Last year, consumers proved their resiliency yet again, demonstrating a willingness and ability to spend in the face of inflation, higher interest rates and more. And looking ahead, consumers continue to face an uncertain environment.
Katherine Cullen, NRF’s vice president of industry and consumer insights, sat down with industry experts from Pinterest, PwC and Happy Returns, a UPS company, at NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show to discuss consumers’ behavior over the 2024 holiday season and what to expect in the coming year.
Seamless Exploration
Consumers have always embraced choices when it comes to where and how they shop, and there are certainly more shopping channels available than ever before. While physical locations traditionally lend themselves more to discovery and spontaneous purchases, that is evolving.
Rachel Hardy, director of consumer product marketing at Pinterest, emphasized the use of social commerce not only as a means to purchase, but as a way for consumers to explore trends and be surprised by new offerings they may not have even been aware of. Through it all, they are searching not only for items, but also the “joy of shopping,” she says.
Kelly Pedersen, partner and global retail leader at PwC, brought up another way consumers are searching for this element of “discovery”— with a surge in in-store shopping, largely led by Generation Z. While more consumers are shopping in physical environments, however, they might end up making some of their actual purchases online, further demonstrating consumers’ creativity as they mix and match shopping channels based on what works best for them in the moment.
The Shopping Journey, Reimagined
As consumers use shopping to find joy, they also use it to find themselves.
Hardy referenced the way younger consumers view the world through “aesthetics,” while they look for trends and items that resonate to curate a personal brand. In doing this, they no longer have a clear path to purchase. For example, someone may start by looking into ideas for a dream vacation, which leads to the inspiration to buy a piece of clothing evoking that same feeling.
Although the path to purchase is no longer linear, consumers still expect their shopping journey to be frictionless — not just before and during their purchase, but also after. Timothy Fehr, chief operating officer at Happy Returns, a UPS company, spoke on changing consumer behavior around returns. He made the point that when consumers engage in the now-common practice of buying multiple items with the intent to return several, they are “buying the returns experience, not just buying the merchandise.”
Personalize, Personalize, Personalize
Regardless of how they shop, consumers expect their shopping to be personalized. While online channels are now known for their personalization, consumers want it everywhere. Pedersen outlined how to bring this unique-to-the-consumer experience to a physical environment: combining well-known technology like camera recognition and scanning to enter the store with newer AI tech to process data and provide actionable insights.
"And personalization isn’t only for consumers" — Fehr about a more curated merchandising plan as a method for retailers to reduce strain on their returns systems. All signs point toward a tailored shopping experience while consumers use retail to explore and discover, in every which way.
Access the full article on the NRF Blog.
