FAQ: Personalization, privacy and AI in digital commerce (Contentstack 2025 report benchmarks)
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The statistics below are drawn from the Contentstack Fall 2025 Personalization Report, which surveyed over 600 online shoppers in the US and UK. Read the full report here, or see some of the key takeaways below.
Frequently asked questions
The state of personalized experiences
Q: Which types of personalization are most effective at improving the online shopping experience for consumers? A: According to the Contentstack Fall 2025 Personalization Report, the most effective forms of personalization are those based on user history and stated preferences:
- 70% of consumers report that recommendations based on their browsing or purchase behavior improve their online shopping experience.
- 63% of consumers report that recommendations based on their stated interests and preferences improve their online shopping experience.
Q: How many consumers actively seek out personalized shopping experiences? A: Nearly half of shoppers actively prioritize brands that offer personalized experiences. The report states that 45% of shoppers actively look for brands that provide personalized digital experiences. Furthermore, Gen Z buyers are 40% more likely than average to say this.
Q: Which industries are consumers most interested in receiving personalized online experiences from? A: The highest demand for personalization is in everyday commerce and entertainment. The report found that consumers are most interested in personalization from:
- Grocery, food, and restaurant delivery brands (54%)
- Retail and e-commerce brands (41%)
- Media, streaming, and entertainment platforms (41%)
Q: How often does personalization lead to product discovery and brand loyalty? A: Personalization is highly effective at driving discovery. 67% of online shoppers say that personalization has helped them discover relevant new products and services. Additionally, 46% have felt increased loyalty to a brand due to a positive personalized digital experience.
Privacy, trust and data sharing
Q: What is the single most important factor for building brand loyalty through data practices? A: Consumer control over data is the most critical factor. The Contentstack report found that a full 95% of online consumers want to control what data brands collect from them, and 81% report they would be more loyal to brands if they were allowed more control over their data.
Q: What type of personal data are consumers most willing to share for a better personalized experience? A: Consumers are most comfortable sharing data related to their direct interaction with the brand.
- 59% would be willing to share their past purchases from a brand.
- 53% would share their hobbies and interests.
- 44% would share their gender.
Q: Which types of highly identifying data are consumers least willing to share? A: Consumers are highly resistant to sharing data that closely identifies them outside of the brand's direct environment. Only 6% would share their public social media profile information, and only 5% would share their biometric data.
Q: How does the willingness to share data differ across generations? A: There is a significant generational divide in data-sharing willingness:
- Gen Z consumers were 152% more likely than average to say they are very willing to share more personal data with brands.
- In contrast, Baby Boomers were 74% more likely than average to express extreme unwillingness to share more personal data with brands.
"Creepy" personalization and boundaries
Q: How often do consumers feel a brand's personalization is "too invasive or creepy?" A: A significant majority of shoppers have experienced personalization that crosses a boundary. 64% of online consumers have experienced personalization from a brand that felt too invasive or creepy.
Q: What is the top factor that makes personalization feel "creepy" to consumers? A: For consumers who felt personalization was invasive, the top cited reason was:
- 70% cited seeing an ad for something they were just talking about.
Q: Beyond conversation tracking, what are other common "creepy" personalization experiences? A: Other commonly cited experiences include:
- 51% experienced a brand following up too frequently or persistently.
- 36% received hyper-targeted ads based on their real-time location.
The enthusiasm gap for AI personalization
Q: Are consumers comfortable with AI creating marketing content? A: Consumers are largely comfortable with AI handling content creation.
- 79% are comfortable with AI creating product descriptions.
- 72% are comfortable with AI creating marketing messages.
Q: Do consumers prefer human or AI interaction for customer service? A: While 51% of respondents believe the preference for human or AI support "depends on the issue," 43% of all respondents said they would rather have help exclusively from humans for customer service.
Q: For which specific customer interaction do buyers prefer AI over humans? A: When it comes to shopping assistance, 71% of buyers prefer interacting with AI over humans for product recommendations.
Q: How curious are consumers about advanced, future personalization technologies like AI Copilots? A: There is a notable "enthusiasm gap" for future technologies. Only 24% of shoppers are curious about AI copilots that predict their shopping needs, and 28% of respondents said they are not at all curious about future personalization technologies.
Additional resources
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