Buyer Ubiquity: Three Strategy-bending Retail Shifts
Consumers are changing the way they make decisions and where they make purchases. Brand leaders are tracking these shifts to align retail strategies to evolve in tandem.
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Marketers in 2025 are dealing with one of the most dynamic landscapes the industry has ever seen. The pace of change — driven by technology, shifting consumer expectations, and new economic realities — has forced teams to rethink not just how they communicate, but how they operate at their core.
Consumer behaviour shifts have been one of the most notable. Social commerce, live shopping, and shoppable short‑form video have become mainstream, blurring the lines between discovery and purchase.
Marketers must now build strategies for audiences who shop while scrolling, streaming, or gaming—often across multiple devices at once.
Three identifiable shifts and how to deal with them as a business. Retail experts weigh in…
Live shopping is moving from ‘trend’ to ‘habit’
TikTok Shop reported over $500 million in US sales during the Black Friday-to-Cyber Monday period, marking a new milestone for the platform, which launched in September 2023.
Brands like Ralph Lauren and Samsung notably signed up and saw success this year, which also reflects confidence from major brands and sellers.
“Staying relevant and sticky can be a challenge given the rising competition in retail,” said Nora Tourky, Global Marketing and Strategy Director at Safi Health & Beauty Group.
“You have to adapt to their behaviour, and you have to be smart in the choices of, depending on the product, depending on the demographics, depending on the audience that you have, you start adapting those channels.”
“We know today, so many people started shopping on TikTok, you know, like their purchase decision and even the purchase itself is happening through TikTok because it’s a very relevant platform where they see a product, they see an app, they like it, I just wanna buy it.”
Further, OpenAI officially rolled out a new feature inside ChatGPT that allows users to buy products directly from the chat in October this year.
Instant Checkout, powered by a collaboration with Stripe, is built on a new open standard known as the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). This is being seen as a framework that could potentially change how people shop online.
“You have to go to where the customers are. You can’t expect them to come to you,” said Roxana Nicolescu, VP Brand Marketing at Wego.com.
With Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) gaining traction, this isn’t hard to imagine. GEO introduces a new marketing approach focused on getting content seen in AI search tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini) by optimising for direct answers, not just links, using conversational queries, clear structure, and E-E-A-T.
Fluidly flitting between online and physical experiences
Customers might browse online, compare prices, then go to the store to buy. Or they may check out a product in-store and then place the order online for home delivery.
In response, marketers are investing heavily in seamless experiences, ensuring that browsing online, visiting a store, engaging on social media, and purchasing through an app all feel connected.
One of the main requirements here, not restricted to marketing, is that customer profiles are unified, so preferences follow the shopper at every touchpoint. Product availability, pricing, and promotions being synced across channels is a close second retail priority.
We collect data from everywhere, says David Egerton, Chief Digital Officer at The McGettigan Group, a family-owned hospitality company that includes a chain of Irish pubs and a collection of hotels.
Egerton explains that while it’s a traditional business since customers need to physically visit the pub or hotel, digital helps to “break the noise and establish commitment”.
“The good news is that there’s so much data. That whole customer segmentation thing doesn’t exist anymore. We now are down to a segment of one. So, we can actually pinpoint a customer exactly, what time they like to come in, what table they like to sit at, rather than just saying, you’re a female, that’s 18 to 24, and you like a lady’s night,” said Egerton.
Long-term brand devotion is waning
True loyalty is down for the first time, and a new category has emerged, as per SAP Emarsys’ Customer Loyalty Index 2025.
Fasil Shah, Senior Solution Lead, Middle East & South Africa at SAP Emarsys, says 14% are now classified as trend loyalty – a short-lived cohort of consumer love based on virality.
The report highlights a major shift where consumers, especially Gen Z, form fast, emotional ties to viral products (TikTok, influencers) rather than brands, leading to fleeting interest once hype fades (20-30% lose interest quickly).
This means brands must use AI and personalisation to quickly convert viral moments into lasting loyalty, moving from hype to history by understanding individual customers, as traditional brand loyalty declines, replaced by a need for relevant, fast, and connected experiences.
The Takeaway
Change seems like the only constant, to quote a cliché. The shifts are far from over for marketing and CX teams.
The ones that thrive are those that stay agile, experiment boldly, and embrace the new blend of creativity, technology, and customer obsession that defines the modern marketing landscape.
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