Consumers feel the economic squeeze, pull back on spending

Write-in survey responses from consumers this month leaned toward pessimism, with two-thirds of consumers cutting back on spending, the Conference Board said.

By Jim Tyson • May 29, 2026

Kohl’s CX changes score minor wins, but the business remains challenged

Improvements to digital friction and in-store consistency helped the retailer narrow its comparable sales loss, but sales growth is elusive.

By Bryan Wassel • May 29, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from CX Dive

The top stories from CX Dive look at customer experience trends, generative AI use cases and the components of a good tech stack.

By CX Dive staff

How Target is putting CX front and center

The retailer wants to revive its store experience by focusing on the store basics, from employee engagement to carts and bathrooms.

By Kristen Doerer • May 29, 2026

Best Buy’s incoming CEO sees customer experience as core to its evolution

Jason Bonfig plans to approach every decision, process and customer interaction by asking how it makes the customer experience better.

By Bryan Wassel • May 28, 2026

Dick’s continues to reap the gains from its experiential stores

Customers continue to spend more time and money at House of Sport locations, and stores are still driving comparable sales growth years after opening, CEO Lauren Hobart said.

By Bryan Wassel • May 27, 2026

How major retailers are investing in their associates to better serve customers

Lowe's is reporting success putting AI companions in the hands of employees, while Walmart and Home Depot are betting specialized positions will better meet customers needs.

By Bryan Wassel • May 27, 2026

What CX leaders need to know about customer journey mapping

The most common failure isn't creating the map. It's what happens after.

By Michael Brady • May 26, 2026

Inside Starbucks’ atmospheric and experiential renovations

At a remodeled Chicago cafe, the proportion of on-premise traffic has doubled as consumers enjoy couches, comfy seating, outlets and warm lighting. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 22, 2026

Target’s CX investments lead to 3-year highs in store metrics

The retailer’s first quarter results beat expectations, but there is more to be done before Target has “the most delightful shopping experience in retail,” CEO Michael Fiddelke said. 

By Bryan Wassel • May 20, 2026

Can Target’s small upgrades to carts, bathrooms lead to big wins?

The retailer's efforts to modernize its experience aim to create durable long-term value for a key demographic: busy families.

By Bryan Wassel • May 19, 2026

Shutterstock agrees to pay $35M for subscription practices

The Federal Trade Commission accused the company of misleading consumers for years about its subscriptions and making it difficult to cancel.

By Kristen Doerer • May 15, 2026

Customer satisfaction with US business stagnates, despite billions invested: ACSI

U.S. businesses have poured over $100 billion annually into customer experience since 2013, according to ACSI. Thirteen years later, their satisfaction score is the same.

By Kristen Doerer • May 14, 2026

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

Wendy’s bets order accuracy and clean stores will revive sales

The chain is prioritizing implementing the customer experience initiatives of its turnaround plan after a 7.8% year-over-year drop in comparable sales.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 11, 2026

Greyhound is making the bus an experience ahead of the World Cup

Greyhound improved its on-time rates and connections to public transportation, which have boosted its net promoter score in recent years, Flix North America CEO Kai Boysan said.

By Bryan Wassel • May 11, 2026

Uber expands into hotel reservations to build engagement, loyalty

These “innovations are designed to deepen the everyday utility of our services,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.

By Kristen Doerer • May 6, 2026

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 Kristen Doerer • May 6, 2026

Verizon credits better customer relationships for reduced churn

The company is still in the early stages of its transformation, which is already having a strong impact on retention, CEO Dan Schulman said.

By Bryan Wassel • April 28, 2026

CX teams are collecting the data, but failing to act on customer intent signals

Three-quarters of executives say most businesses are slow to respond to changing customer expectations, an IBM Institute for Business Value survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • April 24, 2026

For luxury retailers, value is a vibe

Chief executives at Ralph Lauren and Tapestry are utilizing experiences and storytelling to provide value beyond pricing to shoppers.

By Dani James • April 21, 2026

Why Warby Parker’s CEO zeroes in on NPS

“It's probably the best measure of customer satisfaction, and if that starts to drop for any reason, we’re going really deep into that,” Neil Blumenthal said.

By Kristen Doerer • April 21, 2026

CX leaders agree on the importance of cross-functional work, but few have achieved it

Technological and organizational impediments both stand in the way of integrating customer-facing functions across departments, a KMPG survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • April 20, 2026

JetBlue CEO: ‘Humanity has become the new luxury’

“We’ve long said that competitors could match the leather seats, the TVs, the Wi-Fi,” CEO Joanna Geraghty said. “And indeed they have. But what they haven’t matched is our people.”

By Kristen Doerer • April 17, 2026

How Pacsun co-creates with its customers

CEO Brieane Olson champions co-creation, a philosophy that included Pacsun's customers in the process of reinventing the brand.

By Kristen Doerer • April 16, 2026

Companies with best-in-class CX outperform the S&P 500

Their lead over the stock market index is growing, Watermark Consulting found in its annual ROI study.

By Kristen Doerer • April 15, 2026