Key stat: 42% of brand marketers and 47% of agency marketers in North America cite limited platform integration as their top barrier to personalization, according to an October 2025 survey from StackAdapt and Ascend2.

Beyond the chart:

• The urgency is measurable. Some 74% of shoppers are more likely to make a purchase when they get a personalized experience, and 83% say personalization is important when choosing where to shop, per Amperity.
• Meanwhile, consumers are already noticing the gap. Some 57% of shoppers say that even brands claiming to personalize still deliver experiences that feel generic, per Amperity.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next martech strategy or agency planning meeting to show where personalization investment is breaking down. Use the brand vs. agency split to benchmark your own stack gaps against the field, and make the case for where integration work belongs on the roadmap.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• How CMOs Are Redefining Growth Through the Customer Experience (EMARKETER subscription required)
• The Next Era of Retail (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the February 2026 StackAdapt report titled "The State of Personalization in Digital Marketing" in partnership with Ascend2. 285 brand marketing professionals and 183 marketing agency professionals from companies in Canada and the US were surveyed during October 2025. Respondents were decision-makers in managerial roles or above at companies with over $10 million in annual revenues. Results are reported at a 95% confidence level.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.