The customer experience outlook for 2025

As generative AI capabilities improve and inflation worries compound, practitioners are challenged to improve their self-service tech and win customer loyalty.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 31, 2025

Starbucks CEO zeroes in on ‘bringing order to mobile ordering’

The company is tackling the bottleneck from online orders with an algorithm that will give in-person customers priority.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 31, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

Loyalty

In this Trendline, CX Dive explores where and how leaders are encouraging customer loyalty.

By CX Dive staff

Southwest customer experience changes improved revenue, CEO says

The airlines’s transformation plan promised to modernize its customer experience to boost profits. Efforts are already paying off, according to CEO Bob Jordan.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 30, 2025

The challenges in proving the ROI of customer experience

Demonstrating the value of customer experience can mean the difference between the practice growing its budget and headcount — or seeing cuts.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 30, 2025

McDonald’s marketing and experience chief departs

Tariq Hassan will stay on to support the transition as Alyssa Buetikofer, CMO for the brand in Canada, returns to the U.S. business on Feb. 15.

By Chris Kelly • Jan. 29, 2025

Foot Locker puts associates at the heart of its NYC flagship store’s experience

The retailer’s 34th Street store in New York City makes associates, supported by mobile tools, central to the overall experience.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 28, 2025

In CX, generative AI needs to walk before it can run

Companies need to put the boring but essential parts of AI in place to drive deeper insights and prepare for more exciting applications of the technology.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 27, 2025

Home Depot expands on-demand delivery services with DoorDash, Uber Eats partnerships

The move adds to the home improvement retailer’s delivery capabilities, which also include a tie-up with Instacart.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Jan. 24, 2025

Alaska Air Group chases premium customers

Despite beginning the year with one-third of its flights grounded, Alaska ended 2024 on a high note, reporting record revenue.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 23, 2025

Skechers opens first performance flagship

The store, located in Canada, features basketball and pickleball half-courts, as well as footwear for sports like golf and soccer.

By Howard Ruben • Jan. 23, 2025

Trump appoints chief veterans experience officer

Lynda Davis is returning to a role she held during the first Trump administration.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 22, 2025

Capital One outage spans days, hits thousands

Third-party vendor FIS blamed a local power loss and hardware failure for the issue, which Bank of Oklahoma said affected more than two dozen financial institutions.

By Dan Ennis • Jan. 22, 2025

Citi pushes for simplified banking, digital innovation

The company is striving to simplify banking as it undergoes a restructuring.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 21, 2025

How retailers are approaching customer experience in 2025

Retailers at this year’s NRF Big Show showcased how they are putting customer data to use for personalization and loyalty.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 20, 2025

Bank of America credits CX, digital capabilities for account growth

The bank added 213,000 net new consumer checking accounts in the fourth quarter, marking six consecutive years of quarterly growth.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 17, 2025

Wells Fargo eyes customer engagement initiatives, growth

The bank laid out digital enhancements to its mobile app and plans to generate growth as regulatory burdens lift.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 17, 2025

Ulta Beauty has big plans for its personalization efforts in 2025

The company’s strategy includes putting a customer-centric lens on operations and investing in methods that can drive customer lifetime value.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 15, 2025

Sephora to redesign entire North American store fleet

The changes aim to create a shopping experience that showcases the company’s current assortment and allows for store adjustments in the future.

By Kaarin Moore • Updated Jan. 15, 2025

Sweetgreen CTO shares the chain’s data-focused approach to CX

CTO Wouleta Ayele discussed why she designs experiences by working backwards from an ideal outcome at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show conference.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 15, 2025

Starbucks reverses open-door policy as it pursues coffeehouse environment

Under the new policy, customers will have to make a purchase if they want to hang out in Starbucks coffee shops or use its bathrooms.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 14, 2025

Sonos CEO out as company cleans up botched app release

Departing CEO Patrick Spence took ownership for the issues with the Sonos app in past earnings calls, saying his "push for speed backfired."

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 13, 2025

How TikTok Shop is changing the way brands reach customers

As a potential ban looms, brands like Nike and E.l.f. Beauty are leveraging the social media platform to win over Gen Z.

By Xanayra Marin-Lopez • Jan. 13, 2025

Delta touts loyalty program, premium services in revenue gains

The airline boosted its bottom line by courting customers seeking upscale experiences.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 10, 2025

How cyber incidents impact consumer trust

Despite an increase in cyber incidents, breaches had less impact on consumer trust in 2024, a Vercara survey found.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 10, 2025

Biden signs into law Government Service Delivery Improvement Act

The legislation to improve government service delivery gained bipartisan support, with both Republicans and Democrats celebrating its passage Tuesday.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 8, 2025