Observed Signal · May 4, 2026 · Data Report · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Retail Messaging Moves to Conversation Era, Endear Data Shows
Endear, a retail CRM, analyzed more than 22,000 personalized campaigns and billions of customer messages and found that retail marketing is shifting from one-off blasts to continuous, relationship-driven conversations across email, SMS and WhatsApp. Personalized messaging to existing customers is up more than 50% year‑over‑year; outreach to repeat and one-time buyers rose by the same margin while outreach to non‑purchasers grew more slowly. November remains the highest-volume month, with Q4 accounting for just over a quarter of annual volume, but February shows the highest email open rates (56.1%). Endear reports WhatsApp adoption accelerating in late 2025 and supports over 2,000 stores across 19 countries, including clients Reformation, AG Jeans and Boll & Branch. Leigh Sevin, Endear co‑founder and CEO, said retailers treating messaging as a relationship channel are seeing the strongest results.
Industry trend data from a retail CRM showing a measurable shift toward always‑on, personalized messaging across channels; relevant to CRM, email/SMS strategy and retail martech vendors but not a platform policy or major infrastructure change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Endear analyzed more than 22,000 personalized campaigns and billions of customer messages.
- Personalized messaging to existing customers is up more than 50% year‑over‑year.
- February had the highest email open rate at 56.1%, while November had the highest messaging volume; Q4 accounts for just over a quarter of annual messaging volume.
- WhatsApp adoption for retail messaging began accelerating in late 2025.
- Endear supports more than 2,000 stores across 19 countries and lists clients including Reformation, AG Jeans, and Boll & Branch.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
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