers want brands to learn from their shopping habits over time
- 77% are likely to purchase from a brand when they get relevant product recommendations
- 90% want more personalized communication than they’re already getting
- Customers favor companies that remember their preferences, make relevant product suggestions, and remember past interactions.
Shoppers know you’re continually collecting data from them, and they want it to improve their experiences: another survey found 73% of customers expect better personalization as technology advances.
Shoppers expect retail brands to understand them and proactively meet their needs. In 2026, advances in AI and data will make that more achievable than ever.
Personalization evolves into precision
Retailers with clean, connected data will finally deliver the kind of relevance shoppers welcome, not resist. Personalization will move beyond educated guesses to become predictive and precise, driven by a deeper understanding of each customer’s context.
Precise personalization is about recognizing where a shopper is in their journey and tailoring every interaction — from marketing to real-time service — accordingly. Whether the experience is powered by human associates or AI, success depends on surfacing the right insights at the right moment to guide the conversation.
Strong data needs to be a key priority in 2026 and beyond. Without unified, validated data, even the most sophisticated personalization strategies can misfire. Fortunately, advances in AI are making it faster and easier to clean, connect, and activate data across systems.
In the coming year, we expect to see retailers tightening the links between data platforms and frontline systems so insights can inform interactions in real time. As brands mature along the data curve, they’ll use AI-driven intelligence to take personalization to the next level, turning every touchpoint into an opportunity to engage more meaningfully.
With the right insights in hand, retailers can deliver better, faster resolutions; build stronger customer relationships; and even uncover upsell and cross opportunities during customer service interactions.
The future of CX starts now
This evolution of personalization is just one trend we’re forecasting for 2026. Technology is evolving, customer expectations are rising, and economic uncertainty is rewriting the rules. It can be difficult for retailers to cut through the confusion and prioritize what matters. Winning CX is going to look different in 2026 and beyond.
Dive into our full report, “CX Trends: Fast Forward,” to see what’s next for CX and how your brand can stay ahead of the curve with actionable insights for the year ahead.
