There’s something happening in the customer feedback management tech ecosystem, and it’s not a flashy announcement with eye-popping dollar signs. Instead, it’s a steady drumbeat of incremental changes.

While the headlines might feel subdued, these developments reflect buyer interest in combining information from multiple channels and in taking advantage of the latest AI innovations. The ripple effects of these moves could eventually reshape the customer feedback landscape.

Some of the recent moves in the CX tech ecosystem include:

  • Press Ganey Forsta acquired InMoment
    Forsta’s acquisition of InMoment signals a consolidation aimed at strengthening both companies’ foothold in the customer feedback management solutions space.
  • Amplitude acquired Kraftful
    Amplitude, a Leader in the Forrester Wave™ evaluating digital analytics solutions, adds multiple sources of customer feedback to support both digital and product leaders.
  • Contentsquare plans to acquire Loris AI
    Digital analytics solution Contentsquare’s plans to purchase Loris AI, a conversational intelligence solution, aims to connect contact-center conversations with digital interactions.
  • Netigate acquired Mopinion
    The addition of Mopinion to the Netigate portfolio follows the 2024 acquisition of Lumoa. Both acquisitions provide enhanced capabilities for customer feedback collection and unstructured text analysis supported by AI.
  • Alchemer acquired Chatmeter
    Chatmeter’s focus on multilocation business and customer ratings and reviews positions Alchemer to deepen nonsurvey listening capabilities.

Acquisitions Threaten The Hegemony Of CX Giants

These changes may challenge the dominance of industry leaders such as Medallia and Qualtrics. Here’s why:

  1. Lower-Cost Alternatives
    Some of these newer platforms may offer more affordable solutions, making advanced CX technology accessible to a broader range of organizations.
  2. Localized Features
    Tools such as Netigate/Mopinion stand out with differentiated features, such as local data hosting for European markets — an increasingly important capability in a world of evolving data privacy regulations and data sovereignty concerns.
  3. Connecting Data Sources
    The ability to effectively analyze disparate data sources together is not new, but it is becoming a critical differentiator. Platforms that enable easier and more usable integrations across multiple feedback sources and other types of data could gain an edge.

The Broader Backdrop: CX Challenges

These shifts are occurring against a backdrop of evolving challenges for CX leaders, including:

  • Declining Survey Response Rates
    Traditional voice-of-the-customer methods such as surveys are struggling with lower engagement, forcing organizations to rethink how they gather feedback.
  • Decreasing Website Traffic
    Web-based surveys will lose visibility as website traffic declines, challenging organizations to look elsewhere for digital customer understanding.
  • Agentic Commerce Is Closer To Reality
    The rise of agentic commerce means organizations will have fewer opportunities to interact with their actual customers. For CX leaders trying to understand customers in this new future, what got us here won’t get us there. Consider, for example: How relevant are surveys about the “buying experience” when a customer’s AI agent is completing the transaction?

Where Is CX Tech Headed?

All of these incremental changes — from mergers and acquisitions to broader industry trends — point to a larger question: What’s the end game for customer feedback and CX tech?

Do these recent acquisitions portend a larger wave of consolidation? Will these platforms deliver on their promises of lower costs and differentiated features, or will they just add complexity?

As a CX leader, these questions may keep you up at night. I know I’m losing some sleep these days! I’d love your take: If you have thoughts on where CX technology is headed, drop me a message and let’s discuss how these changes might impact your organization.