Shopper Experience Index 2026

What new research reveals about modern buyer habits

Attention has moved to spaces you don't own or control. Nearly half of all shoppers encounter your brand passively: through community creators, peer networks, or via AI search tools drawing from the same conversations. The brands commanding attention are the ones with the most credible community content behind them. That's because the same user-generated content that earns attention on social feeds also informs AI recommendations. Grounded in global consumer data across NA, EMEA, and APAC, Volume 20 of the Shopper Experience Index maps 16 shopper mindsets across every stage from discovery to advocacy into four distinct moments. What’s inside: - Four actionable toolkits showing how a single piece of user content feeds social algorithms and AI recommendations. - Step-by-step priority roadmap that tells you which toolkit to start with based on your category, market position, and shopper friction points. - Self-sustaining ecosystem loop explaining how post-purchase customer feedback fuels future product discovery. See how 1,500+ global shoppers convert moments of digital culture and community connection into confident checkout decisions.