Summary
As U.S. consumer behavior settles into a new normal, the path to growth in 2026 is no longer about expanding reach—it’s about deepening relevance. While eCommerce has stabilized, expectations remain dynamic, with younger shoppers demanding immediacy and personalization, and older consumers prioritizing clarity and confidence. Mobile dominance has made seamless, cross-device experiences non-negotiable, and message fatigue has intensified the demand for fewer, but more meaningful, brand interactions. Consumers are open to AI-driven personalization, but only when it’s transparent, well-timed, and under their control. In this era of digital discernment, brands must shift from campaign-centric models to identity-led strategies that honor attention, reduce noise, and build trust. Growth belongs not to the loudest marketers, but to those who understand when not to speak.
As brands enter 2026, the U.S. consumer landscape is no longer defined by rapid change — it’s defined by refinement. To better understand how shoppers are navigating this next phase of digital commerce, Wunderkind surveyed hundreds of U.S. consumers to uncover how they plan to shop, engage with brands, and evaluate digital experiences in the year ahead.
The result is the 2026 U.S. Consumer Insights Report, a deep look at how expectations around relevance, trust, and restraint are reshaping growth. What we found is clear: consumers aren’t disengaging — but they are becoming more selective.
Shopping Has Stabilized, but Expectations Have Not
Most U.S. consumers plan to shop online about the same amount in 2026 as they did in 2025, signaling a mature eCommerce market. Online shopping is no longer novel or accelerating at pace; it’s habitual. However, stability does not mean stagnation.
Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, continue to represent the strongest source of incremental growth. Many shop online multiple times per week and expect brands to meet them with speed, continuity, and relevance. Older consumers remain highly engaged as well, but their behavior is more deliberate, with greater emphasis on value, clarity, and confidence at the moment of purchase.
The takeaway? Growth won’t come from pushing everyone to shop more. It will come from aligning experiences with how different consumers already behave.
Mobile Is the Baseline, Not the Differentiator
Smartphone usage among U.S. consumers is nearly universal, making mobile performance table stakes. Any friction on mobile doesn’t just hurt performance, it limits participation.
But mobile dominance doesn’t eliminate the role of other devices. Desktop and tablet usage remain critical for higher-consideration purchases, research-heavy moments, and confidence building. Consumers increasingly move between devices based on context and intent, expecting brands to recognize them seamlessly along the way.
Brands that fail to maintain continuity across devices risk breaking momentum precisely when shoppers are closest to converting.
Consumers Want Fewer Messages — Not Less Value
One of the strongest signals in the report is message fatigue. U.S. consumers consistently prefer fewer, more relevant interactions over high-frequency outreach. Email remains the most trusted channel for re-engagement, while SMS and MMS perform best when messages are timely, behavior-driven, and permission-based.
Paid retargeting, by contrast, ranks lowest in preference, highlighting growing resistance to interruptive advertising.
This doesn’t mean consumers don’t want to hear from brands. It means they want outreach to feel earned. Messages tied to real behavior, clear value, or genuine intent significantly outperform broad, repetitive campaigns.
AI Is Accepted — When Control Comes First
Despite growing conversation around AI fatigue, U.S. consumers are not inherently resistant to AI-powered experiences. Many actively welcome AI-driven personalization, automated decisioning, and cross-device recognition — when it clearly improves relevance and reduces noise.
Acceptance drops quickly when AI feels excessive, poorly timed, or opaque. Consumers want control over frequency, timing, and topics, as well as transparency around how their data is used. In other words, the expectation isn’t more automation, it’s smarter decisioning.
What This Means for Brands
The U.S. consumer in 2026 isn’t overwhelmed, they’re discerning. Winning brands will move away from campaign-led thinking and toward relationship-led execution. That means using identity to recognize shoppers across sessions and devices, AI to decide when engagement truly adds value, and orchestration to connect every interaction into a cohesive experience.
In a crowded attention economy, growth won’t come from louder marketing or broader reach. It will come from relevance, restraint, and trust.
To explore the full findings and see what this means for your brand, read the full 2026 U.S. Consumer Insights Report.
