I wrote the theme to this yr’s shopper predictions to the beat of Rihanna’s “We Discovered Love,” with the lyric “we discovered love in a hopeless place” notably resonating. OK, the world isn’t hopeless, however the shopper panorama is marked by turbulence: tariffs threatening financial development, geopolitical unrest, and the looming query of AI-driven existential questions.
This makes issues appear a bit doom-and-gloom. At the same time as I write this weblog put up, weeks after our predictions have been locked in, the US authorities shutdown has been ongoing for a month, political turmoil within the Center East continues, the World Well being Group’s psychological well being report paints a bleak image, and a seemingly old-school heist at arguably probably the most well-known museum on the planet has stolen the headlines.
However amid this persistent and unsettling information feed lies one other reality: People are resilient. Individuals draw energy from connection, neighborhood, and consistency, particularly throughout tumultuous occasions. Because of this, customers will crave connection in 2026 … and it’s going to look a little bit completely different than 2020! In 2026, connection-seeking received’t solely come from conventional sources, as customers search connections offline (over on-line) whereas making artificial buddies. Forrester predicts:
- 20% of Gen Zers and Gen Alphas will succumb to AI companions. Shoppers are getting private with AI, and youthful customers will more and more flip to genAI platforms for connection in 2026. In style apps like ChatGPT already create compelling personalities. However harmful missteps will occur if corporations aren’t accountable with it. Youthful customers gravitate to connections which might be always-on, all the time personal, and all the time nonjudgmental. And AI companions, on their floor, will reliably fulfill these wants. However at what price? Anticipate psychological well being and privateness considerations as a result of AI addition to overshadow these of social media in 2026.
- A 3rd of customers will go for offline (over on-line) model experiences. In-person is coming again. In response to Forrester’s Shopper Pulse Surveys, “I plan on doing extra in-person purchasing on the whole” throughout the winter vacation purchasing season is up seven proportion factors in 2025 in comparison with 2023. And types are betting large on in-person experiences, too: Starbucks plans to section out its drive-thru and mobile-only shops in 2026, and TikTok is including a function that allows faculty college students to fulfill up “in actual life” as just a few examples. No, digital experiences aren’t going away, however customers will select to disconnect on-line with the intention to join offline.
- AI glasses will kick-start the AI wearables race, with 10% of customers trialing them. Your closet may quickly be stuffed with AI-enabled trend objects: pendants, rings, bracelets … however first up in 2026? AI glasses. At the moment, 6% of US on-line adults point out that they use sensible glasses (versus 4% within the UK and three% in Australia). Within the new yr, we predict that this quantity will double as AI assistants warmth up — enabling connections based mostly on context, together with dwell translations, navigation, and hands-free recording. Whereas Meta’s AI glasses have led the race these final couple of years, the worldwide market will get crowded in 2026 with Google’s partnership with Warby Parker and Light Monster, Alibaba’s launch of Quark, and Amazon’s plan to roll out AI glasses in late 2026 or early 2027.
Forrester shoppers can learn all 5 of our shopper predictions in our report, Predictions 2026: Shoppers, and be part of our upcoming webinar to be taught what they imply on your personal shopper base. Then, arrange a Forrester steering session with me to debate the right way to apply these predictions and finest practices in your personal group to remain forward in 2026.
In case you aren’t but a Forrester consumer, you’ll be able to obtain our complimentary Predictions information on B2C advertising and marketing and buyer expertise, which covers extra of our high predictions for 2026. Discover extra complimentary sources, together with webinars, on the Predictions 2026 hub.
