Q&A: Deloitte Digital exec on AI and customer personalization
Trinadha Kandi, U.S. Retail & Customer Marketing Transformation Leader at Deloitte Digital, provided expert analysis of recent research on customer personalization and artificial intelligence usage.
Kandi gave his thoughts to Chain Store Age on key findings of surveys Deloitte Digital conducted on 1,000 consumers to discover how they use AI to personalize their shopping experience, and what the results mean for retailers and brands.
[READ MORE: Deloitte: How consumers use AI for personalization & how brands respond]
How is AI reshaping the customer journey?
Consumers are increasingly bypassing brand websites to begin their buying journey and starting with AI instead. In Deloitte’s research, 63% of consumers used an AI assistant to find products or services in the past year, and one in five now starts there.
By the time a consumer reaches a brand’s website, they have already done their homework. Fewer clicks, less signal, and content now have to win over the AI that’s advising a brand’s customer, too.
Why do consumers value personalization so much?
Consumers value personalization because it makes the experience more useful and rewarding. More than half say they’re more likely to buy from brands that personalize, and they spend about 30% more. But they don’t want ‘more targeting.’ Consumers want problems solved before they ask (67%), money saved (61%) and loyalty that feels recognized (58%). It’s a value exchange, and trust is the price of entry.
What do retailers misunderstand about consumer personalization?
That activity equals value. Brands measure output - campaigns, segments, activations. Customers judge the relationship by factors such as did you understand me, remember me, or make the next interaction better? Nearly nine out of 10 brand leaders rate their personalization good or excellent.
However, fewer than three out of 10 consumers agree. And the 18-point gap between what brands think they personalize and what customers feel has been identical across all three of Deloitte Digital’s personalization surveys. Often, it’s just more targeting, and it’s slow. The average brand takes 4.7 business days to act on new customer data.
How can retailers close the personalization gap with their customers?
Stop asking what campaign they should run and instead start asking, what decisions do their customers make again and again, and how can they make them easier? Then build one connected system instead of a pile of AI pilots and fund it for the long haul.
High-maturity brands are nearly three times as likely to treat personalization as a multiyear investment (43% vs. 16%). The goal isn’t more content or more models. It’s better decisions.
What do you see as the leading customer personalization trends for 2027?
Four things. First, AI-mediated discovery. Generative AI engine optimization will go from experiment to must-have. Second, real-time decisioning. Days become minutes with AI agents handling the orchestration.
Third, trust by design. Customers want transparency and control. Almost six-in1-10 (58%) value clear, respectful data use and 38% want more say in how they’re personalized for. Finally, loyalty that feels earned. Recognition and proactive service beat blanket discounts.Personalization stops being a campaign and becomes a core capability.
