Consumers in 2026: When wellness, AI, and Gen Z redirect your bottom line

Wellness is how shoppers decide what feels safe to buy

Shoppers no longer decide based solely on price and brand. As Euromonitor’s Global Consumer Trends 2026 report shows, shoppers are actively seeking products that deliver comfort, reassurance, and clear wellbeing value. In many categories, wellness expectations now influence how people assess quality, relevance, and trust before they commit to a purchase.

Euromonitor also identifies a trend it calls Rewired Wellness, in which demand grows for solutions backed by credible claims and visible benefits. Simple labels and clean ingredient stories have become baseline requirements for e-commerce visibility. Products with unclear or unsupported wellness attributes struggle to earn confidence, especially when rising prices make each decision feel more considered.

NIQ’s 2026 Consumer Outlook reinforces this shift, showing well-being considerations shaping purchase behavior across markets. Products that communicate wellness clearly are more likely to appear in curated listings, recommendations, and search results.

For e-commerce teams, wellness functions as a decision filter. Structured wellness data and transparent claims support early relevance checks and influence AI-driven selection.

Why AI is calling the shots in e-commerce relevance

AI is now embedded in the systems that sort, rank, and present products across digital commerce. Gartner’s Strategic Predictions for 2026 shows AI moving beyond support roles into workflows where decisions are executed automatically, often through coordinated, multi-agent systems. That shift is already influencing how relevance is calculated inside platforms and marketplaces.

As decision logic becomes automated, selection follows clearer rules. Products are assessed using inputs that AI systems can process consistently and at scale. Gartner does not focus specifically on e-commerce, yet it describes a broader pattern where AI takes on operational decisions earlier, with less human involvement.

PwC’s AI Predictions for 2026 reinforce this direction. Organizations are moving away from isolated pilots toward enterprise-wide AI programs tied to measurable outcomes. These programs depend on reliable, governed data to function as intended.

Product information feeds many of these AI-driven workflows. Attributes, claims, and specifications guide how products are ordered or surfaced. Unclear or inconsistent information limits what automated systems can evaluate, affecting visibility across search, recommendations, and curated selections.

AI doesn’t replace shopper judgment. It influences which products are evaluated in the first place.

Gen Z buys with pressure, purpose, and less hesitation

Financial concerns appear early in Gen Z behavior. McKinsey reports that around 40% of Gen Z consumers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are worried about their financial futures, and many say they lack enough savings to support their current lifestyle for more than a month. Despite this, Gen Z continues to spend rather than pull back entirely.

McKinsey finds Gen Z is more willing than older generations to spend on credit. A higher share reports willingness to buy on credit, and more than one-quarter use buy-now-pay-later services.

The report also shows Gen Z uses grocery and food delivery services at higher rates than any other generation, even when those options cost more. McKinsey notes a greater willingness to pay for ease and speed when it simplifies everyday decisions.

McKinsey emphasizes that Gen Z will set expectations that other consumers follow. Preferences around ease, access, and spending behavior increasingly influence how products are evaluated across categories.

What you can still control when everything else shifts

Wellness expectations, AI-driven selection, and Gen Z behavior continue to change how products earn visibility online. You cannot slow those changes down or manage them channel by channel. You can influence how clearly and consistently your product information appears wherever buying decisions happen.

Your product data connects critical touchpoints. The same attributes support wellness claims, provide AI systems with usable inputs, and guide shoppers’ comparisons across marketplaces and retail partners. Gaps or mismatches across channels create delays, confusion, and significant visibility losses that teams often notice too late.

Centralized, governed product information gives you more control. You keep wellness details aligned across channels. You reduce manual updates and repeated corrections as products move between platforms.

Product information management supports how your products are described, discovered, and trusted. As consumer choices narrow, clear and controlled product data becomes a deciding factor in whether your products stay visible or slip out of consideration.

Take control of what redirects your bottom line in 2026

Wellness expectations, AI-driven relevance, and Gen Z behavior already influence how products earn attention and trust online. As competition for visibility increases across e-commerce, performance depends less on reacting to each change and more on working from a controlled product data foundation.

Clear, governed product information helps you respond to shifting expectations without reworking every channel. You keep claims aligned, provide AI systems with reliable inputs, and scale updates across marketplaces with fewer delays and fewer inconsistencies. That level of control supports visibility, speed, and confidence at the point where buying decisions happen.

Consumer behavior will continue to change beyond 2026, and so will your product information. The question is whether your current setup can keep pace without slowing launches, creating inconsistencies, or adding operational strain. Product information management provides the structure to adapt.

Start building that control for your team. See how AI and PIM work together to support consistent product information and smarter execution across your digital channels.