Quad

2026 consumer trends — insights for brands and marketers June 17, 2026 At Betty, a Quad agency, we think a lot about key trends that matter to marketers. Our consumer strategy team focuses on the big picture — avoiding fleeting micro trends that may blow up on social but don’t really have lasting impact. Instead, we watch out for major, meaningful shifts in consumer behavior that have the potential to change the way brands position themselves and their products.

As U.S. in-store retail media network (RMN) spending continues to accelerate, with eMarketer projecting 33.1% growth this year, the focus is shifting to what actually drives decisions in-store. At Quad, we’ve been testing what works with major CPG brands across a range of screen types and retail settings through our RMN platform In-Store Connect by Quad (ISCQ).

MXRx offers practical, prescriptive advice to marketers facing specific challenges. Q. I lead retail marketing for a CPG challenger “better for you” snack brand. We started out primarily DTC, but we’ve been ramping up our brick-and-mortar presence as the buzz around our hero products has prompted some major national retailers to come knocking. One of our retail suitors has presented us with an endcap opportunity to help us make a splash as we launch into their stores.

Since 2025, The Harris Poll (THP) has been conducting landmark research, presented by Quad, examining the “Return of Touch” phenomenon. The three waves of studies — released in May 2025, October 2025 and April 2026 — point to a single unifying shift in behavior: Consumers are not choosing between digital, physical or even AI-driven shopping; instead, they’re seeking a better, more trustworthy balance of authentic brand messaging and experiences across their shopping journeys.

Last year, The Harris Poll’s landmark “The Return of Touch Report,” presented by Quad, revealed that consumers — especially Gen Z and millennials — are returning to physical stores and craving more tangible brand experiences. Since then, the arrival of agentic AI tools has sent marketers scrambling to reassess their strategies. So, what should brands make of these two parallel trends? New research conducted by The Harris Poll, once again presented by Quad, provides some much-need clarity .

More than 10,000 retail and CPG leaders converged on Las Vegas last week for Shoptalk Spring 2026, and the throughline was impossible to miss: AI is no longer a horizon story. It’s the operating reality and the industry is still figuring out what that means in practice. Here are the signal-from-the-noise takeaways for marketers trying to stay ahead. Given the conference theme, Retail in the Age of AI, it’s no surprise that agentic AI dominated the conversations across presentations and panels.

OpenAI’s checkout pullback signals a split between discovery and purchase forcing brands to rethink agentic AI shopping data and ecommerce strategy. By Natalia Horst, Group Director of Business Process Development, Rise, a Quad agency OpenAI is reportedly having second thoughts about handling e-commerce transactions directly within ChatGPT, instead steering users to retailer-run ChatGPT experiences and merchant websites to complete purchases.

In brief: Postmaster General (PMG) David Steiner briefed the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations on the current financial situation facing the USPS. The paper market continues to face pressure due to supply shortages for some grades and adverse weather. Transportation networks have been jolted by a spike in diesel prices due to the Middle East conflict just as trucking industry capacity is tightening.

Are you a CPG marketer or retailer considering ways to increase your investment in the retail media network (RMN) landscape? Well, you’re not alone. According to the latest eMarketer forecast, U.S. in-store RMN spending is projected to grow 33.1% year over year in 2026. It’s hardly surprising, given the sales potential that still exists within brick-and-mortar stores. At Quad, our team is focused on helping realize that potential.

From the share of U.S. consumers engaging in digital detox to the cost of ChatGPT ads, these are the data points we’re paying attention to right now. 9.8% The projected growth in global ad spending for 2026, according to new forecasting from PQ Media. 50 The number of unedited Reddit product reviews — positive and negative — that Dove repurposed as street posters for its new “r/eal” OOH campaign.