rience that has to deliver high customer satisfaction both online and in-store. According to a new report by Arktic Fox, 85 per cent of retailers view CX as important or very important, and 88 per cent of retailers view personalisation as important or very important. However, despite the high priority status of CX and personalisation, few of the surveyed retailers admit that their execution has matched their aspirations – in fact, only 1.6 per cent believe they are leading the market in personalisation.  “​​Our research highlights a sobering reality – for many retailers, CX maturity remains low, with 64 per cent of marketing and digital leaders classifying their organisation’s capability as ‘emerging at best’,” Sperti told Inside Retail. “Retailers are typically action-oriented, fast-moving businesses designed to respond quickly to market shifts and short-term performance demands. However, this strength can become an Achilles’ heel when it comes to delivering CX,” she added. CX as the final frontier in retail While some retailers shifted the blame to technology stacks that oversold and under-delivered on personalisation capability, the founder of Arktic Fox, Teresa Sperti, believes that the problem runs much deeper. “Success in CX requires more than reactive execution. It demands strategic clarity, cross-functional alignment, and long-term commitment,” said Sperti. From Sperti’s perspective, some retailers’ CX maturity is lagging because they are taking an inside-out approach, rather than grounding their strategy in customers’ needs. Not to mention, the operational silos that often exist within a brand that splinter CX. “Defining a clear vision, roadmap and aligning investment accordingly is a critical step if retailers are to embed experience at the core of their strategy,” Sperti explained  “With CX being a team sport, many functions play a role in its delivery, underscoring the importance of shared clarity around vision, priorities, and planning,” she continued. “Furthermore, as the saying goes, ‘What gets measured gets managed.” With fewer than half of retailers embedding CX metrics into enterprise measurement frameworks, many teams are not receiving a strong or consistent signal on the importance of elevating the customer experience.” CX can’t be an overnight success  While not all retailers have lived up to their CX ambitions, there is one brand that stands out as a leader in the retail landscape: Mecca. “The brand isn’t simply trying to make it easier for customers to engage through removing friction points within the experience – it is working to elevate the experience in a way that is memorable, educational, and deeply personalised,” Sperti elaborated. “In doing so, Mecca continues to differentiate in a crowded market, standing tall against both local competitors and global powerhouses,” she added. Australia’s biggest luxury beauty retailer has worked to live up to its founder’s vision since its inception in 1997. “Jo Horgan envisioned a retail environment where customers could explore luxury beauty in an inclusive, hands-on setting supported by expert advice — a philosophy that continues to underpin Mecca’s CX strategy today,” Sperti stated. Mecca’s biggest CX project to date is yet to be unveiled but its soon-to-open 4,000 square metre flagship on Bourke Street in Melbourne is designed to attract and serve 50,000 visitors per week. “Mecca’s investment in physical experience goes hand-in-hand with its broader experience strengths –  from a high-performing loyalty program to seamless omnichannel delivery,” Sperti elaborated. While Mecca dominates the Australian beauty market, Sperti notes that good personalisation should look different based on each individual retailer – encouraging brands to focus on what will deliver the most value across their customers’ journey. There are several key forces compelling retailers to think and act more boldly in today’s consumer environment beyond high-performing competitor brands; challenging trading conditions, marketplaces dominating trade, GenAI transforming the shopping journey and ever-evolving consumer behaviour. “In a nutshell, retailers do need to build new muscles and maturity when it comes to CX – but how far or fast they go is dependent on what is required to effectively compete within their rapidly changing market,” Sperti concluded.