From the Shelf to the Algorithm

Most recently, we examined how consumers are increasingly taking a strategic approach to their purchasing decisions – deliberately timing their purchases around promotional periods and spending more than originally planned at the right moment. Now we take a look at the bigger picture: the volatile market environment that is shaping this behavior – and what it means for brands that have to find their way between physical points of sale and digital algorithms.

However, the most important shift is taking place away from the shelf. Retail is no longer a linear path – from discovering a product to visiting a store. Today, consumers move fluidly between e-commerce, social commerce, same-day delivery, brick-and-mortar retail, and increasingly AI-supported research. In doing so, they shape their own customer journey in real time. In 2025, online TCG sales grew by 8% compared with 3% in brick-and-mortar retail. Nearly one in five consumers buys directly via TikTok Shop, and 16% regularly used express delivery services. All signs that the chain of how consumers become aware of products and the subsequent conversion is fragmenting rapidly.

And AI is driving this fragmentation into an entirely new phase. Already, 10% of consumers use AI search in their purchase decisions – for Q4 2025 alone, a share of 12% is forecast. Shoppers use AI to compare models, summarize reviews, understand technical specifications, and find the best deals. AI has moved beyond the experimentation stage – it is becoming a decision-making authority that determines what makes it onto the imagined, personal shortlist.

This fundamentally changes competition. When the in-store shelf extends into algorithms, product pages, specifications, promises, reviews, and content structures must not be built for humans alone. They must also be built for AI systems that analyze, compare, and recommend. The winners in 2026 will not be the brands with the broadest assortment or the loudest promotions. They will be those that simplify decisions. Because consumers arrive already informed, focused, and increasingly advised by machines – even before they enter a store.