Building customer loyalty in a competitive market is hard, and it’s especially challenging to win younger audiences who are constantly dealing with information overload. But the data makes one thing clear: they’re more likely to keep coming back if you meet their communications expectations.
In Amperity’s recent 2026 State of Personalization in Retail report, we found Gen Z and Millennial consumers are unanimous in what they expect from retail marketing: they want fast, accurate and tailored communication from brands that genuinely understand their preferences. Of the 1,000 American consumers we surveyed, not a single person under 40 said that truly personalized messaging would discourage them from making a purchase. Millennials, in particular, gravitate towards targeted experiences, remaining loyal to the retailers that know them best.
Younger generations expect personalization
Personalized communication from retailers is no longer just a nice-to-have - it’s a requirement.
The vast majority (83%) of American consumers said they value a personalized shopping experience with tailored offers and recommendations. More than a quarter of respondents consider it a “very important” factor when deciding where to shop, including 37% of Gen Z. In comparison, only 12% of Baby Boomers claimed the same, while a third (29%) said it wasn’t important at all. Just 7% of Gen Z considered personalization unimportant.
The generational divide continued when participants were asked how a targeted experience affects their likelihood of making a purchase. Nearly one-third (29%) of Gen Z shoppers said they are “much more likely” to purchase when they receive an offer that feels personal - in contrast to only 14% of Baby Boomers. Not a single Gen Z or Millennial respondent said tailored communication would make them less likely to purchase.
For retailers, this data should serve as a warning. Millennial and Gen Z consumers are the fastest growing market segment and have the purchasing power to back it up - according to research from Nielsen, Gen Z’s purchasing power will reach a massive $12 trillion by 2030.
Most retailers are missing the mark
Despite the importance of personalized marketing, our report suggests the majority of retailers are currently falling short.
In the past month, 15% of respondents claimed they had not encountered any personalized offers or recommendations. One-third (33%) received some form of tailored communication once or twice, while another 36% received personalized outreach three or four times. Only 15% were targeted with personal messages five or more times - the same proportion that didn’t receive any.
Even when messaging is targeted, the data suggests retailers continue to underperform: 79% of consumers claimed it’s not uncommon to receive irrelevant, mistimed, or invasive messages, with one-third of respondents claiming this happens often or very often.
Genuine customer loyalty depends on getting personalization right - especially with younger audiences. In a retail market with tight profit margins and wavering consumer confidence, customer loyalty can be key to survival.
The gold standard: Omnichannel personalization
For retailers and real-time personalization, the ultimate goal should be omnichannel personalization. Whether you’re communicating through email, texts, in-app notifications, or even in store, your outreach should consistently fit the context and preferences of each individual customer.
But omnichannel personalization isn’t easy - it requires the right infrastructure and a solid data foundation.
A natural starting point for personalized outreach is email, which a massive 71% of shoppers say is their preferred way of hearing from brands. Over time, and with the right data, you can expand your targeted efforts beyond email and deliver personalized communications at every touchpoint.
To reach your omnichannel goals, an accurate picture of your customer is crucial. You can only make offers and recommendations that resonate when you fully understand their latest preferences and purchase trends.
The majority of consumers (63%) say their favorite companies are those that remember their preferences across all platforms based on interactions made in-store, online, and in-app. The problem is that most companies silo this data at each point, rarely bringing it together to develop a truly reflective picture of each customer’s individual needs. Without this unified dataset, genuinely personal communication is impossible, and the customer experience suffers.
Amperity uses AI to break data silos, gathering current and historical data from all touchpoints to create a complete profile for each individual customer. Our Real-Time Profiles unify each customer’s historical identity using AI-powered identity resolution; real-time streaming customer data adds up-to-the-second behavioral context, meaning every marketing message is always shaped by the best possible information. Amperity pushes up-to-date customer profiles and segments across all of your marketing tools allowing each channel to deliver tailored messaging that updates in real time. Your marketing responds to who the customer is and what they do, turning raw data into genuinely personal interactions.
Data-driven insights for key customer retention
Gen Z and Millennial customers have spoken: They want personalized communication from brands that understand them, and they want that personalization executed in real time. Companies that ignore these preferences risk losing key customer segments just as they begin to dominate the market. For more insights into consumer expectations around targeted messaging, download our full 2026 State of Personalization in Retail report.