Personalization Ups Customer Regret Risk at Key Journey Points, Gartner Finds

Experts Explore How Active Personalization Can Deliver Significantly Greater Business Impact than Passive Methods in Overcoming Journey Pitfalls

DENVER – Personalized marketing, once hailed as a game-changer, is now facing a harsh reality check. A recent survey by Gartner, Inc. reveals that personalized experiences are actually backfiring on a significant chunk of consumers. A staggering 53% of customers report negative experiences with personalized marketing, making them 3.2 times more likely to regret a purchase and a concerning 44% less likely to buy again in the future.

The data, gathered from a November-December 2024 survey of 1,464 B2B buyers and consumers across North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, further highlights the complexities. While customers who experienced personalization were 1.8 times more likely to pay a premium, they were also 2 times more likely to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information presented. Compounding the issue, they were also 2.8 times more likely to feel pressured to make a decision quickly.

The core problem? The disconnect between what marketers *think* customers want and what they *actually* need, especially during crucial moments in the buying journey. When customers switch gears, like moving from product browsing to making a final selection, personalized offers often become irrelevant. They fail to address the underlying anxieties and challenges that consumers face.

These findings were presented at the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo, taking place in Denver through Wednesday.

“While personalization has definitely proven effective for some, it’s critical to recognize that it’s missing the mark for a majority of customers,” said Audrey Brosnan, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Marketing Practice. “More than half of customers feel overwhelmed or rushed by conventional personalization tactics, particularly during pivotal moments in the purchase process when cognitive, emotional, and social challenges are hard to overcome. Personalized offers during these moments can actually alienate customers, underscoring the need for marketers to adopt more sophisticated strategies and adapt to diverse customer needs, specifically navigating the pitfalls of task switching.”

Brosnan emphasized the urgency of this shift. “CMOs face an urgent strategic imperative to redesign personalization for the coming era of two-way, AI-enabled, conversational experiences,” she said. “Passive personalization tactics alone no longer cut it; they can inadvertently amplify the negative emotions that customers experience when they’re stuck in these decision-making challenges. CMOs must pivot towards active, course-changing personalization that uncovers customers’ hidden needs, validates their choices, and guides them effectively through the buying process.”

Active Personalization Boosts Customer Confidence and ROI by 2.3x

The research paints a clear picture: this “course-changing” personalization model dramatically outperforms traditional “next best action” recommendations. Active personalization offers users a sense of control, empowering them to reflect, build confidence, and make decisions aligned with their goals. The results speak for themselves – customers engaged through active personalization are 2.3 times more likely to confidently complete critical purchase decisions, leading to considerable increases in customer satisfaction and marketing ROI.

By allowing customers to own their journey, brands can foster more meaningful interactions that challenge perspectives and build trust. This approach proves particularly effective in addressing the complex emotions customers experience, such as feeling rushed, overwhelmed, or skeptical of passive personalization.

“Active personalization presents a strong new strategy for turning customer engagement into true strategic value,” Brosnan said. “By directly engaging customers, marketing leaders can leverage personalized experiences to improve not only satisfaction but also achieve significant improvements in ROI and repeat business potential. Even better, active personalization reduces customers’ apprehension over the creepiness of passive personalization. Customers understand why brands need certain data, and they value the utility that active personalization supplies in exchange for it.”

Course-Changing Personalization: A New Growth Strategy for CMOs

CMOs seeking to optimize their marketing investments and maximize the impact of personalization should take note. Gartner suggests immediate action:

• Actively Counter Journey Pitfalls: Identify critical moments when customers switch tasks and proactively address obstacles, as passive tactics can be counterproductive in these situations.
• Catalyze Emotional Change: Utilize interactive methods such as quizzes, assessments, and guided digital interactions that illuminate individual customer attributes and motivate them, to clarify their goals, and move forward with confidence in complex decisions.
• Embrace Customer Co-Creation: Transition from passive inference to active engagement, encouraging customers to share their preferences directly to help create personalized paths to purchase and enhance loyalty.

“CMOs who leverage active personalization at key customer journey transition points will drive deeper customer engagement, higher brand loyalty, and superior commercial outcomes,” Brosnan emphasized. “This approach allows marketing leaders to embed a growth loop in customer engagement. Active personalization acts as a flywheel, motivating customers in real-time and revealing unique insights (also known as zero-party data) that sustains and accelerates that flywheel with each successive engagement.”

Gartner clients can find more in-depth analysis in the report, “Revitalize Your Personalization Strategy for Future Growth.”

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About the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo

The Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo runs June 2-4 in Denver, providing leading marketing professionals with actionable advice on the latest trends, the right tools, and exciting new technologies that will help them deliver business results and surpass expectations. Gartner analysts address the biggest opportunities, challenges and priorities marketers face today, including marketing strategy development, marketing analytics and CX strategy. Follow news and updates coming out of the conference on the Gartner Newsroom and on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerMKTG.

About Gartner

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