Retail 2026: The Rise of the Always-On Consumer

Retail 2026: Always-On Consumers Fundamentally Change the Market

Podcasts reveal more about consumer behavior than one might initially assume. In 2015, “Serial” dominated the podcast charts – six episodes per year, each 30 minutes long, produced like a high-quality TV series. In 2026, Joe Rogan leads the rankings: one episode daily, each around three hours long. This shift precisely illustrates how consumption has changed. Quality recedes, visibility and constant presence move to the forefront. Jack Stratten, founder of the London retail consultancy Insider Trends, describes this phenomenon as the “Always-on Consumer” – a consumer who constantly consumes content without necessarily constantly buying.

The Always-on Consumer: Volume Beats Quality

The Always-on Consumer is characterized by behavior that relies on continuous availability and endless choice. Platforms like Temu grow not primarily because they are inexpensive, but because users never see the same products twice. The sheer volume of options captures attention. Stratten explains: “The constant flow of new options and choice is why Temu retains attention.” This mechanism works similarly to podcasts or social media: whoever continuously delivers new content wins.

TikTok users spend an average of 95 minutes daily on the platform, yet scroll only two to three seconds per video. The number of videos consumed is enormous, the processing of information superficial. Stratten warns: “No human being has the brain that is able to really take on this level of information and do something useful and constructive with it.”

From Social Media to Entertainment Media

A study by the Financial Times from October 2026 documents the decline of classic social media usage. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are losing users and dwell time. The nature of usage is fundamentally changing. Stratten quotes the study: “In 2014, social media was for meeting new and old friends and sharing opinions. Now it's following celebrities and killing time.”

TikTok Shop, the fastest-growing retail marketplace worldwide, illustrates this shift. The platform does not function as a social space, but as an entertainment medium with an integrated purchase option. Stratten compares TikTok Shop more to QVC, the TV shopping of the 1990s, than to classic social media platforms. Brands that misunderstand TikTok as a social network fail. Authenticity and individual creators dominate; large brands often appear out of place.

Market Saturation: Too Much Choice, Too Little Orientation

The market is saturated – at all levels. Consumers shop in more stores than five years ago, use more marketplaces, own an average of 19 loyalty programs, yet interact with fewer than half of them. Stratten observes: “Customers say they see too much advertising, and they feel overwhelmed by choice.” Paradoxically, the same consumers download Temu and Shein, shop on Amazon and with numerous brands. They engage with the choice, yet do not enjoy it.

This contradiction holds potential: technologies or strategies that help consumers make the right choice instead of presenting endless options will be lucrative. Artificial intelligence could play a role here – not through further saturation, but through curation.

Affordable Luxury: Premium Feeling at a Low Price

Søstrene Grene, a Danish retail chain, is opening more stores in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain than any other brick-and-mortar brand. The concept: inexpensive products in well-kept, attractively designed stores. Every price tag is handwritten, the stores smell of pine fragrance. Stratten explains: “Even though everything's cheap, the store doesn't feel cheap.” Consumers receive a dopamine experience that they lack online – even though all products would also be available there.

Dossier, a US fragrance company, sells “inspired by” versions of expensive perfumes for 49 dollars instead of 299 dollars. The stores appear high-quality, not cheap. Primark opens Disney cafés in its stores to offer parents and children a “premium moment.” Even Vinted, the resale platform that recorded one billion euros in revenue and 300 percent profit growth for the first time in 2026, benefits from this trend: consumers buy premium brands at affordable prices.

Nichification: New Products, New Sales Channels

In a saturated market, brands search for niches. Le Bon Brosse sells luxury brushes for 200 to 300 euros – no technological innovation, but aesthetic staging. Stratten remarks: “People are buying this brush so they can put it on their dressing table and make sure it's in the background of the photos that they post on Instagram.”

Fern, a British perfume label, sells exclusively via subscriptions: four fragrances per year, waiting list with 100,000 to 200,000 interested parties. Gohar World opens pop-up stores in New York without announcing the location in advance. The strategy: invisibility becomes interesting in a world of total visibility.

Infantilization: Nostalgia as a Sales Argument

Toys for adults are booming. Around half of global Lego sales go to people over 18 years old. Selfridges focused on Disney collaborations from the 1990s for Christmas – nostalgia for adults in their 30s and 40s. Stratten assumes: “Young adults feel distinctly uneasy and frightened about the future.” Nostalgia provides comfort in uncertain times.

Technology in Store: Simplicity Wins

Technology in retail is returning to simpler solutions. QR codes connect online and offline without complex touchpoints. Astrid & Miyu, a London jewelry brand, drives store traffic through online appointments for piercings and engravings. Shopify provides portable payment solutions for growing brands like Glossier and Gymshark – simple, integrated, effective.

Sephora relies on “Fast and Slow”: large flagship stores for discovery and experience, separate click-and-collect areas for rapid pickup within one minute. Customers appreciate clear options instead of confusing layouts.

Retail media is growing. Sephora monetizes advertising space in front of and inside stores. Future Stores in London rents out its entire space for around 100,000 pounds per week to brands like Renault – the store becomes a walk-in digital signage advertising space. Stratten predicts: “All these retailers are waking up to the fact that they know they've got millions of people walking through their store. They have advertising space everywhere. And they're not charging anything to anyone.”

Closing the Social Gap: Community Instead of Algorithm

While social media degenerates into entertainment, consumers seek real social spaces. Bubble Skincare involves 80,000 unpaid brand ambassadors who test new products before market launch. Their organic posts replace expensive advertising campaigns. Stratten quotes Andy Warhol: “Anything can be replicated or copied, communities can't, which is why their brand is making it work as an asset.”

Lyko, a Swedish beauty retailer, transforms stores into social meeting points through events with musicians, authors, and influencers. Fanatics Collectibles in London sets up areas where customers can film and share the unboxing of collectible cards. The brand guarantees reach, the community grows organically. Stratten calls it “the most perfect omnichannel retail and store strategy.”

Outlook: Curation Beats Saturation

Retail in 2026 navigates between abundance and disorientation. Brands that help consumers make the right choice instead of presenting endless options will win. Affordable luxury, niches, social spaces, and simple technology offer approaches. Stratten summarizes: “Anything that can help to solve this complex contradiction is going to be very, very lucrative in the future of retail.” The future belongs not to those who shout the loudest, but to those who listen best.

‍