New consumer data from Wunderkind and Cordial reveal a striking gap between what shoppers expect and what retail and brand marketers prioritize. The disconnect is seen across purchasing decisions, digital experiences, communication preferences and personalization as well as overall trust in technology such as AI.
The report by Wunderkind, the agentic marketing company, and Cordial, and the agentic messaging platform provider, titled “The Customer Marketing Gap,” was based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers and 150 U.S.-based senior marketing professionals.
Cordial is an agentic messaging platform with an embedded CDP used by Levi Strauss & Co., Tapestry, L.L.Bean and Boot Barn, among others. Wunderkind counts brands like Harley-Davidson and Kendra Scott among the brands using its solutions.
“Both marketers and consumers want better experiences, but they define value differently,” the report’s authors said.
For example, price represents one of the clearest disconnects, with 56 percent of consumers polled cited the lowest price “as a leading consideration” when deciding where to buy online, which compares to one-quarter of marketers who said price is a top consideration for shoppers.
The report found that the same disconnect is seen in brand communications. Of those polled, 50 percent of consumers said discounts are among the strongest factors “determining whether they pay attention to a brand message, while just 26 percent of marketers see discounts that way.”
There are also disconnects in communication preferences. The data showed that 82 percent of shoppers prefer email, and 64 percent said they prefer SMS, “whereas marketers place greater emphasis on social media (74 percent of marketers versus 39 percent of consumers).”
“Closing the customer marketing gap requires connecting customer identity, behavioral insights and reliable data to make better decisions about what customers need, when they need it and how brands can deliver value across every interaction,” said Rob Garf, chief strategy officer at Cordial. “AI and personalization have significant potential, but only when they are built around a clear understanding of the customer.”
The research reveals a fissure between how brand marketers measure the impact of personalization and how consumers experience its value. The report noted that while 61 percent of marketers said relevant product recommendations have a major impact on conversion, “only 32 percent of consumers say recommendations make shopping easier.”
Additionally, shoppers placed greater value on experiences that cut friction, which includes saved carts (48 percent) and faster checkout (48 percent).
The report’s authors said AI highlights another “expectation mismatch” between marketer ambition and consumer confidence. “While 59 percent of marketers expect AI-powered personalization to have the biggest impact on customer marketing over the next three years, only 16 percent of consumers say AI currently improves their shopping experience, and 27 percent say they do not trust AI to personalize experiences,” the report noted.
The report’s authors said the findings suggest AI adoption needs tp be grounded in transparency and customer value, instead of technology alone.
“Lifecycle marketing enters a new phase where having more data and more technology is not enough,” said Amandine Servain, vice president of marketing at Wunderkind. “Successful brands understand what customers actually value and translate those insights into experiences that are useful, relevant and meaningful.”
Other findings from the research include revealing that customer data remains the biggest opportunity for brand marketers. Of those marketers polled, 42 percent said more accurate customer data would have the greatest impact on customer marketing performance, which was followed by improved personalization (37 percent). “Limited customer data and fragmented systems are tied as the leading barriers to personalization (19 percent each),” the report stated.
The survey also showed that trust is the foundation of personalized experiences. Of the consumers polled, 46 percent said clear explanations of how their data is used would increase trust in personalization, while 41 percent said they value “preference control” and 41 percent said they want brands to use only information they have shared directly.
For retailers and apparel brands, the survey results show it is urgent to align digital strategies with what consumers actually want, rather than relying on internal assumptions. The clear differences, especially how much shoppers care about price, discounts and traditional channels like email and SMS instead of social media, mean brands should focus less on chasing new tech trends and more on the basics that drive sales.
Also, since consumers are still wary of AI and really value features that make shopping easier, such as saved carts and fast checkouts, apparel brands cannot depend only on flashy automation. To address this, leaders need to invest in strong, unified customer data that supports clear, privacy-friendly personalization and makes the shopping experience simpler