This year’s MCA Food to Go conference unveiled the key growth drivers, future trends and exciting developments shaping the sector. It highlighted everything from innovative technology and formats to trendsetting menus and marketing, ultimately exploring how successful brands are navigating market challenges.

At the conference, I showcased transaction trends and growth opportunities emerging in 2026 based on three months of data from CACI’s Brand Dimensions dataset. By tracking 30+ food to go brands from November 2025 to January 2026, I assessed the trends and opportunities fuelling growth questions this year. 

Here is what the data revealed. 

Food to Go transaction trends & growth opportunities in 2026

The findings showed: 

• +6% YoY revenue growth in the Cafés & Coffee Shop market 
• A slight decrease in Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) transactions, but a slight increase in Average Transaction Value (ATV)  
• Transactions and revenue dropping across the wider F&B sector

Which brands are leading industry trends in 2026?

From the 30+ up-and-coming and major players in the food to go sector tracked, I identified the leading brands as those achieving YoY growth above inflation and sorted them by increase in growth percentage. 

Premium healthy lunches: Atis & Farmer J

Consumers continue to prioritise premium healthy lunches this year.  

The leading brands were Atis, growing 140%, and Farmer J, growing ~30%. Atis’ skyrocketing growth is driven by the opening of a third new space in the last year. While substantial and impressive, it is the smallest brand in CACI’s Food to Go tracker, meaning the overall GBP shift in the market is small.  

The largest share of the customer mix for these brands comes from CACI’s Acorn profiles Prosperous Professionals at 15% of spend followed by Up-and-coming Urbanites at 11%. 

For new entrants, the challenge to growth is proving value in each transaction, precise targeting and mission expansion without undermining the brand or cannibalising sales. 

Continued growth in chicken QSR: Popeyes, Wingstop & Slims

Consumers continue to seek indulgence and novelty. In the chicken QSR sector, our findings concluded Popeyes grew ~30%, Wingstop ~20% and Slims ~9% (who were +46% in the first quarter of the year). While this may counter the premium healthy lunch trend, consumers are finding ways to balance health-conscious choices with indulgent ones. 

Caffeine & matcha on the rise: Blank Street & Grind

Both Blank Street and Grind grew over 20%, indicative of the brands’ innovative products, strong social media presence and matcha-led menus. These brands have evidently appealed to younger, experience-driven consumers by creating excitement through their product innovation. 

Established brands are driving growth by harnessing loyalty 

The biggest takeaway is that while new entrants win on excitement, established brands win on loyalty.  

New brands have brought excitement, and with that, percentage growth, but most saw YoY growth rates slow across the year. Meanwhile, more established brands like Pret a Manger, Costa, Starbucks and McDonald’s saw stronger growth in the latest quarter. When assessing actual pounds versus percentage growth, established brands are back growing and seeing very substantial sales gains. This reiterates the impact of loyalty on long-term growth.  

The formula of the current state of the market then becomes:  

Excitement = short-term percentage growth. Loyalty = long-term monetary growth. 
 
New brands, social media influence and new cuisine are fuelling excitement. Loyalty is driven by familiarity, perceived value, brand resonance and communication. Brands that can achieve a sweet spot between both are poised for sustainable growth. However, our findings suggest tension between excitement and loyalty. This prompts brands to reflect on how to maintain excitement or build customer loyalty.  

Four strategies to drive growth in a tough climate

1) Having the right products in place 

Brands must understand how to appeal to existing customers and excite new ones. Product and menu innovation should be strategically considered to open new missions and tailor to the right locations, dayparts and missions.

2) Getting the right space

While growth can be achieved by acquiring new spaces, established brands are always optimising their spaces to reach the right people, in the right place, at the right time. This is why some brands are shifting to drive-through locations as town centres decline and why many have opted to offer FMCG products in the chilled sections of supermarkets.

3) Appealing to customers through the right message 

Tailored content sent to the right target group at the right time with the right incentive is critical to success. 

4) Delivering with the right service

Profitably staffing each location, determining which locations will best suit trialling self-service kiosks and avoiding alienating or upsetting customers who value your brand’s personal service are critical considerations.

This is often easier in the new entry “excitement” phase, but new and established entrants must constantly evaluate that they have the right mix of these factors to remain relevant in a rapidly changing market. Each of these strategies has a ‘people, place and time’ lever that can be pulled to maximise growth by leveraging customer loyalty.  

How CACI’s Brand Dimensions can help your Food to Go business thrive

With so much complexity in the food to go sector, brands need more than just internal customer data to keep on top of the mix. Supplementary market data through CACI’s Brand Dimensions can help you answer your growth questions, combining the right data with the right tools to project long-term growth through the right mix of products, services, places and messaging. 

Highly detailed, timestamped transaction data is at the heart of Brand Dimensions, indicating anonymised customers and specific outlets to infill any data gaps and gain unique performance and competitor outlet insights.

When combined with anonymised mobile activity data and demographic classifications, it creates a cohesive base to address the people, place and time levers driving growth. This can also be topped off with lifestyle attributes linked to those demographics, competitor location data and competitor sentiment data. 

Through this, businesses can better prepare for the future by understanding consumer behaviour at brand level. 

Although Brand Dimensions is typically tracked on a monthly basis, these findings have been summarised quarterly for this blog.  

If your brand could benefit from these data insights, book a Brand Dimensions demo with us. 

What is subscription fatigue?

Subscription fatigue refers to consumers’ deteriorating interest in a subscription or service, resulting in their cancellation. This is often due to feeling overwhelmed by their numerous subscriptions or losing sight of the value each subscription brings. It goes hand-in-hand with churn, where uncertainty, mental exhaustion and subscription overload leads to diminished satisfaction with the subscription experience.  

What is causing subscription fatigue? 

With the ever-increasing number of subscriptions consumers have, decision overload is inevitable. Mounting costs, managing multiple accounts and the pressure to maximise each subscription all contribute to declining satisfaction. When value is unclear, questioning a subscription’s worth surfaces. 
 
Value must therefore be constantly reiterated and subscriptions models must be flexible enough to meet consumers’ unique needs. Signs of fatigue must be identified early on and actions to mitigate fatigue must be taken.  
 
CACI understands the challenge: people want convenience and personalisation, but they also want affordability and control. 

Over-subscription

Subscribing to and managing multiple subscriptions can be mentally draining. The simple fix in consumers’ minds is typically to unsubscribe, even if the service itself is not the problem.

Inability to reinforce value

If consumers feel that they are paying for a service they do not use, the feeling will quickly lead to subscription fatigue. When it comes to subscriptions, low perceived value or service underutilisation are often the driving factors behind cancellations. If value cannot be demonstrated, even your most loyal subscribers may be lost.

Lack of flexibility

When feelings of frustration or overwhelm creep up among the plethora of subscriptions a consumer has, offerings that do not feature flexibility are likely the first to go. Rigid plans will not appeal to already-fatigued consumers. If subscribers feel as though they maintain control over their subscription, they will be easier to retain and keep satisfied. Establishing tiered memberships, flexible pricing, pause options, add-ons or various payment plans can help rectify this.  

How can brands fight subscription fatigue? 

Subscription fatigue may be inevitable within an oversaturated subscription landscape, but understanding the origin of fatigue and the strategies that your organisation can implement to combat this will make a tremendous difference. Leveraging predictive modelling, customer insights and data and segmentation are among the most effective approaches.

Use predictive modelling

AI-driven predictive models forecast customer behaviours and guide the next best actions. Proactive retention and upsell strategies can therefore be developed, resources can be prioritised towards customers with the highest potential and a measurable performance uplift can be seen in metrics like LTV, conversion and engagement. 

Focus on customer insights 

By integrating transactional, behavioural, attitudinal and external data, CACI helps you attain a comprehensive view of your subscribers that will improve your decision-making across acquisition, retention and product development. 

These insights help you:

• Build strategic confidence by grounding it in real customer behaviour  
• Identify high value customers 
• Understand churn drivers 
• Uncover growth opportunities 
• Benchmark performance against your competitors 
• Better understand your position within the market  
• Spot underperforming segments or categories where competitors are gaining share

Grounding strategic decisions in external evidence also improves internal storytelling and stakeholder alignment. 

Focus on acquisition through segmentation

Poor segmentation drains budget by targeting low-value audiences. Without precise targeting, campaigns miss the mark and media mix decisions lack data-driven optimisation.  

CACI’s bespoke segmentation capabilities give you intuitive, data-rich segments reflective of the diversity of your customer behaviours, values and attitudes. This enables personalised marketing and CRM journeys, enhances media targeting and campaign ROI and bolsters strategic planning by revealing which segments to grow, retain or re-engage across three core areas: 

• Data: Curated, high-quality foundational data with diverse input lenses and no personally identifiable information (PII).  
• Segment simulation and validation: Segment-level data layer, validation to assess predictive accuracy with guardrails in place and performance audited.  
• Persona enhancement: Defined by segment characteristics and enriched with psychological and behavioural traits, every step is tested by experts to ensure it is structured, auditable and iterative.

Through this tailored approach, CACI equips you with segmentation that reflects your customers, leading to better decision-making, campaigns and long-term growth.

How CACI can help you overcome subscription fatigue

CACI helps subscription brands unlock growth by transforming fragmented customer data into actionable insight. Through advanced data science and AI-powered decisioning, we support acquisition, retention and personalisation at scale. 
 
We can help you:

• Build deeper customer understanding and target the right audiences 
• Forecast behaviour, improve retention and justify investment 
• Turn insights into action across media and CRM 
• Simplify data and bridge capability gaps

To find out more about how your organisation can successfully overcome subscription fatigue, get in touch with us.

A competitive, complex consumer landscape

Competition has never been more intense in the dynamic and growing consumer health and wellbeing sector. 2025 has seen new market entrants like hair loss treatment company Hair + Me, any number of weight loss services like Juniper and SheMed high on social media feeds and supermarket Morrisons in partnership with Phlo moving into the on-demand online healthcare space alongside existing high street giants Boots, Superdrug and Asda.

This new and intense competition also comes with a new reality: increasingly fragmented consumer behaviour that upends traditional marketing assumptions.

Younger age cohorts drive healthcare growth

Our Voice of the Nation (VOTN) survey examining consumer sentiment finds Gen Z and Millennials in the driving seat of the elective healthcare market. Weight-loss treatments like Mounjaro and Ozempic are expected to surge by 40% in 2025 due to these younger age cohorts.

Notably, Gen Z shows equal interest across genders, unlike older age groups where women dominate. Cosmetic treatments are also gaining traction, with well over 10% of Gen Z and female Millennials planning to pay for them, compared to less than 3% among Gen X and Baby Boomers.

While aesthetics is clearly playing a role, other deeper consumer motivations are also emerging.  Notably, survey respondents who consider health a top national issue are significantly more likely to self-fund treatments. Among Gen Z males in this group, 16.2% plan to pay for weight-loss treatments in 2025 — well above the average of 4.9%. And just as importantly, the VOTN data somewhat counterintuitively shows that demand for elective healthcare products and services in general spans both affluent and less affluent groups.

Age-related wellness and health products drive innovation

In short, our VOTN data reveals a complex blend of beauty, wellness, and proactive health management, with younger generations investing in elective healthcare to enhance both how they feel and how they look.

This trend is reflected in the innovation and increasingly digital activation seen in the fertility and female health space relevant to these age cohorts. Period care pioneer Daye is launching a new at-home hormone testing service for a host of biomarkers like reproductive hormones, thyroid function and Vitamin D. Male fertility company, testhim, which provides consultations, testicular scans, sperm DNA and other diagnostic testing, is also launching specialist fertility supplement testhim M+and a groundbreaking online monthly support group.

Complex, demanding consumers require sophisticated, multi-layered segmentation

So, with Gen Z and Millennials increasingly self-funding weight loss, cosmetic treatments and holistic wellness products and services of all kinds, DTC and e-commerce healthcare brands must truly rethink how they engage with this increasingly data-savvy, image-conscious audience. Informing integrated campaigns that blend social commerce, influencer marketing, paid advertising, organic and direct marketing content. Our VOTN survey also found that nearly two-thirds of Gen Z consumers (63%) have purchased goods and services via a social media platform like TikTok Shop and Instagram, making this a crucial channel for healthcare businesses to understand and potentially utilise.

But to do that effectively in practice, DTC and e-commerce healthcare brands need more than just surface-level insights. They need robust, layered data foundations that help them target the right consumer with the right kind of message at the right time in the right place. Even with first-party consumer data, it’s a significant challenge. Without it, reaching existing or identifying potential customers is almost impossible for brands.

You can see an example of this in our VOTN survey, which showed that for weight loss treatments, there appears to be greater levels of demand both at the more affluent end of our Acorn segmentation spectrum *and* at the least affluent end, potentially for differing reasons.

This requires integrating geodemographic, behavioural, lifestyle, and attitudinal data to move beyond ‘off-the-shelf’ consumer segments and into understanding consumers in a deep way that understands the likelihood of them engaging with specific healthcare products and services and why – enabling brands to drive efficient spend on the right customers – and remove disinterested or low-value ones – in a market with such broad appeal

It’s also only by taking this multi-layered data approach healthcare brands can build strategic data-driven campaigns that resonate on a genuinely personal level in the manner desired by younger generations. Critically, delivering on the perennial, somewhat paradoxical Gen Z demands for high levels of privacy, but also similarly high levels of personalised products and brand messaging.

Turn insights into activation for D2C and e-commerce health campaign success

But as we know, data, in isolation, holds limited value. Its real power is unleashed through activation – the transformation of insight into strategy. And in a world where consumer expectations are rising and attention spans are shrinking, the ability to deliver timely, relevant, and meaningful engagement is an outright competitive advantage. And it can only be achieved through a deep, data-driven understanding of people.

For D2C and e-commerce health brands, this understanding and successful activation requires them to:

• Identify high-value customer segments for targeted acquisition and retention
• Predict churn and retention patterns within subscription-based models
• Inform campaign messaging with real-world consumer behaviours and motivations
• Develop nuanced personas reflecting not just demographics, but attitudes, values, and lifestyle choices
• Personalise content across relevant digital channels, from email to in-app experiences
• Build lookalike audiences for acquisition campaigns on platforms like Meta and Google
• Optimise digital spend by measuring performance and refining segmentation over time

This is where the transformation power of comprehensive datasets, such as CACI’s Ocean database, which offers over 700 variables at an individual and household level, comes in. Ocean includes everything from financial situation, media consumption and digital behaviours to lifestyle preferences like veganism and exercise to whether consumers have a smart watch or fitness band.

When combined with geodemographic tools like Acorn – segmenting over 1.6 million UK postcodes using more than 800 variables – and supported by bespoke data analysis, brands can unlock a truly multidimensional view of their audiences wherever they are.

This approach allows brands to move beyond generic targeting and into a space where campaigns are not only more relevant but also more respectful of consumer expectations – a win-win for younger cohorts who dislike intrusive and irrelevant brand messaging but demand personalisation nonetheless!

Data insight for a dynamic healthcare future

As healthcare consumers’ expectations evolve and the consumer health and wellbeing market with it, so must the strategies brands use to engage them. Success for D2C and e-commerce healthcare brands doesn’t just hinge on understanding who consumers are today — it’s about being able to anticipate who they’re becoming even as new healthcare technologies, products and devices become available. By being able to able to identify and engage high-lifetime value customers as early as possible, brands also have a greater chance to capture markets as they evolve.

The effectiveness of multi-layered segmentation in improving marketing precision now – and as AI becomes more integrated – is well established. CACI’s ability to deliver on this today with our consumer data and bespoke strategic segmentation capabilities ensures brands are future-ready

Data isn’t just a tool – it’s a strategic asset. Brands that invest in sophisticated segmentation and activation today will be best placed to drive sustainable growth tomorrow.

Speak to our healthcare consumer segmentation specialists today.

As attitudinal segmentations are usually based on surveying a smaller sub-group and not based on data which can be easily applied to customers on your database, bridging attitudinal segmentations can be a challenge and is not always a straightforward process. However, it is a great way to provide a consistent customer experience.

So, what is attitudinal segmentation and what considerations should an organisation have when it comes to their approach for bridging an attitudinal segmentation?

What is attitudinal segmentation & how to bridge an attitudinal segmentation

Attitudinal segmentations are typically created using data from quantitative surveys. They can be a powerful tool for delivering rich insights into customer and prospect mindsets and provide a valuable framework for organisations to engage customers effectively through an in-depth understanding of their needs, attitudes and motivations.

Being able to treat customers consistently throughout the marketing funnel helps to establish a relationship with them and deliver resonating messages that will drive increased engagement. Once someone becomes a customer, they will expect to see the same messages that originally struck a chord with them reflected and developed in their ongoing journey with you.

The economic and social disruption since the pandemic has permanently changed consumers and their expectations of brands, so ensuring your online messaging aligns with these changes is increasingly important. We consistently see organisations that are personalising messaging for their customers increasing their market share, net promoter scores, return on investment and profitability. With this in mind, being able to make your attitudinal segmentation actionable on your database should be a key part of your customer engagement strategy.

Key questions to address the challenges of bridging an attitudinal segmentation onto your customer base

There are no two ways about it – data is key to tackling this challenge and making it actionable. To achieve this, you should ask the following five questions to get started:

• Where and who created the segments? Were the segments created by your organisation or a media/research partner? This is pertinent to understanding if you can get to the raw data or in understanding the level of granularity of data you can obtain.
• What data is there? Do you have access to the responder level data or tables by segment or Pen Portraits? The data you can reach will determine the method of bridging that can be used.
• Were questions only posed to your customer base or to the wider population? What types of questions were asked and were they personal to the organisation or more generalised? This can impact the resulting solution.
• Are there any behavioural traits reported within the data that were part of the same survey? Wider data beyond pure attitudes can be helpful to model this back to the database.
• Were any demographic questions asked or was postcode captured? This can help the process of creating the link between segments and customer base.

While bridging an attitudinal segmentation can be challenging, these questions will help identify how simple or complex the solution will be.

Key techniques for bridging attitudinal segmentation

Depending on the granularity of the data your organisation has access to, the following techniques can be leveraged:

• Responder level data: As this is the most granular form of data, it produces the most accurate results. Techniques here include modelling each of the segments by using a mix of the responder data and CACI’s own data to score this up against a customer database before validating this against the responder panel.
• Tables by segment: We can compare each customer’s results to the segment averages based on a combination of multiple data points. Validation is key through profiling and sense checking the segment distribution.
• Pen Portraits: Here we would use a rules-based approach to recreate segments based on high-level views of the segment to capture the different blend of information that you have to bridge the data. As before, the final step of validation is key to ensuring the solution’s accuracy.

If raw data is inaccessible or unavailable, the following alternative methods can support:

• Adding golden questions to market panels: This will provide more demographic and behaviour traits which support the bridging process.
• Surveying the whole customer base with golden questions: Responses can often be skewed to particular segments, however, and some consumers may be more inclined to answer than others.

Considerations at the start of an attitudinal segmentation journey

Including key customer traits

When beginning an attitudinal segmentation, our first recommended consideration would be to include some key customer traits. Including additional questions such as demographic markers (postcode, gender and age band) will support segmentation mapping on to the database.

Cross-team engagement

Cross-team engagement will be invaluable to ensure the segmentation meets goals and drives value. This will help flesh out what the segmentation will be used for now and in the future, as well as gauging what you need from the segmentation and building it accordingly. It is also pertinent in getting buy in as early as possible to ensure teams are engaged when the solution is rolled out.

Backing segmentations with research

Another solution would be to build the segments first and then use research to enhance them with attitudinal values. This solution can work well with one of the benefits of running focus groups to bring life to the segments rather than using the attitudes to drive the segmentation.

Ultimately, it is about finding the right balance that works for your organisation based on wants and needs. Attitudinal segmentations can bring excellent insights but are limited in their applications across a database. Fundamentally, it is a process of ensuring that through engaging the whole organisation, your solution is optimised to meet strategic aims.

How CACI can help

CACI is in a unique position with a UK-wide dataset on all adults, encompassing over 800 variables that we can use to profile and create proxy variables to support the possibility of a successful bridging exercise. We help solve the challenges associated with bridging attitudinal segmentation for leading organisations many times each year.

To learn more about getting the most out of your segmentation and how CACI can support you through this journey, get in touch and we can discuss your challenges in more detail.

Merry Hill is one of the largest regional malls in the UK, encompassing over 200 shops such as major flagships Primark, M&S and Next. Sovereign Centros from CBRE were appointed asset managers of the former Intu asset in 2022, and have since expanded the retail, F&B, and leisure offering, with recent high profile openings including Hollywood Bowl and national debuts for Harvey Norman and XF Gym.

When Merry Hill chose to invest in renovating the M&S flagship store, they needed to quantify the impact changes would have on performance. This required a robust simulation of the future turnover and resulting footfall. In this blog, we uncover the steps that CACI took to help Merry Hill understand the impact of refurbishing M&S and gain investors’ approval to execute it.

How CACI evidenced outcomes of refurbishing Merry Hill’s M&S

CACI compiled a report covering an overview of M&S’ current performance, the impact of a refurbishment on the retailer’s turnover and the cross-shopping potential it could bring across Merry Hill. The report also considered factors such as benchmark centre sales where M&S had already been upgraded, annual trips to Merry Hill should the refurbishment not take place, and potential customer loss to Bullring & Grand Central mall where a new M&S was due to open.

The data sources included in CACI’s report were:

• Transactional Spend Data: Derived from real-world debit card spend data from multiple sources, Transactional Spend Data is a fully consented view of spending patterns. It offers granularity into how different groups interact and how customers engage through an analysis of spend by product category.
• Acorn: CACI’s consumer segmentation model combines geography with a variety of demographics and lifestyle data sources, grouping the entire population into 6 Categories, 18 Groups and 62 Types. It supplies insights into the role that demographics plays in impacting the performance of a location and helps identify key users of a site.
• Location Dynamics: CACI’s machine learning tool predicts the retail, grocery and leisure catchments of over 6,000 destinations in the UK. It considers underlying population and spend, competitive landscapes and accessibility to each destination to model overlapping catchments. In this context, Location Dynamics was used to predict the centre’s performance, and overlap with Birmingham city centre, allowing for a comparison to actual sales to understand where and how the centre could grow turnover.
• Brand Dimensions: CACI’s benchmarking tool tracks the performance of 300 major brands over time. In this instance, it examined M&S spend performance nationally and at benchmarked locations.

What value would refurbishing Merry Hill’s M&S bring?

Having been at Merry Hill for three decades, investing in a refurbishment of M&S would solidify its continued commitment to the centre.

Increase in average spend, dwell time & turnover

CACI uncovered that centres with a refurbished M&S store have seen an increase in average spend per head in benchmark centres by 2.2%, which could help generate a substantial turnover at Merry Hill. With M&S accounting for 11% of centre floorspace at Merry Hill, improving its appearance could impact the ambience of the rest of Merry Hill and contribute to an uplift in dwell time, retail spend, and catering for the wider centre. Refurbishing Merry Hill’s M&S would also accelerate turnover at both the store and across the centre, as refurbishment is cited as a key factor for increasing sales.

Appealing to younger, more affluent demographic

Our research has shown that refurbished stores tend to attract younger, more affluent shoppers. While Merry Hill’s diverse shopper profile of Executive Wealth, Mature Money, and Steady Neighbourhoods Acorn groups is well aligned to key shoppers for M&S, key groups have all under performed versus catchment expectation. A refurbished M&S would appeal to these underperforming visitors.

A reported 82% of M&S shoppers also go on to spend in other stores at Merry Hill. Therefore, the new footfall that a refurbished M&S would attract would benefit other tenants in the centre.

Sales growth from new & existing shoppers

Within this project, we were able to quantify the number of new Merry Hill visitors that would be generated as a result of the refurbished M&S, with considering factors including their potential spend in M&S and their spill-over expenditure across the wider centre.

Graeme Jones, Executive Director at Sovereign Centros from CBRE: “M&S has been a big part of Merry Hill for several decades, so any decision about their future is one that needed to be made with real consideration of the potential impact on the destination. When we decided that we wanted them to introduce their latest shop fit, while consolidating from two units into one to create new opportunities, we started to create a proposal for M&S that would make the best possible case for a significant investment commitment. The data and insight from CACI was a crucial element of that business case, emphasising the rationale from a visitor, brand, and landlord perspective. It helped achieve a positive outcome for all parties, and the new M&S store is already beating commercial targets, and has had a big impact on Merry Hill and its visitor numbers.”

Ellie Brettell, Senior Property Consultant at CACI: “We’re increasingly being asked to support decisions like this one, where significant investment is involved and multiple parties need reassurance that the right choice is being made. Our objective, data-driven approach helps provide that clarity. Our contribution to this fantastic deal for Merry Hill was possible because of our expertise working for brands and owners of places – we understand the goals and potential impacts on both sides and can therefore create a report that rationalises a decision for all parties. Our evidence base made it clear that this deal would create positive outcomes for everyone involved, so naturally we’re proud that our work has helped to deliver such tangible success.”

How CACI can help

The insights provided through CACI’s report instilled both internal and external stakeholders with the necessary confidence to make significant investments in the refurbished M&S. To learn more about our products and data available from key partners to generate a single view of the UK property market, contact us today.

At CACI, we have been supporting charities in optimising their data by supplying ongoing support through solutions, technology, tools and data that work in a more targeted and efficient way and ultimately help more people. Marie Curie, a leading charity dedicated to providing free palliative and end of life care and support to people living with terminal illnesses, has been making significant strides in enhancing its fundraising and supporter engagement strategies. Their work has been raising public awareness and influencing decision-makers across the UK on the issues affecting those reaching the end of their lives and the people closest to them, enabling more people to access high quality care and support when and where they need it most. 

In a recent webinar, we came together to share insights into their collaborative efforts of leveraging data for greater impact. In this blog, I’ll uncover the key takeaways from the webinar and the value of Marie Curie’s work with CACI, combining their own data with CACI’s to improve their supporter engagement and ultimately increase income. 

Building strong data foundations and data enrichment

I kicked off the webinar by emphasising the importance of building strong data foundations, highlighting common challenges faced by charities, such as siloed data and inconsistent supporter information. These challenges hinder the depth of data insights and the unification and linking of data, ultimately impacting improvements for the quality of end-of-life outcomes and gaining a granular view into supporters. By addressing these foundational issues, Marie Curie can better enrich their data and activate it for meaningful engagement. 

Why did Marie Curie embark on a data enrichment journey? 

Mark Lumby, Head of Fundraising Insight at Marie Curie, shared the charity’s motivation for embarking on a data enrichment journey: the necessity of understanding more about their supporters beyond basic demographics. The more data charities have access to, the more robust their engagement strategies can be shaped, resulting in more income from supporters. By partnering with CACI, Marie Curie aimed to gain these deeper, necessary insights into supporter profiles, affluence, interests and behaviours. 

CACI’s Acorn and Ocean data have played a crucial role in Marie Curie’s data enrichment efforts. Acorn is CACI’s powerful consumer classification tool that segments the UK population by postcode, enhancing the charity’s understanding of different types of people and places by analysing demographic data, social factors and behaviours. Ocean is CACI’s consumer database that offers lifestyle variables, further enhancing Marie Curie’s customer understanding through the ability to assess 100 variables that illustrate supporters’ profiles and interests to target them effectively. Together, these tools have enabled the charity to create detailed supporter profiles and uncover new engagement opportunities. 

What were the strategic objectives & key use cases?

Our collaboration with Marie Curie was driven by strategic objectives, including enhancing their product portfolio by identifying overlaps and opportunities for cross-selling. By understanding the profiles of their supporters through a lens enriched by data, Marie Curie could tailor their engagement strategies more effectively by engaging with supporters at individual or segment cohort levels and determine the best methods of interaction via online or offline channels. Through data enrichment, the type of content and messaging could also be crafted to appeal to the target demographic of supporters and personalise their experience.

What has worked well?

Steph Gray from Marie Curie’s insight team shared practical examples of how enriched data has been used to drive value. One notable success was the creation of a profile model for cash appeals, which significantly improved response rates and ROI. By targeting supporters who resembled existing cash donors, the charity improved engagement and secured higher second gift rates. 

Marie Curie’s efforts to cross-sell and acquire new supporters have also benefitted from data enrichment. By identifying key audience groups and tailoring their messaging, the charity has seen improved results in cold acquisition campaigns. This targeted approach has led to more effective use of resources and better overall outcomes. 

What’s next for Marie Curie?

Going forward, the charity plans to continue refining their data models and datasets and explore new variables for up-to-date, accurate supporter understanding. They aim to combine demographic data with behavioural insights to create even more robust supporter profiles, along with additional creative and channel selection testing. This ongoing commitment to data-driven strategies will help Marie Curie maximise their impact and influence supporter journeys.     

Our partnership exemplifies the transformative power of data in the charity sector. By enriching their supporter data and leveraging advanced segmentation tools, the charity has been able to enhance their fundraising efforts and engage supporters more effectively. By watching the webinar here, you can find out how data can drive meaningful change in the charity sector. To learn more about the continuous innovation and strategy refinement Marie Curie is undertaking, visit their Knowledge Hub. 

The direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription space has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, with brands such as Huel, HelloFresh, Beauty Pie and Whoop becoming household names. The appeal is clear, convenience, personalisation, and a regular stream of products delivered directly to the customer’s door.

But as the market expands, so too does the competition. New brands are launching constantly, each offering their own take on the subscription model. In this crowded space, standing out and staying relevant has never been more important.

One asset continues to distinguish the leaders from the rest: data. And not just any data, but high-quality, well-structured, actionable data, paired with smart analytics and insight-driven strategies. For DTC subscription brands, the ability to understand and act on customer data can be the difference between long-term growth and slow decline.

The data advantage in a competitive market

DTC subscription models naturally generate rich pools of customer data. Every order, preference, skipped delivery or cancellation helps to build a clearer picture of who your customers are and how they behave.

This wealth of data is a significant advantage, but only if it’s properly harnessed. When collected, cleaned and analysed, it can power everything from personalised communications to churn prevention and sustainable growth. Without it, brands are essentially flying blind in a market where insight is everything.

Retention: Knowing your customers, keeping your customers

Retention is the cornerstone of subscription success. Acquiring new customers is just the beginning, keeping them engaged and subscribed is where the real value lies.

But customer loyalty is fragile. Understanding why subscribers leave is critical. According to the 2024 State of Subscription Commerce Industry Outlook,

• 38% of consumers cancel a subscription due to financial pressures,
• 37.9% do so because they no longer want the service, and
• 22.2% say the price is no longer justified.

With this knowledge, brands can adopt a more proactive approach to retention:

• Segment your audience to understand who your loyal advocates are, who is at risk, and who may need re-engaging.
• Predictive analytics can help flag early signs of churn, such as skipped deliveries or changes in usage.
• Personalised re-engagement tactics, based on prior behaviours and preferences — can help win customers back with relevant offers, reminders, or tailored product suggestions.

Retention isn’t just about keeping a customer on a plan — it’s about continuously proving your value in ways that resonate personally.

Personalisation: Meeting customer expectations every step of the way

Today’s consumers expect more than a generic experience. Personalisation has become a baseline requirement. A 2024 Recurly report found that 74% of consumers cite personalisation as one of the top reasons for subscribing.

That means understanding who your customers are, what they care about, and how they want to engage. Personalisation is no longer a “nice to have”, it’s a driver of acquisition, engagement and loyalty.

To personalise effectively, brands must:

• Know which messages resonate with specific customer segments.
• Understand if some groups are more motivated by sustainability, while others care more about value for money.
• Adapt product recommendations and content based on past behaviour and preferences.

When brands show they truly understand their customers, they foster deeper connections — and that translates into longer-term relationships. 

Growth: Finding your next customers

Growth in the subscription space doesn’t mean casting a wide net and hoping for the best. The most successful DTC brands take a targeted approach, using their existing customer data to find lookalike audiences with a high likelihood to convert.

• By profiling your existing customer base, you can uncover the traits, behaviours and preferences that define your best customers.
• These insights allow you to find new audiences that mirror these key characteristics, creating highly efficient acquisition campaigns that target the right people, not just any people.
• Understanding why your customers buy from you also allows you to refine your value proposition, ensuring it’s aligned with what matters most to your target audience.

With rich data and actionable insights, growth becomes more predictable, more efficient and more sustainable.

Aligning with customer values

Modern consumers are increasingly values driven. For many, sustainability is no longer optional, it’s expected. A 2023 survey by Loop Subscriptions found that 73% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products.

For DTC brands, this presents an opportunity to connect more deeply with customers by:

• Highlighting sustainability efforts in communications.
• Offering eco-friendly product options or packaging.
• Tailoring messaging for customers who value ethical practices.

Sustainability isn’t just good for the planet — it’s good for retention.

Data as a competitive edge

In such a fast-moving and competitive sector, the brands that succeed will be those that treat data as a strategic asset, not just an operational by-product.

It’s not just about having data — it’s about ensuring it’s high-quality, well-structured, enriched, and analysed in a way that powers smarter decisions across acquisition, retention and personalisation.

DTC subscription businesses have an inherent data advantage. Those who embrace this, invest in it, and apply the right analytical tools will not only understand their customers better — they’ll also build more engaging experiences, stronger retention strategies and smarter growth plans.

Data isn’t just numbers on a screen — it’s the blueprint for competitive advantage.

Want to discover how your subscription business can turn data into a competitive advantage?

Speak to CACI’s data science experts today — we’ll help you unlock the insights that drive growth.