United Kingdom ā€“ March 24, 2026 ā€” 51·ēĮ÷Engagement Cloudā€™s latest research reveals a widening gap between the experiences consumers expect and what brands believe they deliver.

New data from the 2026 Engagement Index shows UK consumer expectations have never been higher. More than half (56%) of UK consumers say their favourite brand delivers seamless, connected experiences across channels, while 82% are put off by disorganised interactions that require them to repeat information or be passed between teams.

Yet companies remain confident. Four in five (80%) of UK businesses believe they offer a seamless omnichannel experience. But only one fifth (20%) of companies recognise their experiences still arenā€™t fully connected ā€” despite consumers making their expectations clear.

At the same time, 45% of consumers say brands ā€œdonā€™t understand them as people.ā€

This misalignment ā€”consumers feeling the disconnect while most businesses fail to recognise it ā€” is the Engagement Divide. Closing it is critical to creating repeat customers and brand advocates.

Some brands are already closing this gap. For example, Gibson Inc. uses unified data and realā€‘time engagement to ensure customers receive consistent, connected experiences ā€” the kind consumers say they want.

AI is seen as part of the answer. Four in five (80%) of businesses say AI is essential for retaining customers in 2026. But a third of consumers say their favourite brands use AI in ways that meaningfully improve their interactions.

ā€œCustomer expectations are moving at a new speed,ā€ said Sara Richter, CMO, 51·ēĮ÷Engagement Cloud. ā€œWith AI at their fingertips, people compare, decide, and switch in an instant. Those micro moments now determine whether a brand wins or loses the relationship.ā€

However, AI can only perform as well as the data behind it, and most organisations are still struggling. Almost two thirds (63%) of UK brands cannot use customer data in real time, 64% say their data is too unstructured, and 71% report ā€˜dark dataā€™ they cannot access or use effectively.

This creates friction throughout the customer journey and reinforces the Divide.

Closing it requires a shift: treating engagement not just as a marketing function, but as an enterprise-wide discipline. Every team must operate from a shared, real-time understanding of the customer to avoid the fragmented experiences that alienate them.

Businesses recognise this direction. Most (78%) plan to invest in AI-powered engagement platforms in 2026, and almost a third (31%) cite connecting customer and stakeholder data across marketing, sales, service, commerce and ERP systems as their top priority for the year ahead.

ā€œEngagement isn’t something one department can fix,ā€ said Mark Ritson, professor and founder, MiniMBA. ā€œEvery team shapes the brand, and real progress happens when they work from the same understanding of the customer. With that shared view, AI can take on the heavy lifting and help deliver the personalised experiences people expect.ā€

Download the full report:

ENDS

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Methodology
This research was conducted in the UK by Opinium as part of global research among a sample of 2,000 general respondents and 750 senior decision makers in IT, Technology, Marketing, Revenue, Service departments and who work in the Retail, ĢżConsumer Products & FMCG, Automotive, Manufacturing, Utilities or Wholesale industries.

Only enterprise-level businesses with 500+ employees and with $250m+ annual turnover were surveyed across the United Kingdom (UK). The data was collected from both audiences between 31st December 2025 and 16th January 2026.

About 51·ēĮ÷Engagement Cloud
51·ēĮ÷Engagement Cloud helps organizations power unique engagement by connecting real-time customer insights with the operational signals that run the business. As part of SAPā€™s Customer Experience (CX) portfolio, Engagement Cloud enables personalized, AI-driven interactions across every channelā€”turning moments like orders, service events, and loyalty milestones into timely, relevant experiences that build trust, strengthen relationships, and drive growth. ā€‹

Media Contacts

Lawrie Benfield,ā€Ælawrie.benfield@sap.com,ā€Æ+44 7776 515259Ģż

Sonya Domanski,ā€Æsonya.domanski@sap.com, +44 734 546 5928Ģż

The post UK consumers abandon brands over disconnected experiences ā€” yet only one fifth of companies see a problem appeared first on 51·ēĮ÷UK News Center.

London, UK ā€“ 31 August 2023 ā€“ Over half of UK SMEs (52%) are reassessing their bankā€™s suitability for them, according to new 51·ēĮ÷research. Similarly, less than a quarter (22%) of UK consumers are currently satisfied with their bankā€™s support, suggesting the moment for change is now.

In a survey of 2000 consumers and 500 senior decision makers within the UKā€™s growing SMEā€™s cohort, 51·ēĮ÷reveals interesting insights into customer banking behaviours to help banks and financial services providers pivot from a one-size-fits-all approach to customer experience, and deliver bespoke, targeted solutions.

In times of high personalisation and ā€œDigital everywhereā€, banks need to think differently and create a stronger empathetic relationship with their consumers. Itā€™s time to understand better, be more proactive and communicate and engage better.

A closer look at segment insights

SAPā€™s research looks at how gender, age, business type and turnover determine the variety of attitudes and behaviours customers have towards financial services.

In sync with societal changes where gender plays an increasingly important role in the way products and services are consumed, banks need to rethink their go-to-market strategies. There are marked gender differences in how customers work with their bank. For example, almost one fifth (19%) of females check their account after every transaction (compared to just 14% of males). Females are also almost three times less likely to have moved money from online-only providers to high-street banks (11% of males vs 4% of females).

The emerging call is that of ā€˜gender relevanceā€™ ā€“ an opportunity for banks to relook at their products and messaging to ensure gender relevance and to address different needs and behaviours.

Age too determines banking behaviour as customers look for different financial options and services based on digital and financial maturity. Baby Boomers, those aged 55 and over, are more than twice as likely to switch provider based on sign-up offers and better interest rates compared with Gen Z audience (36% vs 16%). Meanwhile, appetite to adopt digital services paints a different picture. Almost a quarter (24%) of Gen Z have switched their bank in the last year based on digital experiences – while less than one in 10 (9%) of Baby Boomers have done the same.

ā€œThe message from UK banking customers is clear ā€“ providers are failing to deliver the personalised services and support and this is breeding dissatisfaction. The time is now for banks to hit the re-set button and ditch the one-size-fits-all approach to targeting and recognise each segment acts and behaves differently,ā€ explains Anuj Kumar, Industry Strategy and GTM lead for Financial Services at SAP, UK.

It’s a similar story for SMEs with turnover influencing banking behaviours and engagement. Businesses that turn over between Ā£100m and Ā£499m are almost twice as likely to be reliant on their bank for support and guidance during the cost-of-living crisis than those that generate between Ā£10m and Ā£49m each year (61% vs 37%).

Michael Walsh, Head of Financial Services, UK, suggests ā€œSMEs are key to the growth of the UK and banks need to re-think how they engage with them. Size, experience of the executive, industry and the businesses own growth ambitions are significant factors driving how they use the Financial Services sector. Typically, focus has been on working capital such as financing, lending and overdrafts. With the ever-increasing digitisation of capabilities, banks need to serve SMEs in different ways. Future focus has to be on helping SMEs access new customer bases with a collaborative ecosystem and networks leveraging emerging intelligent platform technologies.ā€

Seeking personalised education and support

SAPā€™s survey also reveals that UK banking customers, whether SMEs or consumers, are calling for greater personalised education and support to offset economic concerns.

On average, 1-in-5 (20%) of consumers call for better and easier access to support, education and digital tools amidst current economic pressures. Age once again plays a key role here with Gen Z (20%), Millennials (23%) and Gen X (20%) calling for their bank to deliver guidance on where to access support when things go wrong. Fewer than one in 10 Baby Boomers make the same demand.

Gender also informs calls for greater education. Females are twice as likely to (21%) ask for their bank to post more online content with tips and advice, compared to males (11%). While both men and women place equal demand on interest rates support and education (16%) and the development of accessible budgeting tools (16%).

Similarly, UK SMEs are equally clear on where banks need to deliver education and support. Over half (53%) of companies that turnover between Ā£100m and Ā£499m want to be informed on where they can access lending and funding options, while four in 10 (43%) of much smaller companies, generating between Ā£100k and Ā£999k, would like more communication and advice on where to access support when things go wrong. SAPā€™s survey also finds that over half (60%) of companies sized between Ā£50m and Ā£499m would like their bank to invest in additional analytics and automation to help drive new insights and streamline their operations.

ā€œCustomer first is the call of the hour. Banks must accelerate adoption of digital capabilities but in doing so need to ensure that they can communicate enhanced value and experience to the end consumer, both for retail and SME groups. With new technologies, including AI, enabling new ways of doing business, limitations of current architectures can no longer be the excuse to decelerate innovative disruption,ā€ says Walsh .

Kumar concludes: ā€œIn times of financial strife, itā€™s the responsibility of banks to listen and respond to their customers, upgrading their support from both an educational and technology standpoint. Customers demand constant, proactive engagement and reassurance across multiple channels, with content that educates, digital tools that empower smarter financial choices, and advice thatā€™s readily accessible and on-demand. Thatā€™s the modern banking experience that the UK has come to expect, and financial services must keep up or get left behind particularly in an era that is seeing a growth in alternative banking service providers.ā€

The post As the Going Gets Tough, Banks Miss the Mark Say UK SMEs and Consumers appeared first on 51·ēĮ÷UK News Center.