Consumer

ExperienceTrends

Repo?Introduction2026createsaowofopportunityfororganizationsunlikeanythatwehaveseeninfiveyearsofstudyingconsumerexperiencetrends.In

a

global

economic

and

political

climate

that

is

teemingwithuncertainty,andinanongoingtechnologicaltransformation,peopleareremarkablyopentochange.Afterhittingalowin2025,consumercomfortusingAIhasreboundeddramatically.ButtoomanybusinessesaresquanderingthisopportunitybydeployingAItocutcosts,notsolveproblems,andtheircustomerscantellthe

difference.“Nearly

1

in

5

consumers

who

have

used

AI

for

customerservicesawnobenefitsfromtheexperience.Afailurerate

nearly

4x

higher

than

for

AI

use

on

average.”AllofthisisgoodnewsforbusinessesthatgettheirAIstrategyright–implementingthistechnologytodelivermorepersonalexperiencesandresolveissuesinawaythat’s

satisfactory,

not

just

cheap.

Doing

so

will

build

trustand

loyalty

–

and

durable

business

growth.badexperiencesresultincustomerscuttingtheir

spend1in

22

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//

IntroductionIntroductionSincewebeganstudyingconsumerexperiencetrends,one

thing

has

not

changed:

consumers

remain

constantaboutwhatreallymatterstowintheirloyalty–theexperience.Satisfiedconsumersarefourtimesmorelikelytorecommend,almostfourtimesmorelikelytotrust,andalmosttwoandahalftimesmorelikelytopurchase

more.Soin2026,businessesneedtothinkintentionallyabout

their

path

to

success

and

the

role

AI

will

playinhelpingthemgetthere.Isitashort-termfixtolowerthecost-to-serve?Orisitthebedrockofatransformationthatredefinestheexperienceyourcustomerskeepcomingback

for?Uncertain

times

mean

there’s

space

to

act

–

and

thatis

a

chance

for

truly

customer-centric

organizations

tomakeanimpactin

2026.Isabelle

ZdatnyHeadofThought

LeadershipQualtricsXM

Institute+3.0%

PTSFROM202579%SATISFACTION

+2.7%

PTSFROM

202576%TRUST

+2.7%

PTSFROM

202572%RECOMMEND+2.6%

PTSFROM

202570%PURCHASE

MOREATA

GLANCETHE

STATE

OF

CUSTOMER

EXPERIENCE3

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//

IntroductionMetricsarebasedonsatisfactionandlikelihoodtotrust,

recommend,andpurchase

more.4//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Meetthe

expertsMoira

DorseyHead

of

Qualtrics

XM

InstituteIsabelle

ZdatnyHeadofThought

Leadership,QualtricsXM

InstituteTalia

QuaadgrasSenior

Research

Program

Manager,QualtricsXM

InstituteLeonie

BrownLeadProductScientist,CustomerCare,

QualtricsMax

VenkerProductMarketing,

CX,QualtricsJulianaSmithHolterhaus,PhDMaturity

PLG

Lead,

Product

Scientist,QualtricsMatt

TrickettXMStrategist,QualtricsTerry

AndersonSeniorProductScientist,CX

forLocations,QualtricsMeet

theexperts5//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//ContentsContents6

Trend1//

AI-poweredcustomerserviceisfailing,sofar10

Trend

2

//

Survey

fatigue

leaves

businesses

guessing

about

customer

churn14

Trend

3

//

Value

won’t

be

enough

to

secure

customer

loyalty

in

202618

Trend

4

//

Consumers

demand

transparency

over

personalization

tactics23

MethodologyTREND

1AI-poweredcustomerservice

is

failing,

so

farUSEAITOENHANCETHEHUMANEXPERIENCE,NOTREPLACE

ITAfterhittingalowin2025,consumercomfortwithAIhasreboundeddramatically.Today,73%useAIfordailytasksand

half

believeitwill

positively

impact

society

–

up

nearly9percentagepoints(pts)from2024.Yetoneapplicationdisappoints:customersupport.Infact,nearly1in5consumerssaidAIforcustomersupportdidnotprovideany

benefit

at

all,

the

worst

rating

across

all

tasks.In

the

rush

to

capitalize

on

AI,

AI-powered

chatbots

havearrivedtocreatemoreefficientcustomerservice.Theproblem

is

they

are

failing

at

their

intended

purpose.WhenconsumersratedAIapplicationsforconvenience,time

savings,

and

usefulness,

customer

support

ranked

atthe

bottom

–

only

“building

anAI

assistant”

scored

worse.01FPOBROKEN

PROMISES:THE

REALITY

OF

AI-POWEREDCUSTOMER

SUPPORTsaiditwaseasyto

use/convenientsaiditsaved

timesaidthey

foundusefulideas/information-12%

PTS-10%

PTS-10%

PTSsaidthey

didnotreceiveany

benefits+13%

PTS6

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend1:AI-poweredcustomerserviceisfailing,so

farBENEFITSFROMAICUSTOMER

SUPPORTVERSUSAVGAITASKBENEFIT

RATETHE

AI

TENSION:

ADOPTION

INCREASES,BUT

TRUST

CONCERNS

GROW53%

+7.7

YOYLACKOFAHUMANBEINGTOCONNECT

WITHLOSSOFJOBSFOR

EMPLOYEESMISUSEOFYOURPERSONAL

DATA50%

-1.6

YOYPOORQUALITYOFTHE

INTERACTIONS41%

-2.1%

YOYDON'TTRUSTTHEINFORMATION

PROVIDED31%

-0.8%

YOY47%

+1.4

YOY25%

-3.5%

YOYEXTRAEFFORT

FOR

YOU

INTHE

INTERACTION7%

+1.4

YOYNONE

OF

THE

ABOVE017

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend1:AI-poweredcustomerserviceisfailing,so

farBusinesseswillonlybeabletosuccessfullyscaleserviceexcellenceandreducecosttoservewithAIiftheyaddressconsumers’primaryconcerns,as

significant

challenges

clearly

remain.1in2consumersareconcerned

thatAIwillresultinthemhavingalack

ofa

human

to

connect

to.

Consumers

areclearaboutwhattheyreally

wantfromtheirAI-powered

experiencesandwhycurrentapproachesaremissingthe

mark.ConsumerswantAItoenhance

thehumanexperience,notreplace

it.Gettingthatapproachrightis

keytorealizingthepromiseof

AI,and

the

experience

has

to

deliveragoodimpressiontoensurecontinued

adoption.Responsibledatauseisalsopartofthe

picture.

Only

29%

consumers

trustorganizationstouseAIresponsibly,and

misuse

of

personal

data

wastheirnumberoneconcernaboutAI(andgrowing),denotingonereasontrustremainslow.Ifbusinesses

wantconsumerstocontinuetoengagewithAI–whichisimportanttoscaleitsimpact–trustisfundamentaltosuccessfullyachieving

that.‘There’s

so

much

pressure

to

use

AI

for

everything—bemoreproductive,moreefficient,digdeeperinto

insights.

But

technology

is

a

tool,

experienceis

an

outcome,

and

they’re

not

equal.

AI

does

notequalexperience.Howdoyoutestandvalidatethatwhateverwe’reusingactuallyproducesabettercustomer

experience

versus

just

trying

to

deflect

calls?That’scriticalfroma

customer-centriclens.”EMMA

SOPADJIEVA,HEADOFCUSTOMEREXPERIENCE

STRATEGY8

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend1:AI-poweredcustomerserviceisfailing,so

far01Theviewonthe

groundANALYSISThebenefitsofAIinrelationtospeed,efficiencyandscalabilityareclearlybeingseen,yetwhensomethinggoeswrong,consumerswantreassurance,emotionalintelligence,and

flexibilitytoreacttotheirneeds.Asaresult,thosecompaniesthatdesignAItosupporttherelational,notjustenhancethetransactionalareofferingthebestcustomer

experience.Matt

TrickettXMStrategist,QualtricsADVICECustomerserviceAIfailsbecausecompanies

deploy

it

to

deflect

cost,notresolveproblems.SuccessfulorganizationswilluseAIdifferently.They’lldeploycapableAIagentsforsimple,transactional

requests.Then

use

AI

to

arm

human

agentswithcompletehistory,predicted

needs,andsuggestedsolutionsforcomplexissues.Thegoalshouldn’tbekeepingcustomersawayfromagents—itshouldbesolvingproblemsthroughwhateverchannelworks

best.Isabelle

ZdatnyHeadofThought

LeadershipQualtricsXM

InstituteANALYSISAsanindustrywe’refarfromnailingthewaysAIwillhelpusdecrease

costswhilealsoprovidingamorepositivecustomerexperience.The

promiseistherebutwehavetodevelopnewmethodstoconsistentlymonitor,understand,andimprovethe

experienceAIagentsareproviding

customers.Max

VenkerProductMarketing,

CX,QualtricsADVICEScalingAIisasmuchabouttrustandchangemanagementasitisabouttechnology—successreliesongradualadoption,buildingconfidence,andanchoringontrust.Implementaprocess

that

enhances

human

customerservicewithAI—ratherthaninstillingasenseoffearof

replacement.JulianaHolterhausMaturityPLGLead,ProductScientist,

Qualtrics9

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend1:AI-poweredcustomerserviceisfailing,so

far02TREND

2Surveyfatigueleavesbusinessesguessingaboutcustomer

churnCONSUMERSDON’TGIVEFEEDBACKLIKETHEYUSEDTO...SOCOMPANIESMUSTLISTENINNEW

WAYSEventhoughsurveyshavebeenthedefactowaytogauge

customer

feedback,

consumers

are

less

and

lesslikelytotakethem.30%ofconsumersnowstaysilentafter

a

bad

experience

(+

9

pts

over

five

years),

anall-time

high

since

we

started

fielding

this

study

in

2021.But

this

isn’t

just

a

CX

problem,

this

is

a

business

problem.Forevery10poorexperiences,5resultinreducedoreliminatedspending.Businessesthatrelyonsurveysalonetounderstandthecausesofthatchurnareincreasinglyleftinthedark.Only3in10customerswillsharedirectlywhatwent

wrong.Thisisn’tanewtrend–directfeedbackhasfallenyear

over

year

since

2021.

But

each

year,

the

needfor

action

becomes

more

urgent

as

unresolved

issuesleaddisappointedcustomers

totaketheirbusinesstosomeonewho

willlisten.Here’sthething:customersignalshaven’tvanished–they’vescattered.Nosinglelisteningchannelwillgetyouallthe

answers.Thebusinessesthatwillthrivein2026

willbe

those

that

combine

experience,

behavioral,andoperationaldatatounderstandandimprovetheend-to-endcustomerjourneyand

quantify

the

impact

of

their

actions.FOR

EVERY

10

POOR

EXPERIENCES,5

RESULT

IN

REDUCED

SPENDINGONLY

3

IN

10

CUSTOMERS

WILL

SHAREDIRECTLY

WHAT

WENT

WRONG10

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend2:Surveyfatigueleavesbusinessesguessingaboutcustomer

churn02HOW

CONSUMERSAREPROVIDINGFEEDBACKABOUTABAD

EXPERIENCE...OR

NOTPOINT

DIFFERENCESINCE

202115%Postedonsocial

media-4.7%

PTS42%Toldfriendorfamily

directly-6.4%

PTS19%Rated

on3rdparty

site-2.6%

PTS30%Did

nottell

anyone+9.2%

PTS29%Sent

directfeedback-7.5%

PTS“Thatstartsbybuildingadiverseportfoliothatincludesunsoliciteddatalikecalls,chats,andbehavioralsignals,makingitpossibletounderstandandimprove

experiencesevenwhencustomersdon’texplicitlytellyouabout

them.”11

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend2:Surveyfatigueleavesbusinessesguessingaboutcustomer

churn02Theviewonthe

groundADVICEResponserateshavebeenfallingforyears,andthey’renotcomingback.Insteadoffranticallychasinghigherresponserates,successful

organizationswillbuildpredictiveintelligencefromthefragmentscustomersleavebehind–combiningsparsesurveydatawithrichbehavioralpatternstospotproblemsbeforecustomerseven

realizethey’reunhappy.Butfeedbackaloneisn’tenoughtogetthefullpicture,thefutureofcustomerlisteningliesinsynthesizingexperience,operational,andbehavioraldataintoearlywarningsystemsthatactuallyprevent

problemsratherthanjustdocument

them.Isabelle

ZdatnyHead

ofThoughtLeadership,QualtricsXM

InstituteANALYSISThere’salong-standingpattern

whereleadersfeeltheylack

‘a(chǎn)ctionable’surveydata,whilesimultaneously

sittingona

goldmineofunsolicitedfeedback.Thisisn’tanoversight;it’sastructuralissue.

The

teams

who

need

the

insightsmostoftendon’townthechannelswherethefeedbackarrives,

suchas

thecorporatecontactcenter.WithmodernAIreadytoanalyzethisunstructured

data,

the

core

challenge

isnoworganizational:Building

bridgessothatinsightsgatheredbyoneteamcan

freely

flow

to

the

teams

empoweredtoleverage

andactonthem.Terry

AndersonSeniorProductScientist,CX

forLocations,QualtricsANALYSISWe’velongreliedonsurveysin

CXtobetterunderstandourcustomers.Surveysarestillagreatwaytocollectverydirectfeedbackbutwithchanges

infoundationaltechnology–

GenAI,LLMs,AgenticAI–organizationsarenowabletoopentheaperturetocustomersignalstheyhaven’tbeenabletoharnessbefore.Theoneswhodothiswellwillseeanadvantageintheirdepthofcustomer

understanding.Max

VenkerProductMarketing,

CX,Qualtrics12

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend2:Surveyfatigueleavesbusinessesguessingaboutcustomer

churn‘Everyone

knows

customers

are

over-surveyed.

We

seeit

in

the

data

every

year:

There’s

a

declining

rate

of

who’sgoing

to

provide

feedback.

That’s

why

we’re

listeningtoallourphonecallstounderstandthethingsthey’renot

saying

to

us.

It’s

about

uncovering

those

challengesand

wins.

We’re

not

just

looking

for

what’s

going

wrong,but

also

celebrating

the

great

things

our

associates

aredoingduringthose

conversations.”JENN

DUSKA,SR.CONSULTANT,VOICEOF

CUSTOMER13

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend2:Surveyfatigueleavesbusinessesguessingaboutcustomer

churnTREND

3Valuewon’tbe

enoughto

secure

customer

loyaltyin

2026INVESTINTHEEXPERIENCE–GREATPRODUCTSANDSERVICE–TOBUILDLASTINGRELATIONSHIPSWITH

CUSTOMERSAfteryearsofrisingpricesandfreshfearscausedbytheuncertaintyofglobaltariffs,our2026consumertrends

data

suggests

price

is

not

the

only

considerationfor

consumers.Value

for

money

is

the

number

one

driver

of

consumerchoicein2026.Consumerswillspendiftheythinkit’sworth

it.Butwhilevalueformoneyprimarilydrivesaconsumer’sdecision

to

choose

a

business,

experience,

a

mix

betweenagreatproductandcustomerserviceisthemostcorrelatedwithloyalty,withconsumersshowinggreatersatisfactionand

trust.0314

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend3:Valuewon'tbeenoughtosecurecustomerloyaltyin

202603Inatougheconomicclimate,thisdatasuggestsabigopportunityforbusinesses.Becausewhileconsumersare

sensitive

to

price,

a

race

to

the

bottom

isn’t

financiallysustainableforbusinesses.Investinginexperiencelongterm–buildingtrustandconfidencethatorganizationswilldeliverqualityandlookaftercustomerswhenthingsgo

wrong

–

creates

customers

who

value

the

relationshipbeyondjustprice,makingthemmoreresistanttocompetitive

offers.WHAT

MATTERS

MOST

TO

CONSUMERS

IN

2026GOODVALUEFOR

MONEYPercentageof

customersWhycustomers

choosetodo

businesswithan

organizationSatisfactionrating

whencustomerschoose

todobusinessforthis

reason46%87%83%GOODPRODUCT/SERVICE90%87%CONVENIENTOTHER83%80%I’MCOMFORTABLEWITH

THEM89%86%GOODCUSTOMERSERVICE92%89%SPECIALDISCOUNT79%75%63%60%NO

OTHEROPTION

AVAILABLE64%62%TOODIFFICULTTO

SWITCH71%69%Trustratingwhencustomerschoose

todobusinessforthis

reason42%41%37%29%20%18%15%11%15

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend3:Valuewon'tbeenoughtosecurecustomerloyaltyin

2026‘It’snotenoughtoprovideagreatproduct,becauseagreatproduct’sgonnafailattimes.Youneedtohaveinvestedinthatecosystemofmoments,sowhenyouhaveanissue,wecanhandleitquickly,delightfully,andcreateawowforyou.Wewanttowowateachmoment

that

matters.

How

do

you

provide

that

holistic360

experience

versus

just

focusing

on

one

aspect?That’swhatdrivescustomer

experience.”EMMA

SOPADJIEVA,HEADOFCUSTOMEREXPERIENCE

STRATEGY16

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend3:Valuewon'tbeenoughtosecurecustomerloyaltyin

202617

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trends3:Valuewon'tbeenoughtosecurecustomerloyaltyin

202603Theviewonthe

groundADVICEFinancialinsecuritynaturallyputsmorescrutinyonprice,butfocusingsolelyonpricecompetitionmeanssacrificingtheserviceexcellencethatbuildslastingrelationships.True

valuecomes

from

optimizing

both

sides

of

theequation–usingoperationalexcellencetomaintaincompetitivepricingwhileinvestingintheexperiencesthatcreatelastingloyaltyandsetyouapartfromyourcompetition,bothnowandwhentheeconomy

improves.Isabelle

ZdatnyHead

ofThoughtLeadership,QualtricsXM

InstituteANALYSISIt’snaturalthatconsumerschasevalue–afterall,thereisnothingwrongwithseekingoutthebest

deal,giventoday’seconomic

pressures.However,long-termloyaltyisn’tbuiltondealsalone.Instead,

lastingcustomerrelationshipsstem

fromconsistentlydeliveringonexperience

–drivenbyattentiveservice

andquality

offerings.Matt

TrickettXMStrategist,QualtricsADVICECompaniesmustworktounderstandthepathfromvaluetoloyalty.Onceacustomerexperiencesvaluefromabrand,it’simperativetounderstand

howthatmomentcan

translatetoaloyalandlongstandingcustomer.Considermappingacoremomentoftruthwithinthecustomer

journeyto

find

out

where

your

brandcanhighlightandexpanduponthatowofopportunity.JulianaHolterhausMaturityPLGLead,ProductScientist,

QualtricsTREND

4Consumersdemandtransparencyoverpersonalization

tacticsTRANSPARENCYANDCONTROLOVERDATAWILLINCREASECONSUMER

TRUSTForyears,companieshavebuilttheirdigital

strategiesonaflawedassumptionthatconsumerswillgladlytradetheirdata(andprivacy)formore

personalized,intuitiveexperiences.Awin-winforboth,with

businessesbetterabletocreateexperiencesthatcustomerswant,need,

and

continue

coming

back

for.Our2026consumertrendsstudytellsastarklydifferentstory.Whilepersonalizationremainsadifferentiator,with64%ofconsumerssayingtheyprefertailoredexperiences(+2.5ptsyear-over-year),only

39%

believe

the

benefits

justify

the

privacy

costs.PERSONALIZATION

IS

MORE

OF

A

DIFFERENTIATORTHAN

EVER,

BUT

THERE’S

A

CATCH64%prefercompaniesthat

tailorexperiences

totheirindividualneeds(+2.5pts

YoY)39%trust

companies

to

use

theirinformation

responsibly(+7.9pts

YoY)0418

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend4:Consumersdemandtransparencyoverpersonalization

tacticsConsumerswanttailored

experiencesbutareincreasinglyselectiveaboutdatasharing,

withdifferentlevelsof

comfort

depending

on

the

levelofthepersonalization.Infact,32%areuncomfortablewith

theirinformationbeingusedforpersonalizationinmost

forms.Thisdisconnectstemsfromafundamentallackoftrust,

whichisevenmorepronounced

regardingAIimplementation,wheredatamisuseranksasthenumberoneconcernat

53%.Thosewhodotrustcompaniesshowmuchhighercomfort

acrossallpersonalizationmethods(up

to10ptshigher),whichwillpayoffinthelongrunfororganizationsasthey’reabletobetterunderstandtheircustomer,moredeeplyconnectwiththem,and

earntheirlong-termloyalty.04CONSUMERCOMFORTWITHPERSONALIZATIONFOLLOWS

ASHARP

DROP-OFF30%Learnhabits29%Remember

websitebehavior29%Connectinfo

fromdifferentplaces27%Guesswhatyoumight

need16%Listenand

watchthrough

devices32%Noneofthe

above19

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend4:Consumersdemandtransparencyoverpersonalization

tactics04GOBACKTOBASICSTOBUILDTRUSTIN

2026Afewsmalltweakswillincrease

consumers’willingnesstosharetheir

information.46%MORETRANSPARENCY

ABOUTDATACOLLECTED43%COMMUNICATION

ABOUTTHESECURITYOFMY

DATA37%CLEAREREXPLANATION

OFBENEFITSI'LL

RECEIVE14%NOTHING-NOTINTERESTEDINSHARING

MORE45%BETTERCONTROLOVERHOWIT'S

USED45%ABILITYTOEASILYDELETEINFORMATION20

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend4:Consumersdemandtransparencyoverpersonalization

tactics‘‘Trustisthecurrencyofthecustomerexperience,andcurrentadvancements

in

AI

mean

building

and

maintaining

customer

trustis

more

important

than

ever.

That

means

making

sure

our

technologyis

not

just

powerful,

but

also

understandable

and

fair

for

everyone.At

Expedia

that

includes

our

travelers,

partners,

and

our

own

internal

teams.Weholdourselvestohighstandardsoftransparencyandaccountability,that’swhywebuiltandvalidatedourownmetrictomeasuretrustdirectly—it’s

not

just

a

buzzword,

it’s

a

measurable

outcome

at

scale.”ALYSSAWHITE,DIRECTOROF

RESEARCH21

//Qualtrics2026ConsumerExperienceTrendsReport//Trend4:Consumersdemandtransparencyoverpersonalization

tactics04Theviewonthe

groundADVICECompanieshavetheprivacyequationbackward.Theystockpiledata

about

who

customers

are

whilemissingwhatcustomersactuallyneedatanygiven

moment.Successfulcompanieswillfocus

oncustomercontextovercustomerprofiles,makingpersonalizationfeelhelpfulratherthan

invasive.Butthisshiftrequirestransparency.Show

customers

what

you

collect,

givethemcontrolanddeletionrights,and,critically,demonstratehowtheirdataimprovedtheirspecific

experience.Isabelle

ZdatnyHead

ofThoughtLeadership,QualtricsXM

InstituteANALYSISThe

privacy-personalizationparadoxisanongoingbalancingact.Zero

party

data

can

be

hugely

valuabletobrands,especiallywhentheyclarifythebenefitsofsharingthisdata—