New Amperity research reveals real-time relevance drives conversion, but identity and execution gaps continue to hold brands back

Australian retailers are keen to capitalise on the power of personalisation, but execution remains challenging. Most acknowledge their capabilities are lagging, even as they recognise personalisation as critical to business success.

New research from Amperity, the leading customer data cloud for consumer brands, offers insights into what drives personalisation effectiveness. The study finds that real-time personalisation has become a direct revenue lever, influencing purchase behaviour and retention when retailers act on customer intent in the moment.

The 2026 State of Personalisation in Retail report, based on a survey of 1000 U.S. consumers, reveals that personalisation only delivers meaningful impact when it reflects live customer intent, not static profiles or delayed batch updates.

The findings are also relevant to Australian audiences, as this market grapples with similar strategic priorities around personalisation while facing execution challenges that prevent many retailers from delivering on customer expectations.

Key findings reveal how missed moments are costing retailers revenue

Real-time personalisation directly drives conversion:

• 74% of consumers are more likely to purchase when they receive a truly personalised offer or recommendation

• 69% are more likely to buy when retailers adjust offers instantly while they browse

High-intent moments are being missed:

• 57% say shopping experiences still feel generic, despite retailers claiming to personalise

• 79% report that retailers frequently get personalisation wrong, citing irrelevant or mistimed messages

Consumers expect recognition, but rarely get it:

• 83% want retailers to remember them, including preferences and past purchases

The data shows a growing disconnect between what shoppers expect in moments like browsing, cart consideration, and email engagement, and what retailers actually deliver. When brands fail to act in these moments, they create friction and lose potential revenue.

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More than half of consumers believe brands should personalise their experience in real-time rather than days later, and nearly one-third expect relevant offers to start from their very first interaction. Email remains the preferred channel for personalised outreach, placing even greater pressure on accuracy and timing.

AI is, of course, also expected to play a growing role in personalisation, and consumers favour a balanced approach. Nearly half want personalisation delivered through a combination of human associates and AI assistants, reinforcing the need for systems that blend automation with human judgement to deliver relevance and trust.

Australian market reflects similar challenges, with critical gaps in execution

While this global consumer research reveals the scale of the personalisation opportunity, Australian research that Amperity participated in last year with Arktic Fox shows local retailers face structural barriers to capitalising on it.

The Digital, Marketing & eComm in Focus 2025 report found that 88% of Australian retailers view personalisation as important or very important to their business, yet 57% of marketing leaders overall say their personalisation capability is lagging in the market. This capability gap persists despite 59% of brands experimenting with or scaling AI and GenAI to drive personalisation efforts.

The research revealed a critical disconnect in how retailers approach the foundation of personalisation. While more than half of all brands prioritise unifying customer data, only 25% consider identity resolution a key area of investment.

For Amperity Area Vice President and General Manager for Australia, Billy Loizou, this disconnect is exactly why personalisation continues to underdeliver.

“For companies generating more than a billion dollars in revenue, unifying customer data was ranked as the top priority. But identity resolution barely made the list,” he said.

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“That’s a real concern. You can’t talk about a unified customer view if you don’t know with certainty who the customer actually is. Identity resolution is what turns fragmented data into something usable. Without it, personalisation is guesswork and AI simply scales the noise.

“If retailers want real-time relevance that drives conversion and loyalty, they need to invest in the foundation first. Otherwise, they’re building advanced capabilities on unstable ground.”

The challenge is compounded by resource constraints. Marketing and digital budgets for Australian retailers have remained the same or declined over the past 12 months for 78% of brands, while 65% cite balancing short-and-long-term priorities as their biggest challenge.

Despite the focus on AI for personalisation, only 17% of Australian retailer marketing and digital leaders believe they are effectively leveraging AI to optimise digital content creation processes.

“With budgets under pressure, retailers can’t afford to invest in capabilities that don’t convert,” Loizou said.

“The global findings reinforce what we’re seeing locally. Real-time personalisation drives revenue, but only when the identity foundation is solid. The brands that get this right will grow. The ones that don’t will keep wondering why their AI investments aren’t paying off.”

Download the 2026 State of Personalisation in Retail report to explore how real-time, data-driven personalisation affects purchasing decisions, loyalty, and customer trust, and what retailers must do to close the execution gap in 2026 and beyond.

Amperity’s Customer Data Cloud empowers brands to transform raw customer data into strategic business assets with unprecedented speed and accuracy. Through AI-powered identity resolution, customizable data models, and intelligent automation, Amperity helps technologists eliminate data bottlenecks and accelerate business impact. More than 400 leading brands worldwide, including Alaska Airlines, DICK’S Sporting Goods, BECU, Virgin Atlantic, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, rely on Amperity to drive customer insights and revenue growth. Founded in 2016, Amperity operates globally with offices in Seattle, New York City, London, and Melbourne.