Personalization

  • People pass by a Rent the Runway store.
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Rent the Runway forges ahead with discovery upgrades as it names new CEO

    The subscription retailer introduced tools that let customers view entire outfits and enable virtual try-ons, but its financial results remain under pressure.

    By • Sept. 11, 2026
  • A Ticketmaster ticket is shown on a cellphone.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Ticketmaster puts personalization at the core of its app

    As the company addresses unsold tickets, it sees its app as the vehicle to improve discovery of events tailored to the individual. 

    By • Sept. 8, 2026
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    Nearly all consumers find some kind of personalization intrusive

    Three-quarters of consumers say that retailers collect too much data, a Thoughtspot survey found.

    By • Sept. 4, 2026
  • A red and purple store display of Target's back to school assortment
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    Courtesy of Target
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    How AI is powering Target’s back-to-school push

    The mass retailer is utilizing AI for wish lists and recommended actions on its e-commerce site as it works to introduce more personalization to improve CX.

    By Dani James • Sept. 4, 2026
  • A person shops online on a laptop and phone.
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    When pricing practices become a customer experience issue

    Consumers generally accept dynamic pricing as basic demand and supply, but once a business starts to layer in an individual’s data to determine the cost of a product, consumers lose trust.

    By • Aug. 24, 2026
  • Two people wearing black seen from the wait down walk by a sign with an arrow and the word "Uber."
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    The FTC is turning its sights on personalized pricing. What does it mean for CX?

    Consumers are anathema to what they see as unfair pricing practices. Now, the Federal Trade Commission is giving businesses yet another reason to be wary of implementing personalized or surveillance pricing.

    By • Aug. 21, 2026
  • Close-up of electronic shelf labels in a refrigerated case displaying “SALE” prices for Lifeway kefir, including “Organic Peach Lowfat Kefir,” with pricing shown as “REG 6.99,” “SALE 5.54,” and “WITH PRIME 4.99,” and blurred dairy containers behind.
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    Catherine Douglas Moran/CX Dive
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    What grocers need to know about the pushback against dynamic pricing

    Retailers are facing uncertainty as states block them from using consumer data to set individualized prices and the FTC directs attention to the issue.

    By Sam Silverstein • July 31, 2026
  • A newer PNC branch is shown, with "PNC" signage on the exterior of the building.
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    Courtesy of PNC
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    PNC’s new mobile banking app built on personalization

    The Pittsburgh-based bank wanted to debut a customizable app with more features and functionality “without making it heavy,” said Alex Overstrom, the lender’s head of retail banking.

    By Caitlin Mullen • July 9, 2026
  • Stitch Fix expands Stitch Fix Vision
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    Courtesy of Stitch Fix
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    Stitch Fix expands AI image generation to improve personalization

    With Stitch Fix Vision, users can now create photos of themselves on demand in recommended outfits. 

    By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 2, 2026
  • View of woman from behind examining bread aisle at store
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    Connecticut becomes latest state to ban dynamic pricing

    The law prohibits retailers from using personally identifiable data to customize prices for shoppers.

    By Sam Silverstein • June 9, 2026
  • A red "Petco" sign adorned with a blue cat and red dog.
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    Daphne Howland/CX Dive
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    Petco improves personalization, online checkout experience as it achieves sales growth

    The retailer is letting associates access customer purchase history to help them cross-sell products and personalize conversations, CEO Joel Anderson said.

    By • June 4, 2026
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    Opinion

    What CX leaders need to know about Gen Alpha’s influence

    Most companies still design customer experience strategies for a single user moving through a linear path, but that model doesn’t reflect how households now make purchasing decisions.

    By Ali Furman • Updated May 13, 2026
  • The buttons of the app Duolingo, surrounded by Dictionary, Vocabulary, Facebook on an iPhone screen.
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    stockcam via Getty Images
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    Duolingo improves free user experience to drive word of mouth referrals

    The company made more features available to free users to improve stickiness and drive daily active user growth, CEO Luis von Ahn said.

    By • May 6, 2026
  • TV screen mounted at a checkout aisle of a grocery store advertising Quaker Oats products
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    Courtesy of Grocery TV
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    Shoppers say they’ll share data with retailers — but they want to see a payoff

    About half of respondents to a poll said they find personalized suggestions from retailers to be “highly helpful,” according to Dunnhumby.

    By Sam Silverstein • April 27, 2026
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    Catherine Douglas Moran/CX Dive
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    Maryland bans dynamic pricing

    The legislation, which the governor signed on Tuesday, underwent significant revisions that some groups claim could limit its shopper protections.

    By Catherine Douglas Moran • Updated April 30, 2026
  • Delta Dental Stadium, Fisher Cats, Dellenbach
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    Getty Images
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    How MLB is leveraging automation and data to enhance fan messaging

    The sports league has expanded its partnership with Adobe so individual clubs can create marketing that better matches how individual fans enjoy sports.

    By Aaron Baar • April 6, 2026
  • A person walks past a clothing store.
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    Daphne Howland/CX Dive
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    How Abercrombie & Fitch uses geofencing for customer feedback

    The retailer can better understand why customers did not purchase an item after an in-store visit and then share those signals with store managers.

    By • April 2, 2026
  • Digital price tags on display in a trade show booth
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    Sam Silverstein/CX Dive
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    NJ lawmakers advance bill that would limit dynamic pricing methods

    The measure is among a number of state-level legislative efforts aimed at restricting retailers from using data about consumers to customize prices.

    By Sam Silverstein • March 27, 2026
  • A person shops online on a laptop and phone.
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    Getty Images
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    Shoppers want some personalization, but brands can take it too far

    Nearly all consumers are at least neutral toward back-in-stock alerts, one study found. But for some, personalization based on information they never shared feels uncomfortable.

    By • March 23, 2026
  • Customer looks at laptop computer with a credit card in hand looking concerned.
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    Surveillance pricing threatens consumer trust and loyalty

    “If people feel like the price is based on ‘who I am’ instead of what the product actually costs, that feels really icky,” Experience Investigator’s Jeannie Walters said.

    By Michael Brady • March 20, 2026
  • The outside of a standalone Ulta Beauty store.
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    Getty Images
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    Ulta sees AI as a personalization tool — and its loyalty program as the fuel

    AI “will enable us to deliver relevance, inspiration and expertise seamlessly across the guest beauty journey,” CEO Kecia Steelman said.

    By • March 13, 2026
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    Horizon Media pilots AI solution to detect cultural shifts mid-campaign

    The tool developed by Sightly and Vurvey Labs helps brands quickly respond to news developments that could affect perceptions of campaign messaging.

    By Jessica Hammers • March 10, 2026
  • Customer with water in his cart is shown shopping inside a Costco store.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Costco ties digital personalization to $470M in sales growth

    Personalized product recommendation carousels and modernized display pages are driving e-commerce sales and traffic, CFO Gary Millerchip said.

    By • March 6, 2026
  • A young woman looks concerned at her phone.
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    The dark side of personalization

    “If you can’t explain it to the customer… then you should not be personalizing,” Qualtrics’ Isabelle Zdatny said.

    By Michael Brady • Feb. 26, 2026
  • A person walks a runway in front of the Olympic rings.
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    Massimo Rosi via Getty Images
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    How the IOC’s data platform engages Olympics fans from flame to flame

    The International Olympic Committee uses its customer data platform to engage fans with personalized, relevant content from one Olympics to the next.

    By • Feb. 9, 2026