Why 2026 is the year customer experience has to change | MarTech

"There is a " National Customer Rage Survey," and just the fact that it exists should tell you a lot. In the latest one, 77% of customers said they had a product or service issue in the past 12 months. That's the highest number the survey has recorded since it began - up from 74% in 2023 and way up from 66% in 2020. By comparison, in 1976, it was 32%."

"But it's not just more problems - it's the experience of solving them that's breaking down. In the same survey, 68% of customers reported that the process of complaining required "high" or "very high" effort. Their top frustrations? Long recorded messages and figuring out how to contact someone in the first place. Meanwhile, the Customer Experience and Communications Consumer Insights survey found that 71% of U.S. and Canadian consumers think most companies need to improve their customer experience - a record high."

"A 2025 Kinsta and Propeller Insights study found that 93.4% of U.S. consumers prefer interacting with a human over AI for customer service, and nearly 50% would cancel a service if AI-only support was their only option. Add to that the 80.6% who believe AI is being used mainly to save companies money - not to improve their experience - and you have a growing trust gap between what brands are doing and how customers feel about it."

Customer experience has deteriorated, with a record 77% reporting product or service issues in the past year, up from 74% in 2023 and 66% in 2020. Complaints now require high effort for 68% of customers, with long recorded messages and difficulty contacting support as top frustrations. CX scores dropped to 68.3 out of 100, the fourth consecutive yearly decline, and 71% of U.S. and Canadian consumers say companies need to improve CX. Consumers strongly prefer human interaction: 93.4% favor humans over AI for service, and nearly 50% would cancel if only AI support were offered. Many believe AI is used mainly to cut costs.

Read at MarTech