CX News
Target launches “10-4” friendliness initiative
In an attempt to recover from a sales slump, Target is launching a “10-4” policy for its store associates. Now, when customers come within 10 feet of an associate, the associate must make eye contact, smile, and say hello. If customers come within 4 feet, workers must ask how their day is going or if the customer needs help.
Getting real for a moment - I (on the young side of millennial) don’t like being approached in stores. I don’t want to feel pressured to buy something and I know that most store associates do not deeply care so it feels disingenuous. I know I’m not alone in my opinion.
I’m curious to know how many times Target employees will have to ask this of customers in their work, and how many times shoppers get approached during their shopping trips. Will customers appreciate it or find themselves bombarded?
I’ll be paying attention the next time I step into a Target - and you should, too.
Mistreatment of robots = mistreatment of human CX workers?
Academic researchers studied the impacts of humans witnessing other humans mistreat robot workers, finding that some have real human empathy for these machines. Responses were influenced by:
- how humanlike the robot looks
- the observer’s moral identity
- third-party observers
If your brand uses robots in any customer-facing fashion, go ahead and stick those googly eyes on them to anthropomorphize them.
The bigger takeaway here is about norm-setting; collectively we will decide if mistreatment of robots will stand or will be considered the same as mistreating a human customer experience employee.
2/3 of UK retailers admit to just basic personalization
There’s a lot of progress to be made in personalization in UK retail. A study of 700 senior executives found:
- Only 1/7 have fully embedded personalization across all their channels and touchpoints
- Most personalization is stuck a email campaigns and basic behavioral targeting
- Only 38% measure CSAT and NPS
Personalization tech is out there, but organizations need to do the work to implement it. If your organization is stuck with basic personalization, make it a 2026 goal to explore how advanced personalization could help you achieve your broader CX goals.
AI News
How AI fraud detection protects retail loyalty programs - your most loyal customers get extra perks and fraudsters take advantage of that. Invest in AI fraud detection for things like gift card protection and receipt fraud detection so you can protect margins and still offer perks to genuine loyal customers.
Bain: AI won’t just cut costs, it will reinvent the customer experience - leading companies use agentic AI to simultaneously overhaul the customer-facing "frontstage" and operational "backstage." They integrate AI for core tasks like autonomous routing, content generation, history summarization, and proactive issue detection. This twin reinvention is the key for scaling AI successfully.
Overcoming the organizational barriers to AI adoption - HBR researchers found that the main barriers are people and processes. Fear of replacement, rigid workflows, and entrenched power structures are what can thwart AI adoption. Organizations need to think bigger about how to deliver value.
Fittora aims to eliminate fashion returns - the solution comes in the form of an AI-powered, made-to-order clothing platform. It’s a neat application of using AI to get the purchase right from the start to make customers happy and reduce the volume of returns.
Microsoft plans to invest €8.5 billion in Portuguese AI data hub - One of the largest AI investments in Europe, Microsoft is partnering with Nscale, NVIDIA, and Start Campus to expand AI data centers in Sines, Portugal with prime access to the subsea cables that power the Internet.
Tune In
How are you working AI into your 2026 strategy?
Need some ideas? Tune in to the AI CX Virtual Summit to learn from CX leaders who are actually using AI to transform their teams, and get inspired by use cases across CX, sales, and marketing.
Kustomer’s Director of Customer Success Sam Chandler will be joining a stacked lineup of leaders including those from retail and e-commerce brands Tommy John, Glossier, Tushy, Jaxxon, Daily Harvest, Princess Polly, Fanatics, and more.
It’s December 10th starting at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET.
Get informed as you build your 2026 AI strategy. RSVP here.
