The behaviors of today’s consumers have shifted dramatically over the past 18 months and their expectations have evolved in parallel. As our research suggests, many of these changes will prove permanent. The consumer of today is shopping across multiple channels; she has returned to in-store shopping but also plans to continue shopping online, a channel she has grown accustomed to during the pandemic. She has also come to expect fast, easy delivery and fulfillment, whether she is shopping on- or offline. She continues to be very concerned with the ethical status of the products she buys – as well as the companies from which she buys them — and wants to be assured that these products are both healthy to consume and sustainable to produce. She also does not expect sustainable products to necessarily come at a premium. She is open to ordering directly from the brands she favors and sharing her data with them, especially if this will result in her receiving a better buying experience.

These trends and behaviors are more pronounced for certain consumer segments. For example, our research reveals that Generation Z (18–24 years of age) shoppers are more willing to pay a premium for products espousing clean, natural, and sustainable attributes. Shoppers with children in their households value fast delivery more than do shoppers without children. A greater share of Boomers (57–75) have already returned to in-store shopping today than have Millennials (25–40) and Gen Z.

For brands and retailers, the implications of these evolving consumer trends infiltrate all aspects of their businesses, from strategy to product development, digital, analytics, operations, and marketing. To capitalize on the opportunities offered by these evolving trends, we highlight four key focus areas for brands and retailers. An omnichannel strategy that incorporates the physical store, ecommerce, direct-to-consumer, and online marketplaces (such as Amazon, Alibaba) is essential to meet today’s consumer in all the venues at which she shops.

Being ready and able to collect the data that today’s shopper is willing to share and extracting value from that data to allow better directed marketing and more carefully designed and tailored products and services is paramount. Given the importance of delivery and fulfillment to today’s consumer, re-positioning these aspects within the business model, and transforming them from a cost center to a growth driver, is critical to future business success. Going forward, there will be a growing mainstream demand for sustainable products. While a certain demographic of shopper may accept a higher price for the time being, it will be imperative that these products can be sold at a more attractive price point in the future.