This is a report deep dive, and Deloitte gave Retailgentic the exclusive first look at brand-new research: hundreds of senior merchant leaders and a thousand-plus recent online shoppers, both sides of the counter, with trend data from two years back layered in. The result is a map of where brands and consumers see the same picture and where they see completely different ones. And the data is fresh, fielded this spring, analyzed over the last month, unveiled here.

They describe exactly what those leaders do differently, and why it pays off. You want the edge? This is it.

Highlights

The basics are the new battleground: Accurate search, real inventory visibility, clear delivery dates, easy returns are no longer differentiators, just expected. And a majority of consumers say brands haven’t improved on them in two years.
The perception gap: Only 16–18% of consumers rate brands “excellent,” while brands rate themselves in the low-to-mid 30s, a false-confidence gap that’s driving under-investment where it matters.
57 definitions of personalization: the “golden term” has “probably 57 different definitions”, but ~70% of consumers say personalized experiences genuinely matter. Get it wrong and you hurt trust more than you help.
14–15 loyalty programs: 99% of surveyed brands offer one and 80% of customers belong to more than one, the average U.S. consumer is a member of 14–15 but active in only four or five. “You are fighting for head space.”
The cashback gap: Over half of consumers say cashback is the loyalty benefit they’d value most but only 14% of brands offer it. Customers want financial value and simplicity; brands keep adding tiers and complexity.
The leaders’ payoff: Consumers spend 34% more with the brands that nail the basics + personalization + sticky loyalty, 57% will try a new product from them, and 55% will recommend them to family and friends.
Efficiency over experience: The two top-reported benefits merchants cite from AI aren’t customer-facing at all, they’re better decision-making and greater efficiency. Brands are getting their own house in order first.
Machine-readable product data: Product content is still “teeny tiny” and over-optimized for the keyword era, even as LLMs collapse the old 20-tabs-and-a-spreadsheet decision into one answer. If the data isn’t there, the agent won’t infer it, it just gives what’s available.
Connecting the dots: Data, loyalty, and AI in isolation aren’t enough; the winners execute across all three and make deliberate choices about the purpose of the store vs. the site vs. the app vs. the LLM.

Fresh data, both sides of the counter, and a clear-eyed read on the gap between what brands think they’re delivering and what shoppers actually feel. Bobby and AP brought the goods. Enjoy the conversation! 👇

Timestamps:
01:57 An exclusive first look
06:12 Meet Bobby Stephens & Apurva Pangam
07:19 AP's background: 20 years in commerce
08:01 Bobby's background — buyer to footwear founder
09:29 Where they fit in Deloitte's retail team
10:18 Inside the report: methodology
12:32 The consumer side — the basics
14:47 The perception gap & false confidence
15:50 Personalization: 57 definitions
17:30 On-site agents: Rufus, Sparky & TSA
20:02 Playbooks, CDPs & the customer P&L
21:21 AI for operational efficiency
25:40 Making product data machine-readable
26:38 Answer engines & the decision collapse
29:34 Loyalty: everyone plays, few win
33:52 Who's winning: profiling the leaders
38:44 Connecting the dots
40:18 Closing & where to find the report

👉 Check out the report: https://www.deloittedigital.com/us/en/insights/research/b2c-commerce-experiences.html
👉 Connect with Bobby Stephens: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-stephens-digital/
👉 Connect with Apurva Pangam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apangam/
👉 Learn more about Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com/

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