Home

Nearly 70% of Shoppers Would Lose Trust if Brands Replaced Real Customer Feedback With Digital Twins and Synthetic Personas, According to First Insight

via Business Wire

58% of Shoppers Would Actively Warn Others if Brands Used Digital Replicas of Customers Instead of Real Feedback

First Insight, the company that leverages AI to transform consumer feedback into profitable retail strategies, has released new findings on how consumers perceive the rising use of digital twins in retail. The new research reveals that nearly half (48%) of consumers say they’ve never heard of a digital twin before. Once learning that a digital twin is a digital replica of customers built from past purchases, browsing behavior and inferred preferences, 69% of consumers say they would trust a brand less if it relied on digital twins instead of real customer feedback.

Many retailers are using digital twins as a faster, more scalable way to deliver personalized experiences to their customers. But, using these virtual representations of customers to guide decisions and make predictions around everything from products and pricing to inventory and marketing–without ever involving the real customer–is not only largely inaccurate, but can cause brands to lose significant customer trust. More than three-quarters (77%) of consumers say they value authentic, direct communication from brands more than efficiency or automation in how they gather feedback.

The new study also underscores the commercial and reputational risks of replacing real customer input with simulated feedback. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of consumers describe themselves as “extremely” or “very” protective of their personal data. Once shoppers learn that brands may model or monetize them without their consent, 58% say they would become detractors—either less likely to recommend a brand or actively warn others against purchasing from it. Plus, while Gen Z shoppers may not drive the majority of revenue today, they’re the most likely to take action to voice their frustration: 56% say they would contact the brands directly, while 54% would share articles exposing the practice, and 53% would post about it on social media.

First Insight works with major retailers and brands to help them understand consumer preferences, what shoppers value and the motivations behind their purchasing decisions. The company recommends that retailers engage directly with consumers to guide product testing, pricing, demand forecasting and marketing strategies, as doing so preserves customer trust while improving prediction accuracy.

Among the findings:

  • Consumers want brands to ask them, not simulate them. More than half (55%) of shoppers prefer brands to “directly ask me” about their preferences compared to just 8% who prefer AI simulation.
  • Trust collapses when brands skip talking to real customers. Forty-two percent (42%) say they would significantly lose trust or stop purchasing entirely if a favorite brand used synthetic personas instead of real feedback.
  • The highest-spending generations reject digital twins most strongly. Baby Boomers (58%) and Gen X (42%) are the most likely to respond to companies using digital twins by reducing their trust or no longer purchasing from them—posing major risks in categories like apparel, footwear, home and CPG.
  • Consent is non-negotiable, even among tech-comfortable consumers. While 24% of Gen Z initially said they were comfortable with digital twins, once the implications were explained, 59% cited lack of consent and 49% cited loss of authentic human connection as concerns.
  • Gen Z is the most reactive—and the most willing to walk away. Once Gen Z consumers learn brands are using digital twins without their consent, 54% say they would switch brands entirely, while 52% would encourage boycotts.
  • Today’s consumers are looking for real human interactions from the brands they use. Ninety-one percent (91%) of consumers say that authentic human reaction is an important part of their relationship with a brand, with 40% saying it’s “extremely important.”

“When retailers cut customers out and rely on synthetic replicas instead, trust collapses. You cannot claim to know your customer while replacing them with a model of themselves,” said Greg Petro, CEO of First Insight. “Consumers aren’t anti-technology, or anti-AI, they’re anti being modeled, simulated and monetized without their consent. The path forward is clear: engage real consumers in real time, reward their input and build AI that strengthens—not replaces—authentic human feedback.”

The study is based on responses from 1,303 U.S. consumers aged 18 to 80+.

First Insight helps retailers and brands eliminate risks associated with getting merchandising wrong, overestimating product demand, pricing poorly and otherwise incorrectly guessing what consumers will want and pay to get it. By integrating consumer feedback into every decision they make, First Insight replaces even the best retail guesswork with insight-driven decisions. As a result, brands and retailers across industries can move quickly and confidently to optimize product decisions that drive loyalty and margin.

About First Insight

First Insight is a global retail platform that uses its native AI to turn real-time customer feedback into profitable strategies for more than 600+ brands and retailers. Companies like Under Armour, Woolworths and Family Dollar rely on First Insight to understand what consumers will buy, what they won’t, how much they’re willing to pay, and how these and other factors directly influence planning, inventory and margins. First Insight further transforms customer feedback into a Value Score™, assigned to every single product it gains insight on. These scores accurately predict the viability of and demand for products so that retailers can confidently make design, pricing and inventory decisions that will deliver measurable financial impact. The company’s Voice of the Customer Platform is central to its offering and boasts a network of 360+ million consumers spanning 180 countries and 67 languages and currencies. First Insight was founded in 2007.

Contacts