While personalised marketing has long been championed as a way to boost engagement and conversions, new research from Gartner suggests it’s not always a win for customers or brands. According to a recent survey, over half of the respondents (53%) reported that personalisation led to negative experiences. These individuals were 3.2 times more likely to regret their purchase and 44% less likely to return for another.
“More than half of customers feel overwhelmed or rushed by traditional personalisation tactics at least once in a purchase journey, when cognitive, emotional and social challenges are difficult to resolve. Personalised offers at these moments can harm customers, highlighting the need for marketers to adopt more nuanced and adaptive strategies, ” said Audrey Brosnan, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Marketing Practice
At first glance, personalisation appears to work: customers exposed to it are 1.8 times more likely to pay a premium. But the same group is also twice as likely to feel overwhelmed by the flood of targeted messages and offers.
This emerging tension is what Gartner calls the “paradox of personalisation.” It often surfaces when customers shift tasks, such as moving from research to selection, within a complex purchase journey. In these pivotal moments, traditional tactics like product recommendations or “next best action” prompts fall flat.
Rather than feeling helpful, these actions can seem irrelevant or even intrusive, particularly when buyers are grappling with indecision, information fatigue, or internal misalignment.
Active Personalisation
Unlike static recommendations based on past behaviour, active personalisation involves real-time, responsive engagement that helps customers gain clarity and move forward with confidence. According to Gartner’s study, buyers who experienced this more dynamic approach were 2.3 times more likely to feel self-assured in their decisions, and that confidence translated directly into stronger customer satisfaction and improved marketing return on investment.
Active personalisation works because it supports rather than steers. It respects the customer’s emotional state, offering tools that allow them to reflect and make deliberate choices. Interactive experiences such as quizzes, decision guides, and gamified assessments are especially effective. They help surface individual preferences and goals while giving customers a sense of control over their purchase path.
Gartner urges marketing leaders to adopt what it calls “course-changing personalisation”—a deliberate shift away from generic automation toward personalised journeys shaped in partnership with the customer.
This involves three strategic moves:
- Target Personalisation at Journey Pitfalls: Rather than pushing recommendations at every turn, marketers should identify friction points—like task transitions or decision bottlenecks—and provide personalisation that reduces confusion, not adds to it.
- Facilitate Emotional Breakthroughs: Interactive tools that prompt introspection or uncover unique needs can turn hesitation into momentum. These moments of clarity help customers feel less like they’re being sold to, and more like they’re making empowered decisions.
- Co-Create with the Customer: Inviting customers to actively participate in crafting their experience by sharing personal context and preferences. This two-way collaboration helps tailor the journey in ways that feel genuine and trustworthy.