Customerland

Consumer spending has weakened across the board in recent weeks, with fast fashion, resale, and off-price retail emerging as relative winners in an otherwise concerning landscape. Michael Gunther, VP and head of insights at Consumer Edge, shares data-driven perspectives on current consumer trends and what they indicate about the broader economic picture.

• Recent transaction data shows spend patterns weakening across industries during the past 4-5 weeks
• Winners in this environment include fast fashion, resale markets, and discount retail—categories typically associated with economic pullbacks
• Corporate earnings calls increasingly mention tariffs and "geopolitical uncertainty" as key concerns
• Unlike pandemic-era pullbacks, there's no pent-up demand waiting to be unleashed as travel and entertainment spending has normalized
• High-income consumers and younger demographics are maintaining relatively stronger spending, though still showing signs of trading down
• Companies successfully targeting these stronger demographic segments (Hollister, Shein, Cartier, MyTheresa) are better positioned to weather the downturn
• Sustainability remains a driver of consumer choices alongside price sensitivity, particularly in the resale market
• Key indicators to watch include transaction data across discretionary categories and grocery price inflation, especially in tariff-impacted categories

What happens when a nonprofit organization builds customer service operations that directly advance their mission? In this fascinating conversation with Andie Ewing, Chief Operating Officer of Unbound, we explore how this international development organization has reimagined what customer experience can achieve.

Operating across 17 countries in Africa, Asia, India, and Latin America, Unbound has developed a groundbreaking approach to both fighting poverty and delivering exceptional customer service. Unlike traditional contact centers focused on efficiency metrics, Unbound has established global operations in Colombia and the Philippines with a different priority: creating career opportunities for the very families they serve through their programs.

"When you are in a nonprofit, your differentiator is your customer experience, and so it is more crucial than anywhere else I've ever worked to create the ultimate radical customer experience," explains Ewing. With 90% of all donations going directly to families, Unbound operates on a remarkably thin administrative margin while still prioritizing meaningful sponsor interactions over transactional efficiency.

The impact extends far beyond business metrics. Contact center employees become community heroes, representing hope and possibility. One employee shared how his job now allows him to provide a secure home for his mother after growing up in extremely precarious living conditions. When sponsors call, they speak directly with people connected to the communities they support, creating authentic relationships that strengthen commitment and trust.

The results speak volumes: 95% first-call resolution, 92% customer satisfaction, and only a 7.2% sponsor discontinuance rate. Unbound's visionary approach demonstrates how aligning operational excellence with mission can create transformative outcomes for all stakeholders.

Discover how this innovative organization is challenging conventional wisdom about customer experience while breaking cycles of poverty. Visit unboundorg.org to learn more about their work and how you can get involved.

The marketing technology landscape has exploded to over 15,000 applications, creating both opportunities and challenges for businesses seeking to maximize their existing investments. In this enlightening conversation, Tara DeZao and Rebecca Miller of Pega, share their unique perspectives on navigating this complex ecosystem while thoughtfully implementing AI solutions.

The conversation reveals how Pega's approach to AI has evolved dramatically since 2018, shifting from basic natural language processing to sophisticated generative and agentic applications that transform both customer and employee experiences. What makes this discussion particularly valuable is their candid exploration of the trust challenges organizations face when implementing AI at scale.

One of the most fascinating insights comes from Pega's innovative internal solution—"Intern Iris," an AI assistant deliberately positioned as an intern to encourage appropriate oversight and verification. This clever framing builds trust while still delivering significant productivity benefits, demonstrating how thoughtful implementation can address legitimate AI concerns.

The conversation dives into the critical balance between automation and authenticity in customer engagement. As Miller notes, "If you have one bad experience as a consumer, you're done," highlighting why governance and control remain essential even as AI capabilities advance. She offers practical guidance for organizations, recommending a measured approach that focuses on one process at a time rather than attempting wholesale transformation.

Looking toward the future, De Zao predicts a significant shift in customer service over the next five to seven years—an increasingly autonomous landscape where routine transactions are handled through AI while human agents evolve into specialists managing complex emotional situations. This vision acknowledges both the transformative potential of technology and the enduring value of human connection.

Whether you're a marketing leader evaluating AI solutions, a customer experience professional reimagining service delivery, or a technology strategist planning your organization's digital future, this discussion provides valuable perspective on balancing innovation with appropriate controls to deliver experiences that build rather than erode trust.

The disconnect between the digital experiences businesses think they're delivering and what customers actually receive represents a massive opportunity. In this enlightening conversation, Dave Anderson, VP of Product Marketing at ContentSquare, explores how traditional analytics fail us – with teams trapped in Google Analytics trying to make sense of tables and charts that don't tell the full story of customer journeys.

There's a profound shift happening from marketing-focused metrics to product analytics that truly reveal user behavior. Rather than drowning in spreadsheets, forward-thinking companies are embracing visual analytics that overlay directly onto websites and apps, making insights immediately actionable for everyone from UX designers to CEOs.

The results speak for themselves: North Face increased CTA exposure by 50%, Rakuten boosted checkout conversion by 10%, and one UK bank discovered removing their mortgage calculator actually improved sign-ups by 10-15% (worth £500,000). These aren't marginal improvements – they're transformation stories driven by finally seeing what customers actually do rather than what we think they do.

What makes this approach revolutionary is its accessibility. As one executive notes, "The real test of a new feature is can product marketing use it without any instruction and get value from it?" When analytics become visual and intuitive, teams align around clear priorities without needing data science degrees.

With AI now entering the equation, we're moving toward proactive insights – not just visualizing problems but receiving specific recommendations: "Lift these elements up the page" or "You have more opportunity with this product line." The future belongs to companies who can truly see their digital experience through their customers' eyes.

Ready to close the gap between your perception and your customers' reality? Discover how visual journey analytics could transform your digital experience and drive meaningful business results.

What makes a brand truly patriotic in American eyes? The answer might surprise you—and it's definitely not just waving flags or wrapping everything in red, white, and blue.

Robert Passikoff, founder and CEO of Brand Keys, returns to Customerland with fascinating insights from their 24th annual Most Patriotic Brands Survey. This year's results reveal a startling reality: commercial brands now significantly outperform government institutions when it comes to patriotism. While Jeep maintains its perfect streak (ranking #1 for all 24 years of the survey with a near-perfect 99% rating), government bodies like the House of Representatives and Senate score dismally low at just 25% and 28% respectively.

The conversation dives deep into what actually creates patriotic brand perception. As Passikoff explains, true patriotic connection comes through authenticity—the historical significance of Jeep "winning all the wars," Ford's role as "the founding father of industrialism," or Disney's ability to "repaint Rockwell every single night" with their Main Street Parade. These brands don't simply claim patriotism; they embody elements of American identity through innovation, inclusion, and genuine heritage.

We explore how smart consumers easily detect inauthentic patriotic messaging, why politically divisive approaches fail for brands, and the striking trust gap between commercial entities and government institutions. With government trust ratings below 40%, brands have unprecedented opportunities to forge meaningful connections through shared American values—if they can do so authentically. This compelling examination of patriotism, brand loyalty, and consumer psychology offers valuable insights for any brand looking to connect with American audiences through values rather than superficial symbolism.

Tune in to understand why patriotism remains a powerful force in consumer decision-making, and how the brands that truly understand American psychology continue to thrive even in divisive times.

What Really Builds Customer Loyalty? A Conversation with Hope Neiman of Tillster

Loyalty programs are everywhere—but actual customer loyalty is harder to come by. In this episode, Hope Neiman, CMO at Tillster, offers a grounded look at what separates transactional perks from meaningful, lasting relationships.

While many brands rely on points and promotions, Hope argues that the real drivers of loyalty are often more personal and human: a service rep who remembers your dog’s name, a solution offered before a problem escalates, or just the sense that a brand actually knows who you are. These small gestures, she explains, often do more than elaborate programs ever could.

We also explore new research on QSR loyalty behavior, including some surprising stats—like the 22% of regular diners who don’t use any loyalty apps, or the more than half who have stopped visiting restaurants due to impersonal experiences. Even operational friction—like something as simple as a blocked parking lot—can quietly erode loyalty.

Hope also walks us through how Tillster is using data and AI to rethink incentives—not as mass promotions, but as tools to offer more relevant, achievable rewards based on real customer behavior.

At its core, this conversation is a reminder: as technology advances, the emotional side of customer relationships isn’t going away. If anything, it’s becoming more essential.

What if your planograms could adapt to each store's unique inventory and fixtures in real-time? That's exactly what Optimum Retailing has achieved with Realgramn AI, the first AI-powered store-specific planogramming tool that's fundamentally changing how retailers approach merchandising.

Justine Melman, CMO at Optimum Retailing, joins Customerland to reveal how Realgram AI bridges the persistent gap between merchandising plans and in-store execution. "Stores obviously know what their sales data is. They know what product is selling at each store. That's not anything new. What they don't know is why," explains Melman. This crucial insight drives Realgram AI's approach to what they call "precision merchandising."

The traditional planogramming process has always been inefficient – visual merchandisers design planograms, save them as static PDFs, and distribute them to hundreds or thousands of stores with different layouts, fixtures, and inventory levels. Realgram AI transforms this model by allowing merchandisers to create a single planogram that automatically generates unique versions for each store based on their actual inventory and fixture capacities. When inventory changes, the planogram updates in real-time, ensuring store teams always have an executable plan.

Beyond improved execution, Realgram AI provides unprecedented retail intelligence by connecting sales performance with specific store zones, fixtures, and product placements. The system's automated photo compliance uses AI image recognition to verify planogram execution, dramatically reducing the manual labor of compliance checking. Integration capabilities extend to RFID technology for real-time product tracking and digital signage that can respond to customer interactions – imagine displays that automatically update to showcase the blue shoe a customer just picked up instead of the red one featured in the original planogram.

Contrary to fears about AI replacing jobs, Melman emphasizes that Realgram AI aims to enhance retail professionals' capabilities: "We're looking at what we're offering as a way to make their jobs easier, make them more efficient, make them more profitable, make them more successful."

In this episode, we sit down with Jess Leitch, Executive Strategy Director at Frog, to explore the seismic shifts redefining how humans interact with technology — and what that means for brands, designers, and everyday users. From the collapse of the traditional interface to the rise of agentic AI, Jess walks us through a future that’s already underway, where experiences are increasingly ambient, autonomous, and deeply personal.

We talk about the concept of zero UI — the idea that screens and clicks are giving way to invisible systems that anticipate our needs. We unpack what happens when brands are no longer in control of their own channels, when LLMs become the new interface, and when intimacy with machines becomes not just possible, but expected. This isn't speculation. It's happening now — and it’s upending everything from marketing strategies to design fundamentals.

Jess challenges us to reconsider what trust looks like in a world where decisions are made by machines on our behalf. And she shares why designers and strategists must think not just about usability, but about dignity, emotional resonance, and long-term impact. If your business, brand, or career depends on how people engage with technology, this conversation is a wake-up call.

Welcome to Futurescape — where the next interface isn’t an interface at all.

Listen to the full episode now on Customerland. And if you’re building the future, start with the people who will live in it.

What happens when the shiny exterior of customer experience meets the messy reality of operational execution? In this eye-opening conversation, we speak with FD Giambattista, a veteran CX operations expert who has spent 25 years implementing customer service solutions for major corporations.

FD takes us behind the curtain to reveal what actually makes customer experience work—or fail. While technology providers focus on capabilities and features, FD deals with the operational realities: systems held together with "bailing wire and duct tape," agents navigating through 14 different applications to handle a single interaction, and the delicate balance between cost, quality, and speed.

The most surprising revelation? Despite all our focus on technology, the most common breakdowns occur in people and processes. FD shares his practical approach to uncovering these issues, starting with candid conversations with frontline employees: "You get them in a room without any of their management and just say 'tell me.' Once one person talks, everybody else chimes in."

We explore the "cost-quality-speed paradox"—the uncomfortable truth that organizations can only optimize for two of these three factors. This framework helps set executive expectations from the outset and forces critical prioritization discussions that many organizations avoid.

FD also emphasizes the direct connection between employee retention and customer experience quality. Companies with lower turnover deliver better experiences because their employees thoroughly understand the products and services they support.

Whether you're leading CX transformations or implementing customer-focused technology, this conversation offers invaluable perspective on what it takes to create truly seamless experiences. Join us for this honest look at the operational side of customer experience—where simplicity should reign but complexity often dominates.

From static images to personalized experiences that greet you by name, digital signage has undergone a remarkable transformation. BrightSign's Vice President of Sales for the Americas, Misty Chalk, takes us deep into how this technology is revolutionizing customer connections across every industry.

The conversation reveals how BrightSign's purpose-built media players—those "purple boxes" behind screens everywhere—have become the backbone of sophisticated digital signage solutions. Chalk explains their unique ecosystem approach, where they've opened their APIs to over 170 content management software partners, creating a collaborative environment that delivers consistent, seamless experiences for end users. The newly established Bright Alliance program formalizes these partnerships, ensuring quality standards and simplifying what can be an overwhelming landscape for customers.

What's particularly fascinating is the evolution of retail media networks (RMNs) over the past four years. Accelerated by the pandemic, these networks have transformed from experimental initiatives to essential revenue streams that retailers "cannot afford not to do." BrightSign's technology serves as the crucial bridge connecting in-store displays, websites, apps, and streaming services—creating a cohesive experience that reaches consumers wherever they are.

Hyper-personalization emerges as the dominant trend shaping the future of digital signage. When a hotel room screen welcomes you by name or an end-cap display shows content relevant to your interests, that emotional connection drives brand loyalty. With a staggering 78% of marketers already using AI for content creation in 2024, the technology is rapidly advancing to deliver increasingly personalized experiences at scale.

Ready to transform how your brand connects with customers? Discover how digital signage can create the emotional engagement that drives loyalty across all touchpoints in today's omnichannel world.