For retailers, understanding their customer isn’t just an advantage; it’s a necessity. Understanding your customer means going beyond transactional data and building a complete picture of their needs, behaviors, and expectations.

In our latest report, Understanding Your Customer, we found that 90% of retailers said that knowing their customers is critical, yet less than half truly understand how best to engage with their customers according to their preferences and behavior.

If retailers want to deliver seamless, personalized experiences that drive growth, they need to refine how they capture customer data, turn it into meaningful insights, and utilize it in the most efficient and measurable way. The foundation of all this is deep customer research. Here’s how to do it right.

1. Go beyond demographics; focus on customer intent

Traditional customer research often stops at who the customer is (age, location, income). But in today’s market, success comes from understanding why they buy, how they interact, and what motivates them.

Key insight from the report: only 14% of retailers have fully developed experience personas, despite 62% saying customer understanding is critical to their business.

Action tip: 

• Develop CX personas: go beyond marketing personas to map the full customer experience journey, including pre-purchase research, buying triggers, and post-purchase expectations. 

• Use behavioral data: analyze browsing behavior, purchase frequency, customer service interactions, and loyalty data to get a full picture of intent.

2. Combine multiple research methods for a 360-degree view

There’s no single source of truth when it comes to understanding customers. Retailers that blend qualitative and quantitative research get the most valuable insights.

Key insight from the report: retailers struggle to unify insights, with 48% reporting data silos as a major challenge to customer understanding.

Action tip: 

• First-party data: leverage website analytics, CRM data, and loyalty programs to track real behaviors.
  

• Surveys & customer interviews: gain direct customer feedback to understand emotional drivers. 

• Social listening & reviews: monitor real-time customer sentiment across digital channels. 

3. Map the customer journey to identify gaps & opportunities

Even with strong research, many retailers struggle to turn insights into action. A customer journey map helps visualize the full experience and identify pain points.

Key insight from the report: less than half of retailers use customer insights to confidently build investment cases.

Action tip: 

• Identify friction points: where are customers dropping off? What stops them from converting?
  

• Optimize high-value moments: what are the top conversion and loyalty drivers in your journey.
  

• Test & iterate: Use A/B testing and real-time feedback to refine the experience. 

4. Break down silos to make customer research cross-functional

Customer research shouldn’t live in one department. To be truly effective, insights need to flow between marketing, ecommerce, digital, customer service, and in-store teams.

Key insight from the report: loyalty and marketing teams lead in using customer insights, but cross-functional adoption is still lacking.

Action tip: 

• Centralize customer data: ensure research is shared across teams to inform CX, product, and digital strategies.
  

• Align on metrics: make sure marketing, digital, and CX teams measure success in the same way.
  

• Foster a customer-first culture: encourage decision-making that’s based on real customer insights, not assumptions. 

5. Turn research into action with personalization & AI

Customer research is only valuable if it’s used to drive better experiences. AI and predictive analytics help retailers move from reactive insights to proactive engagement.

Key insight from the report: 68% of retailers say personalization is a priority, yet many feel unprepared to implement AI-driven strategies.

Action tip: 

• AI-driven recommendations: Use predictive analytics to personalize product discovery and promotions.
  

• Automated CX improvements: leverage AI chatbots and service automation to improve support.
  

• Dynamic content: serve customers tailored experiences based on their preferences and behaviors. 

Final thoughts 

Are you maximizing your customer intelligence?
The best retailers aren’t just collecting customer data; they’re using it to create meaningful, personalized experiences that drive revenue and loyalty.

Want to improve your customer research strategy?
Download the full Understanding Your Customer Report to access more insights and best practices.