The Future Shopper 2026. Winning Tomorrow’s Consumer

Sometimes businesses are so busy trying to hit quarterly, half-yearly, or annual targets that they simply don’t have time to look ahead and understand who their future customer will be.

That’s where VML and the Future Shopper report come in. Grounded in insights from 28,000 consumers across 17 markets, the Future Shopper helps businesses navigate a financially challenged, increasingly fragmented, and rapidly transforming retail landscape.

For instance, consumers are under more financial pressure than ever before, but how does this impact what and how they actually buy? It feels like the answer to every question asked is “AI”, but just how much will consumers integrate this revolutionary tool into their buying journeys? And it feels like every digital platform you visit is gradually getting worse as businesses prioritize profits over user experience, but just how much are shoppers noticing?

All these insights and more are covered in this unmissable session based on the Future Shopper report, the absolute must-attend briefing for any business building a winning strategy for the next 5 to 10 years.

Date and Time

Tuesday, October 6th from 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET

Speakers

Hugh Fletcher – Global Lead, Future Shopper at VML
Hugh Fletcher is the Global Lead of Future Shopper at VML. He is an internationally sought-after commerce futurologist, heading up the thought leadership and marketing team behind VML’s annual Future Shopper report. His two decades of experience span client and agency organizations. This gives him a unique take on the future of commerce and in helping organizations set up for, and implement, digital change in the constantly evolving commerce market.

His work focuses on helping ambitious clients transact more digitally through strategic consultancy, covering digital business transformation, the future of ecommerce and conversion. He is a go-to spokesperson in press and TV for tech trends impacting commerce, and author of reports, white papers and articles covering future shopper behaviors, Generation Alpha, peak selling and future trends such as post-death consumerism and space commerce.

Naji El-Arifi – Director, Agentic Strategy & Design at WPP

He helps lead the design and development of WPP’s flagship AI agents, turning agentic AI from theory into practical, working solutions. In his previous role as Director, Marcomms and AI Specialist at VML, Naji was one of the many people that worked on VML’s Future Shopper research, presenting its insights to brands including L’Oréal, Lego and Dunelm.