Marks & Spencer promotional text raises questions about CRM and AI targeting

New Delhi: A LinkedIn post about a personalised marketing message from Marks & Spencer has led to discussion among advertising and marketing professionals about data accuracy, automation and the limits of AI-driven personalisation.

Rohit Haldankar, founder of CDME, shared a screenshot of a text message his friend received from the 142-year-old British retailer inviting him to visit a store to meet an in-house “BraFit expert”.

In his post, Haldankar noted that his friend is a man and does not wear bras, questioning how such targeting had occurred. He used the incident to raise broader concerns about marketing automation systems and data strategy within legacy brands.

The post drew a wide range of responses from professionals across digital marketing, CRM and strategy roles. While some treated the episode humorously, many focused on the structural issues behind such errors.

Several commenters suggested the issue was less about artificial intelligence “hallucinations” and more about flawed data inputs or CRM configuration. One marketing consultant described it as “a data source issue”, arguing that even well-designed targeting can fail without proper data hygiene and enrichment across first-, second- and third-party sources. 

Another attributed the incident to “blasting campaigns without proper segmentation”, reflecting what they called a “blast mindset” in performance marketing.

Others pointed to practical explanations, such as a shared mobile number within a household loyalty account or previous purchases of women’s products made using the same contact details. A CRM and lifecycle marketing specialist noted that many retail systems trigger campaigns purely on past category behaviour, without contextual understanding of who the end user might be.

The discussion also touched on a wider industry tension: the rapid adoption of AI tools without corresponding investment in data governance and strategic oversight. One senior marketing leader questioned whether organisations are prioritising new technology over experienced marketers, suggesting that “a single wrong assumption breaks trust instantly”.