The next era of consumer competition: Four trends leaders can’t ignore

Companies have faced persistent cost pressures and increasingly value-conscious consumers in recent years. Now, AI, social platforms, and other shifts in the consumer landscape are changing how consumers discover, evaluate, and buy products. As a result, consumer behavior is more dynamic and unpredictable than ever.

During a recent McKinsey Live webinar, Senior Partners Clarisse Magnin and Danielle Bozarth, coauthors of McKinsey’s State of the Consumer 2026 report, explored the four trends reshaping consumer behavior and discussed their implications for companies.

The tech-driven path to purchase

The traditional model of mass market and store-based marketing has given way to a much broader range of influences on the consumer decision journey, including platforms, AI-generated answers, retailer sites, reviews, comparison tools, and communities. Today, consumers often discover products in one place, validate them elsewhere, and turn to another channel to buy them.

The health revolution

Consumers have become more health conscious than ever, and they are expanding their definition of wellness to include sleep, stress, mental health, gut health, healthy aging, energy, and fitness. They expect products and services to deliver specific, credible outcomes to meet their needs, creating growth opportunities for brands across categories.

The experience economy

Consumers are continuing to prioritize experiences in their spending. When asked what they would do with an additional $200, the vast majority say they would spend it on making memories. This trend gives brands an opportunity to reimagine their offerings to deliver experiential moments of emotional connection.

The rise of resourceful consumers

With financial pressures intensifying, nearly one-third of consumers say they struggle to afford the items they want. But rather than simply defaulting to the least expensive option, consumers are finding creative ways to get more value from their spending. For example, they are keeping items longer, repairing them, buying secondhand, using budgeting tools, and looking more carefully at durability, usefulness, and total value over time.

Implications for business leaders and brands

For companies, these trends point to new sources of growth. Brands can reach consumers in the channels where decisions are shaped; develop wellness propositions grounded in specific, credible outcomes; create experiences that build emotional connection; and design products that deliver clear value from the start. Those that do will be better positioned to earn consumer trust and grow in a dynamic marketplace.