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Consumer Insights

3 posts with the tag “Consumer Insights”

How AI agents shaped the record-breaking 2025 holiday season

How AI Agents Revolutionized the $1.29 Trillion 2025 Holiday Shopping Season

The 2025 holiday season marked an unprecedented milestone in retail, with global sales soaring to a record $1.29 trillion. Much of this remarkable growth is attributed to the transformative role of AI agents, which enhanced customer engagement and significantly improved operational efficiencies for retailers worldwide.

The Rise of AI in Holiday Retail

This past season, U.S. sales alone reached $294 billion, showcasing the immense impact of AI-driven strategies. Retailers leveraging AI agents experienced growth rates 59% higher than those who did not adopt these technologies. AI transformed from a nascent experiment to a critical tool integrated into retail operations.

Mobile Shopping Takes Center Stage

Mobile devices dominated the holiday shopping landscape, accounting for 78% of online traffic during Cyber Week—marking a major shift in consumer behavior toward convenience and accessibility. Retailers investing in mobile optimization and AI-powered personalized experiences significantly outperformed their competitors.

Managing Returns in a High-Spending Environment

With average purchase amounts increasing, returns also surged to $181 billion, representing 14% of total purchases. This highlights the need for smarter, AI-supported customer service automation to efficiently manage returns and maintain customer satisfaction.

Key Insights

  • How did AI agents influence retail growth in the 2025 holiday season? AI agents enhanced customer engagement and operational efficiency, helping brands achieve 59% higher growth compared to those without AI.

  • Why is mobile shopping pivotal to future retail strategies? With 78% of online holiday traffic from mobile devices, optimizing mobile experiences is crucial for capturing and retaining customers.

  • What challenges do rising returns present, and how can AI help? The $181 billion in returns calls for efficient AI-powered automation in customer service to reduce costs and enhance user experience.

Conclusion

The 2025 holiday season clearly demonstrates that AI is no longer optional but essential for retail success. Brands that effectively integrate AI agents, especially focusing on mobile optimization and customer service automation, are positioned to lead the market. Moving forward, the blend of AI and retail operations will continue reshaping consumer experiences and business outcomes in holiday shopping and beyond.


Source: https://martech.org/how-ai-agents-shaped-the-record-breaking-2025-holiday-season/

Wiland™ Launches MarketSignals™ Custom Personas: Data-Driven Segmentation to Find, Keep, and Grow High-Value Customers

Wiland Debuts MarketSignals Custom Personas: Elevate Your Marketing Game

Introduction

In today’s rapidly evolving marketing landscape, accurately targeting high-value customers is pivotal. Wiland’s latest innovation, MarketSignals Custom Personas, promises to redefine customer segmentation. By leveraging proprietary consumer spending data, these personas aim to enhance marketing strategies across various channels. Let’s delve into how this new solution is set to transform traditional approaches.

The Shift from Traditional Models

For decades, marketers have relied heavily on survey-based models to understand customer behavior. However, these methods often lack precision, being based on general assumptions rather than real-world data. Wiland’s MarketSignals Custom Personas challenge this paradigm by providing insights grounded in actual spending behavior. This shift offers a more accurate and actionable portrait of consumer habits, directly benefiting tailored marketing initiatives.

Integrating First-Party Data with Market Intelligence

A unique aspect of Wiland’s offering is the merger of clients’ first-party data with their extensive transactional dataset. This integration creates a comprehensive view of customer personas, tailored to the specific context of each client. As a result, marketers can craft bespoke audience segments, ensuring that their strategies resonate powerfully with their target demographics.

The Advantages of Data-Driven Segmentation

By moving beyond generic segmentation techniques, Wiland’s solution tackles the limitations of broad-stroke marketing efforts. It empowers marketers to not only identify but also retain and grow their high-value customer bases. Actionable insights are at the core of this approach, enabling companies to achieve superior results by focusing on genuine consumer behavior.

Key Insights:

  • What makes MarketSignals a game-changer? It’s the direct utilization of actual spending data, providing a clearer picture of consumer habits.
  • How does this affect marketing strategies? By offering tailored audience segments, strategies become more precise and effective.
  • Why are traditional models insufficient? They rely on assumptions rather than data, often leading to inaccurate targeting.
  • What is the future of customer segmentation? A continued shift towards data-driven approaches that offer real-time, actionable insights.

Conclusion

In an era where consumer expectations are higher than ever, Wiland’s MarketSignals Custom Personas provide a dynamic tool for marketers. These personas not only address the shortcomings of traditional models but also pave the way for a data-driven future in marketing. As businesses strive to remain competitive, adopting such innovative solutions could be the key to sustained success.


Source: https://martechseries.com/predictive-ai/ai-platforms-machine-learning/wiland-launches-marketsignals-custom-personas-data-driven-segmentation-to-find-keep-and-grow-high-value-customers/

Most marketers think consumers like AI, few consumers agree.

Bridging the AI Perception Gap Between Marketers and Consumers

Introduction

In today’s business landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a pivotal role in shaping customer experiences. Yet, a recent report unveils a significant disconnect in the perception of AI’s effectiveness between marketers and consumers. While marketers are enthusiastic about AI’s role, consumers remain skeptical, presenting a challenge that businesses must address to maintain credibility and customer satisfaction.

Marketers’ Optimism vs. Consumer Skepticism

Marketers overwhelmingly believe in AI’s capacity to enhance customer journeys, with an impressive 86% affirming its positive impact. They are convinced that AI can streamline processes, provide personalized experiences, and assist in critical decision-making. However, consumers tell a different story. Only 35% feel that AI positively influences their interactions with brands, indicating a profound trust and perception gap.

Trust Issues with AI in Decision-Making

A particularly troubling finding is the trust gap concerning AI in complex decision-making scenarios. While nearly half of marketers suppose that consumers prefer AI assistance for such tasks, only 30% of consumers express confidence in AI’s problem-solving capabilities. This disparity underscores the need for brands to recalibrate their AI strategies and address these trust issues head-on.

Key Insights

  • Why is there a disconnect in AI perceptions? The disconnect may stem from differing expectations and experiences; marketers view AI through the lens of technological benefits, whereas consumers’ experiences don’t always mirror these expectations.
  • What steps can businesses take to align perceptions? Brands need to foster transparency and educate consumers about AI processes to build trust and manage expectations effectively.
  • How does this impact brand credibility? Misaligned perceptions can erode trust, making it crucial for brands to ensure their messaging and actual AI-enabled experiences are congruent.
  • What are potential opportunities for improvement? Engaging consumers with more straightforward, value-driven AI applications might help bridge the perception gap.

Conclusion

To address the dissonance between marketers and consumers about AI, brands must revisit and refine their AI strategies. Aligning internal beliefs with consumer experiences not only preserves credibility but also enhances overall customer satisfaction. As businesses evolve, so should their strategies to leverage AI authentically and effectively in consumer interactions.


Source: https://martech.org/most-marketers-think-consumers-like-ai-few-consumers-agree/