How Personalization Can Build Loyalty Across Generations
Entertainment and experience-driven companies, from video and music streaming, telecom and social media, to hospitality and live events, sit on an immense amount of consumer data. The opportunity is to turn what they know about customers into experiences that feel more useful and relevant. Building loyalty through personalization starts with understanding what customers value and recognizing that those expectations can differ across generations.
KS&R’s nationwide survey of 1,100 consumers illustrates that opportunity across two very different experiences: how consumers discover streaming content and what they want from AI during a hotel stay. Together, the findings point to a common lesson: personalization has the greatest potential when it delivers a benefit customers actually value.
Discovery Is a Retention Issue
With so many entertainment options available, consumers have plenty of alternatives when a service falls short of their expectations. Personalized content discovery can help providers keep customers engaged and give them a reason to stay. Roughly 22% of streamers who cancelled a streaming service said they did so because the platform didn’t offer enough content that interested them.
Personalization cannot fill a gap in a provider’s content library, but it can help customers discover appealing content already available to them to prevent that gap from forming in the first place. This gives rise to an important question for providers: Are customers leaving because the service lacks what they want, or because they have not found it? Understanding that distinction can help providers decide whether to invest in tailoring their offering, the discovery experience, or both.
Generations Discover Content Differently
Streaming recommendations already play a role in generating interest. One in four consumers said a recommendation or suggestion from the streaming platform itself got them interested in a new show or movie in the past month, roughly matching the share citing a television commercial. That share varies by generation. Among Gen Z, 34% cited recommendations from the streaming platform, compared with 26% of Millennials, 27% of Gen X, and 18% of older consumers. Recommendations from friends and family ranked first overall, while streaming platform recommendations took the top spot among Gen Z. These findings suggest that providers should consider how personalized discovery can complement the different ways audiences already find content, and also signal a broader shift in how younger consumers discover and adopt new content.
AI creates new opportunities for making these experiences more relevant. Recommendations can draw on what people with similar preferences consume, the characteristics of previously enjoyed content, and patterns in browsing or purchasing behavior. Customer feedback can help refine those suggestions over time. For providers, the practical challenge is separating the signals reflecting a meaningful preference from those reflecting a passing interest. A single purchase or viewing session should leave room for customers’ tastes to evolve. Giving users ways to adjust their preferences can help keep personalization aligned with what they want next.
AI Appeal Varies by Generation and Benefit
The same principle extends beyond streaming. Consumers may be receptive to AI and personalization when the benefit is relevant to them. In the hotel context, 60% of consumers expressed interest in AI-assisted features during a hotel stay to enhance their visit. Interest reached 69% among Gen Z and Millennials combined, compared with 53% among Gen X and older consumers combined. These findings provide a reason to test different approaches to introducing AI-enabled experiences. Brands could emphasize convenience and discovery for receptive audiences while making the benefits clear and participation optional for those less interested.
Yet lower interest in AI overall does not mean lower interest in every benefit it can deliver. Among consumers interested in AI-enabled hotel features, pricing alerts and guidance on the best time to book ranked first overall at 52%, followed by local recommendations (e.g., activities, restaurants) at 50%. Within that interested group, 60% of Boomers and older consumers selected pricing alerts, compared with 41% of Gen Z. The distinction matters: willingness to use AI and preferences for specific features are separate questions.
Testing What Builds Loyalty
For telecom and entertainment providers, that could mean testing personalization around tangible customer value. A telecom provider might offer a relevant plan adjustment or a reward tied to a customer’s interests. A streaming platform might make it easier to find appealing titles or identify a package that better matches viewing habits. These are potential applications, and their effectiveness should be tested with the intended audience. Generation can inform that work, alongside individual behavior, stated preferences, and the benefits customers hope to receive.
The opportunity is to make personalization a consistent reason to stay. Research can help providers identify which experiences strengthen perceived value, which offers feel useful, and where personalization misses the mark. Measuring satisfaction and continued subscription alongside engagement can help establish whether those experiences support retention. The survey shows clear differences in discovery habits and receptivity to AI. It doesn’t prove that personalization by itself creates loyalty. For brands, the next step is to test that connection by delivering relevant experiences and determining whether greater personalization gives customers another reason to keep the relationship rather than look elsewhere.
About the research: Findings are based on a KS&R nationwide online survey of 1,100 U.S. consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does personalization increase customer loyalty?
It can help, but KS&R’s survey doesn’t show that personalization alone creates loyalty. It shows where personalization is most likely to add value. Brands should test whether relevant experiences improve satisfaction and retention.
How do different generations discover streaming content?
In KS&R’s survey, 34% of Gen Z said a streaming platform’s own recommendation sparked interest in a new show or movie in the past month, compared with 26% of Millennials, 27% of Gen X and 18% of older consumers.
Why do people cancel streaming services?
Roughly 22% of streamers who cancelled a service said the platform didn’t offer enough content that interested them. Better discovery can help customers find content they would value before they leave.
Are consumers interested in AI features during hotel stays?
Yes. 60% of consumers expressed interest in AI-assisted hotel features, rising to 69% among Gen Z and Millennials, compared with 53% among Gen X and older consumers.
Which AI hotel features do consumers want most?
Among interested consumers, pricing alerts and guidance on the best time to book ranked first at 52%, followed by local recommendations at 50%. 60% of Boomers and older chose pricing alerts, compared with 41% of Gen Z.
About KS&R
KS&R is a nationally recognized strategic consultancy and marketing research firm that provides clients with timely, fact-based insights and actionable solutions through industry-centered expertise. Specializing in Technology, Business Services, Telecom, Entertainment & Recreation, Healthcare, Retail & E-Commerce, and Transportation & Logistics verticals, KS&R empowers companies globally to make smarter business decisions. For more information, please visit www.ksrinc.com.
