Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of January 19, 2026

Every week, I read dozens of articles on customer service and customer experience from a wide range of sources. Below are my top five picks from last week, along with my takeaways. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

CX trends for 2026 by Capita

(Capita) In 2026, customer experience (CX) across the UK, Ireland, and Europe’s private sectors will be defined by a blend of advanced technologies and renewed focus on human-centric service.

My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five roundup with an article that reminds us of what customers are expecting in 2026 (and beyond). The author refers to these as trends, but I view them as expectations. Three of the six stand out. First, AI is not going to replace humans. Second, hyper-personalization is powerful and effective. And third, proactive service is more important than ever. My latest CX survey found that 82% of US consumers expect companies to reach out as soon as possible if there is a problem.

As Consumer Expectations Skyrocket, How Must Retailers Redefine Loyalty? by Nicholas Morine

(RetailWire) According to the 2026 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index put forth by Brand Keys — its twenty-eighth such annual measurement — a few striking bits of statistical data were put forth. Chief among these: A sea-change in the expectations put forth by today’s consumer, one which threatens to push retailers to be much more dynamic and responsive to day-to-day shopper desires.

My Comment: Consumers continue to expect more of the companies and brands they do business with. They expect that brands give them value, especially in the customer experience. The result of these increasing expectations is that it’s harder to retain your best customers. The article serves as a setup for the comments that follow from the RetailWire Braintrust.

Four Retail Engagement Shifts Shaping the Future of Customer Experience in 2026 by Emarsys

(Inside Retail) Retail customer experience is being reshaped in real time. Shoppers move effortlessly between physical and digital environments, expect brands to recognise them across every interaction, and disengage quickly when experiences feel impersonal or disconnected.

My Comment: Even though this is another article focused on retail, don’t skip it. There are at least two, if not all, points that apply to any type of business. My favorite is something I’ve been preaching for years: Stop thinking about transactions and start thinking about interactions. The author refers to this as engagement.

Average Handle Time is Holding Back Brand Loyalty by Capita Experience

(ContactCentres) If we want to build genuine brand loyalty, we must stop treating customers like a queue to be cleared and start treating them like relationships to be nurtured. It is time to ditch the outdated metrics that hold us back.

My Comment: This excellent article focuses on a metric that, when used incorrectly, is outdated. AHT (Average Handle Time) is the metric contact centers use to measure the time it takes to resolve a customer’s question or issue. Old-school thinking was to be quick and efficient. However, thanks to AI, AHT is increasing. Why? As AI handles the easy “stuff,” customer service agents now handle more complicated issues. Of course, those take longer. It’s no longer about speed. It’s about the success of the overall call. To the author’s point, “Today, this obsession with speed is now more of a liability than an asset.”

Delta, Nike, Haagen-Dazs: Why They’re Losing Loyalty by Sarah Mahoney

(MediaPost) Consumer loyalty is getting harder to earn — and easier to lose. That’s the major finding from Brand Keys’ new Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which recorded the sharpest jump in consumer expectations in nearly 30 years, reshuffling top brands across dozens of categories.

My Comment: I love sharing articles about brands we know and love and how we can learn from them. This short article doesn’t tell us what is working for these recognizable brands. Instead, it examines how competitors are gaining ground on these brands. This proves that if you do what you’ve always done, it may not be enough to keep up with customers’ ever-changing expectations.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.