Redefining Value: How New Consumer Expectations are Changing the Game

The concept of value is currently undergoing a profound transformation.

Today’s consumers are no longer content with low prices or flashy marketing alone; they are looking for deeper connections with the brands they support. This shift in consumer expectations—from convenience and personalization to sustainability and trust—requires businesses to rethink their value propositions.

Here are five key trends redefining consumer value and how companies can respond to meet these evolving demands.

1. Hyper-Personalization: Using AI for Tailored Experiences and Messaging

Far from the days of one-size-fits-all, consumers increasingly expect individualized experiences. It’s not just about delivering personalized products, but also crafting highly customized messages that speak directly to the customer. Research shows that 72% of consumers engage more with personalized messaging, while 76% are more likely to make a purchase from brands that offer tailored service or experience.

While treating every customer as an individual can seem like an insurmountable task, today’s data-rich environment is making hyper-personalization possible. By using AI to monitor customer feedback and behavior, businesses can better understand and predict consumer preferences.

For instance, Australian supermarket Coles uses generative AI to analyze over 40,000 customer comments weekly, allowing the company to quickly identify pain points and areas of improvement. This insight enables Coles to refine its customer engagement strategies and enhance in-store and online experiences based on real-time feedback.

Additionally, AI is enabling real-time changes in how products are marketed and sold. Through technologies like electronic shelf labels (ESL), retailers such as Walmart are dynamically adjusting pricing and promotions in response to market demand and customer preferences. ESLs allow retailers to engage with customers in a more personalized manner, offering updated prices, discounts, or tailored information as customers browse store shelves, all informed by data and AI.

When it comes to leveraging AI to create unique, tailored and targeted marketing campaigns, Coca-Cola is leading the way. Using generative AI, Coca-Cola personalizes its advertising based on real-time data, crafting dynamic ads that change based on viewer preferences and behaviors. This technology allows the brand to create hyper-relevant content at scale, making each customer feel like the ad was made specifically for them.

The good news for individual professionals or smaller businesses looking to embrace personalized marketing is that you don’t need to be a global brand like Coca-Cola or Walmart to do so. AI-driven technologies like Tavus and BHuman enable individuals and sales teams to send personalized video messages at scale, creating deeper customer connections. Tavus, for instance, uses AI to generate personalized video outreach based on customer data, which can be an effective tool for sales teams looking to boost engagement with prospects. Similarly, BHuman allows businesses to create lifelike, personalized video messages for customers that feel more authentic than standard outreach methods.

Regardless of your role or industry, now is the time to focus on collecting and analyzing customer data to understand preferences and behaviors. Use this data to personalize marketing campaigns, improve product offerings, and create a seamless, tailored customer journey across all touchpoints. Investing in personalization will lead to higher customer retention and brand loyalty.

2. Sustainability: A Key Differentiator and Opportunity

In today’s marketplace, sustainability is more than just a buzzword—it’s a significant point of differentiation and a business opportunity. Consumers are increasingly prioritizing eco-conscious brands and expecting greater transparency about the environmental impact of the products they buy. According to a survey by McKinsey, 67% of consumers consider the use of sustainable materials an important factor when making purchasing decisions, and 64% want visibility into a product’s supply chain.

As brands focus on sustainability, they have an opportunity not only to meet consumer expectations but to differentiate themselves in crowded markets. Consider Unilever’s Dove brand launched refillable deodorants as part of their broader sustainability initiative. This move resonated with environmentally conscious consumers by reducing plastic waste while maintaining product quality. For many, sustainability is no longer just an extra benefit—it’s essential to a brand’s overall value.

When it comes to offering customers supply chain transparency, Belgian grocery store chain Farm offers a best-practice case study. Farm developed a tool called Farmoscore which provides consumers with detailed insights into the sustainability of each product, including environmental impact, animal welfare, and origin. By using Farmoscore, Farm has enabled customers to make more informed decisions based on the ecological footprint of their purchases, creating a unique selling proposition that resonates with modern, conscious consumers.

Technology can play a powerfully enabling role in helping consumers to gain more visibility into the sustainability of their purchases. For instance, GS1’s 2D barcodes are helping businesses offer greater transparency by embedding detailed information about product origins, sustainability certifications, and environmental impacts directly into product packaging. These barcodes, easily scannable via smartphones, allow customers to instantly access the data they need to make eco-friendly purchasing decisions.

Significantly, this sort of transparency translates into changed consumer behavior. In a study conducted in Norway, when customers received receipts listing the carbon footprint of the products they purchased—particularly red meat—there was a noticeable reduction in red meat consumption.

For businesses, this growing demand for sustainability presents a dual opportunity: improving environmental impact while increasing brand loyalty. But businesses must integrate authentic sustainability practices into their core operations, rather than relying on greenwashing tactics. Clear communication around tangible efforts—whether in packaging, supply chains, or carbon reduction—will meet consumers’ desire for purpose-driven value.

3. Trust in an Age of Transparency: Why Affinity is the Key to Loyalty

Consumers are increasingly looking beyond the superficial aspects of a brand and placing higher value on trust, authenticity, and alignment with core values. According to a Think with Google study, 85% of consumers say they will only consider a brand if they trust it. Moreover, 74% believe that a brand’s values must align with their own before they make a purchase decision. As a result, consumer loyalty is becoming more deeply tied to whether or not they believe a brand genuinely embodies its values, rather than just talking about them.

The emphasis has shifted from simple ethical considerations to genuine trust and loyalty built on transparency and consistency. Consumers want to feel secure not only in the quality of a brand’s products but in the values that the brand upholds. This growing emphasis on trust is reshaping the way brands communicate and build long-term relationships with their customers.

Patagonia is a prime example of a brand that has successfully built trust and loyalty by authentically embedding its values into its operations. The company’s environmental activism, including its commitment to sustainable sourcing and corporate responsibility, has earned it a devoted customer base that aligns with these values.

Brands should focus on building genuine trust with their customers by ensuring transparency in their operations and communication. Clearly defining and embodying core values will be critical for maintaining customer loyalty in the years ahead. Consumers are becoming more skeptical of virtue signaling, so it’s important to demonstrate authenticity through tangible actions that reflect the brand’s values, rather than just talking about them. Trust will be the currency of the future, and brands that fail to maintain it may struggle to retain their customer base.

4. Meaningful Engagements: Why Digital and Analogue are Both Essential

Consumers today are seeking more than just transactions—they crave meaningful, tangible engagement with the brands, products, and services they purchase. While digital channels have grown increasingly important in recent years, a recent survey by Trendwatching revealed that 57% of consumers still want to see, touch, and feel physical products before making a purchase.

Recognizing this fact, Foot Locker have recently embarked on a major initiative to reinvent its physical, in-store retail experience. As part of its revitalization plan, Foot Locker has redesigned its stores to offer a more immersive shopping environment, blending digital and physical experiences. These stores include interactive displays, community spaces, and personalized services that encourage deeper brand engagement, making the retail experience more memorable and unique.

While physical interaction remains important, mixed reality technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will continue to transform how consumers engage with products online. Technologies such as virtual try-ons and product visualizations allow consumers to experience a product’s look, fit, or feel before purchasing, all from the comfort of their own homes. Brands like IKEA and Sephora have embraced AR to offer virtual product experiences, allowing customers to visualize furniture in their homes or try on makeup virtually.

To meet consumer demand for both tangible and immersive experiences, brands should focus on creating retail environments that blend physical touchpoints with digital interactivity. Investing in store design that fosters community and meaningful engagement can turn shopping into an experiential journey, while adopting AR and VR technology can offer the convenience of a digital try-before-you-buy experience. Combining the best of both worlds will be key to winning with tomorrow’s consumer.

5. The Future of Convenience: Drone and Robotic Delivery

Speed and convenience are increasingly becoming core components of perceived value. Consumers today expect swift delivery, rapid customer service, and instant access to products and services.

To meet evolving customer demands, enhancing last-mile delivery through the use of drones and robotic delivery systems will be essential. By 2030, a significant portion of urban areas could see a shift to autonomous delivery, reducing the time and cost associated with human-powered delivery. According to Wipro, 40% of last-mile deliveries could be managed by drones in certain areas by the end of the decade, especially in remote and hard-to-reach locations. This shift will not only enhance speed and efficiency but also lower carbon footprints, making these solutions environmentally sustainable.

This future is already coming into view with a recent partnership between Serve Robotics and Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet, looking to revolutionize food delivery in the U.S. by combining autonomous delivery robots and drones. Additionally, Uber has begun testing robotic and drone delivery in select markets, demonstrating how these technologies are poised to become a part of everyday life in urban environments.

Now is the time for businesses of all shapes and sizes to start considering how to capitalize on the rise of autonomous delivery systems. Investing in partnerships with drone and robotics companies or developing in-house capabilities will be key to staying competitive as consumer expectations for fast, contactless, and efficient delivery continue to rise. Brands that are early adopters of these technologies will position themselves as leaders in convenience and innovation.

Conclusion: Adapting to Redefine Value

In the years ahead, consumers will continue to reshape the concept of value. From personalized experiences and sustainability to ethical engagement and speed, businesses that understand and adapt to these evolving expectations will be best positioned for success. Value is no longer about pricing alone—it’s about how brands align with consumers’ lives, values, and expectations.

Are you ready to redefine the value your brand delivers?

Article supplied with thanks to Michael McQueen.

About the Author: Michael is a trends forecaster, business strategist and award-winning conference speaker.

Feature image: Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash