Survey of 573 service-based companies finds most organizations are built for follow-up later, not response now.

SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Blazeo today released further insights into its 2026 Speed-to-Lead Benchmark Report, finding that 74% of surveyed service-based businesses do not respond to new leads within five minutes – the period the report identifies as the window when buyer intent is at its highest

74% of surveyed businesses miss the five-minute speed-to-lead benchmark.

The study surveyed 573 service-based businesses across financial services, real estate, home services, professional services, legal services and healthcare. It examined reported response times, lead volume, after-hours processes, technology adoption and confidence in lead-management operations.

The research also exposed a gap between what business leaders believe and what their teams consistently deliver. Only 35.4% of respondents said a response within five minutes is essential. Among that group, 62.1% said their teams actually meet the standard. That means nearly 38% of the businesses that consider five-minute response critical still fail their own benchmark.

“Businesses do not have a motivation problem. They have a coverage, handoff and systems problem. Leads now arrive across more channels and at more hours than a person or disconnected set of tools can reliably manage. The companies winning on speed have designed immediate response into the way they operate.”

– [Ashhad Syed], CEO of Blazeo

Blazeo said the results point to a broader change in how service businesses should think about lead response. Traditional processes assume a staff member will see an inquiry, determine who owns it and respond when time becomes available. Modern buyers, however, may contact several providers in quick succession, making delayed routing or follow-up a competitive disadvantage.

The report characterizes the fastest 25% of respondents as “elite” responders because they report responding within five minutes. The remaining majority faces some combination of limited after-hours coverage, manual handoffs, fragmented inboxes and insufficient visibility into whether an inquiry received a meaningful response.

The central conclusion: speed is increasingly a systems task. Businesses that want to improve conversion should establish a clear response target, centralize lead capture, automate routing and create coverage for periods when internal employees are unavailable.

The flagship release begins a series of Blazeo analyses examining after-hours response, lead leakage, AI and automation adoption, and the point at which growing businesses encounter a speed-to-lead scaling cliff.

About the 2026 Speed-to-Lead Benchmark Report

The 2026 Speed-to-Lead Benchmark Report was prepared by the Blazeo Data & Insights Team. The study surveyed 573 service-based businesses across six industries and examined reported lead volume, response processes, technology use and speed-to-lead performance. The report uses response in under five minutes as an elite benchmark and response in under 15 minutes as a fast-response threshold in several segmented analyses. Findings are based on survey responses and show associations rather than proof of causation.

Read the report: Blazeo Speed-To-Lead Report 2026

About Blazeo

Blazeo helps service businesses respond faster and convert more opportunities by combining AI, live agents, automation and centralized lead management across calls, chat, SMS and web forms. Learn more at blazeo.com.

Media Contact:

Aarij M Khan

aarij@blazeo.com

sales@blazeo.com | (888) 510-0297

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SOURCE Blazeo Inc

79% of consumers have delayed a purchase waiting for prices to drop, while 77% have spotted price differences for the same product across retailers or platforms

BOSTON, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Akeneo, the Product Experience (PX) leader, today released new PX Pulse survey findings revealing that as economic pressures continue to shape consumer behavior, shoppers are paying closer attention not only to how much products cost, but also to whether the prices they see are fair, consistent, and trustworthy.

Price is becoming increasingly important in purchase decisions, with 59% of consumers saying it matters more than it did six months ago. Yet only 32% completely or mostly trust retailers to offer a fair or competitive price. As a result, shoppers are becoming more deliberate about when they buy, where they compare, and which sources they trust to determine whether a product is worth the price.

“Consumers are paying closer attention to price, and that raises the stakes for retailers,” said Romain Fouache, CEO of Akeneo. “Pricing can no longer sit in a silo from the rest of the product experience. Consumers, and increasingly AI-powered shopping tools, are constantly comparing products, prices, and offers across channels. Brands need trusted product and pricing information working together so shoppers see a consistent, credible experience wherever discovery happens.”

Economic Pressure is Creating a More Deliberate Shopper
As price takes on greater importance, consumers are becoming more calculated about when they make a purchase. Seventy-nine percent say they have delayed a purchase because they believed the price would be lower later.

That same caution is showing up in how consumers research products before buying. Nearly half (46%) compare prices across multiple retailers when shopping online, while only 9% say they typically purchase without comparing prices.

For retailers, this means the competition for a sale is no longer limited to the product page in front of the shopper. Consumers are actively validating price and value across multiple sources before making a decision.

Pricing Consistency is Becoming a Trust Issue
More aggressive comparison shopping is also making price inconsistencies harder to miss. Seventy-seven percent of consumers say they have noticed the same product listed at different prices across retailers or shopping platforms in the past year.

Consumers are also looking for discrepancies between online and offline channels. Sixty-eight percent say they at least sometimes check a retailer’s website or app while shopping in-store to see whether the same product is available at a lower price online.

That increased scrutiny creates a broader trust challenge. Only 32% of consumers completely or mostly trust retailers to offer a fair or competitive price. Shoppers are particularly wary of pricing practices that feel opaque or overly personalized: 57% say they would trust a retailer less if they learned that the price of a product had changed based on their personal information or shopping behavior.

For retailers, the findings point to a growing need to pair sophisticated pricing strategies with transparency and consistency, particularly as consumers become more active in comparing prices across channels.

AI is Emerging as a New Price-Comparison Channel
AI is also becoming part of how consumers compare prices and assess whether they are getting a good deal. Nearly one-quarter (24%) already use tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini to compare prices or deals, while more than half (56%) trust AI tools to provide accurate pricing information when comparing products across retailers.

That behavior is set to continue into the holiday shopping season. Forty percent of consumers expect to compare prices across retailer websites to determine whether they are getting a good deal, while 37% plan to use search engines and 24% expect to turn to AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini.

For brands and retailers, AI introduces another discovery layer where product information and pricing can influence a purchase. As shoppers move between retailer websites, marketplaces, search engines, physical stores, and AI assistants, inconsistent or incomplete information becomes increasingly visible. When an LLM encounters conflicting prices across those sources, it may struggle to determine which information is most reliable, potentially affecting whether a product is recommended or creating a mismatch between discovery and checkout. Brands need trusted, governed product and pricing data that can travel consistently across every discovery surface.

To learn more about Akeneo or its products, please visit www.akeneo.com. To view the full data and infographic, click here.

Dynata Survey Methodology
The survey was commissioned by Akeneo and conducted by Dynata, the world’s largest first-party data company. The survey was conducted in August 2026 of 1,000 U.S. consumers 18 years and older to understand how economic conditions, evolving pricing practices, and new shopping tools are influencing consumer behavior and purchase decisions.

About Akeneo
Akeneo is the Product Experience (PX) company and global leader in agentic-first Product Cloud solutions, providing the foundational operating system for the AI-powered commerce era.

With its Product Cloud, Akeneo enables brands, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to centralize, govern, and orchestrate their product information, transforming fragmented data into trusted, actionable assets. With the integration of PricingHUB, Akeneo extends its platform beyond product data to unify product data and pricing — the two signals that drive discovery, conversion, and business performance. Together, Akeneo helps organizations move from managing product information to making better business decisions, aligning what they sell and how they sell it to compete and win in a rapidly evolving, AI-driven market.

Leading global brands, including Chico’s, TaylorMade Golf, Rail Europe, and more, trust Akeneo to scale their commerce initiatives and deliver consistent, high-performing product experiences. For more information: https://www.akeneo.com

Media Contact:
Allison Knight
PAN for Akeneo
akeneo@pancomm.com 

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SOURCE Akeneo

LANGHORNE, Pa., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Perspecta, the trusted leader in provider data management and provider search solutions, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the 2026 SIIA National Conference, taking place October 11-13 in Phoenix, Arizona. The event brings together third-party administrators (TPAs), self-insured employers, and leaders from across the self-insurance and employee benefits industry.

As a conference sponsor, Perspecta will highlight how accurate actionable provider data can help TPAs and self-insured plans reduce administrative costs, minimize claims rework, and navigate evolving compliance requirements, including the No Surprises Act.

“Reliable provider data is foundational to helping people find the right care and helping organizations operate more efficiently,” said April Stiles, Chief Executive Officer of Perspecta. “We’re excited to join the conversations at SIIA and connect with TPAs and industry leaders who are working every day to control costs, reduce administrative friction, and improve the way healthcare and benefits are delivered.”

With a reach spanning 51 million members and 630 million provider records, Perspecta helps organizations bring greater accuracy, transparency, and usability to provider data. For TPAs and self-insured plans, this means helping reduce claim delays caused by outdated provider information, streamline network verification, and give members access to provider directories they can trust.

Perspecta’s solutions address critical needs across the healthcare ecosystem, including provider directories, provider data cleansing, and price transparency.

Connect with Perspecta at SIIA

Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with the Perspecta team and learn how better provider data can support more efficient operations, improve the member experience, and strengthen healthcare decision-making.

Schedule a meeting with:

April Stiles, Chief Executive OfficerErin Finn, Vice President of SalesBrian Roy, Vice President of SalesLiz MacFarland, Director of Sales

Perspecta will also host opportunities for conference attendees to connect with the team throughout the event. Reach out to the Perspecta team for details.

About Perspecta

Perspecta is reimagining provider data management. Through deep domain expertise and a commitment to innovation, we deliver intelligent solutions that improve efficiency, enhance experiences, and power better decision-making. Trusted by health plans, workers’ compensation, and provider organizations, our 95%+ data accuracy helps navigate complexity and optimize care. At Perspecta, we turn precision data into powerful perspectives and proven success. To learn more, visit www.goperspecta.com and follow Perspecta on LinkedIn.

Media Contact
Linda Thurman
Linda.Thurman@goperspecta.com

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SOURCE Perspecta