Wunderkind and Cordial release The Customer Marketing Gap report examining where consumer expectations and marketer priorities align and where disconnects remain across purchasing decisions digital experiences communication preferences personalization trust and AI announced Oct 13 2026 San Diego.
According to surveys both marketers and consumers want better experiences but they define value differently Price represents one of clearest disconnects 56% of consumers identify lowest price as leading consideration when deciding where to buy online just quarter of marketers believe price is top consideration.
Same gap appears in brand communications 50% of consumers say discounts are among strongest factors determining whether they pay attention to brand message while just 26% of marketers see discounts that way.
Consumers favor direct communication channels 82% prefer email and 64% prefer SMS whereas marketers place greater emphasis on social media 74% of marketers vs 39% of consumers.
Closing 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. AI and personalization have significant potential but only when built around clear understanding of customer.
Research also reveals gap between how marketers measure impact of personalization and how consumers experience its value. While 61% of marketers say relevant product recommendations have major impact on conversion only 32% of consumers say recommendations make shopping easier. Consumers place greater value on experiences that reduce friction including saved carts 48% and faster checkout 48%.
AI highlights another expectation mismatch between marketer ambition and consumer confidence. While 59% of marketers expect AI-powered personalization to have biggest impact on customer marketing over next three years only 16% of consumers say AI currently improves shopping experience and 27% say they do not trust AI to personalize experiences. Findings suggest AI adoption must be grounded in transparency and customer value rather than technology alone.
Lifecycle marketing enters new phase where having more data and more technology not enough. Successful brands understand what customers actually value and translate insights into experiences that are useful relevant and meaningful.
Additional insights from report include Customer data remains biggest opportunity for marketers 42% say more accurate customer data would have greatest impact on customer marketing performance followed by improved personalization 37%. Limited customer data and fragmented systems tied as leading barriers to personalization 19% each Trust is foundation of personalized experiences 46% consumers say clear explanations of how data used would increase trust in personalization while 41% value preference control and 41% want brands to use only information they shared directly Consumers and marketers agree on value exchange for earning customer data Exclusive discounts top incentive for consumers to share email or mobile number 32% matching marketers expectations 32% AI adoption expanding beyond content generation Marketers most commonly use or plan to use AI for customer service chatbots 54% predictive analytics 49% and product recommendations 43%.
About Cordial
Cordial is an agentic messaging platform with an embedded CDP, used by Levi's, Tapestry, L.L.Bean, Boot Barn, and other leading brands to power billions of personalized messages across email, SMS, and mobile. By unifying customer data, messaging, and AI in one platform, Cordial can predict buyer intent, determine next-best actions, and personalize each send, helping brands drive more revenue from every message.
About Wunderkind
Wunderkind is redefining agentic marketing decisioning, where identity meets AI to drive personalized performance at scale. Its Autonomous Marketing Platform (AMP) uses a proprietary identity graph—built on billions of devices and trillions of digital events each year—to transform anonymous web traffic into known customers. AMP dynamically triggers one-to-one messages across email, text, and ads, optimizing creative, channel, and timing in real time. Seamlessly integrating via SDKs, APIs, and natively with leading ESPs and engagement platforms, Wunderkind fits into any modern stack without requiring replatforming. Brands like Harley-Davidson and Kendra Scott rely on Wunderkind to unlock reach and revenue, with more than $5 billion in attributable sales annually and consistently top-ranking channel performance.
