This study aims to examine the trends and themes in the field of customer experience using a bibliometric analysis between 1957 and 2017. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses 1,767 papers selected from Web of Science (WoS) database using VOS Viewer software tool to create bibliometric networks. The results of the study were classified under the following bibliometric indicators: evaluation of the number of studies analyzed; most cited documents; most influential authors; and highly influential journals, institutions and countries with the highest productivity. Additionally, the paper also presents three co-citation studies analyzing most co-cited references, first authors and journals. Findings Authors and institutes from the American and European countries dominate the contribution to the development of the field. The presence of Asian countries signifies the rising importance being given to the research field. The findings establish the argument that most of the ideas that follow today in the development of the field are mostly sourced from the works published in highly reputed journals. Co-citation analysis indicates the presence of multi-disciplinarity in the research field with journals representing different research areas such as management, strategy and psychology. Research limitations/implications The papers analyzed in the study were retrieved only from the WoS. Furthermore, the precise number of clusters obtained during the analysis depends on the parameter set by the authors which is subjective. Researchers are encouraged to draw further insights by manipulating the parameter criteria. Practical implications The findings in the study can be used to enrich the understanding of customer experience and future research on the topic. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first comprehensive papers offering a general overview of the leading trends in the field over a period of 60 years.