Consumer Goods Trends for 2026

The Consumer Takes Back Control

After years marked by economic uncertainty, accelerated digitalization, and inflationary pressure, 2026 projects a scenario of greater stability for mass consumption in Latin America and around the world. However, with that stability also comes greater consumer demand: more options, more channels, more awareness, and above all, greater decision-making power.

This article summarizes the main global and regional trends that will shape the 2026 consumer, combining data and insights from sources such as Euromonitor, Capgemini, ITONICS, Mintel, Forbes, and Xepelin.

1. The Consumer Takes Back Control

After years shaped by inflation, scarcity, and global uncertainty, 2026 projects a more competitive and diverse landscape for brands. With supply recovering and prices stabilizing, consumers regain decision-making power and compare more than ever before.

It is no longer just about choosing products, but about validating brands based on their value proposition, their behavior, and their alignment with the buyer’s personal values. Loyalty is no longer guaranteed by habit: every choice, every ticket, must be earned again.

Brands can anticipate behavioral shifts using pLTV (Predictive Lifetime Value) tools to understand which customers are at risk of churn and how to maximize repurchase. In addition, with KPI Planner, media spend can be optimized to maintain efficiency even as consumers become more demanding.

2. Greater Rationalization and Lower Loyalty to Premium Brands

According to Capgemini, 66% of consumers plan to reduce spending on non-essential products, and 63% choose private label or value brands over premium brands. This behavior is becoming entrenched in categories such as food, health, and household products.

“Downtrading” is not a temporary symptom — it is a conscious consumption strategy. Brands must adapt to a consumer who prioritizes functionality and affordability.

Through Marketing Science, brands can apply channel analysis to identify which products or combinations drive the most value for each customer profile, and adjust their offering to remain competitive without sacrificing margin.

3. The Boom of Social and Live Commerce

46% of Gen Z consumers have already purchased through social media (Capgemini), consolidating social commerce as a rapidly growing channel.

In addition, the live commerce format is emerging as a natural evolution of e-commerce: more entertainment, greater proximity, and real-time interaction. Purchase decisions are no longer made in front of a store shelf, but while scrolling.

With Bunker Analytics, brands can measure content performance across social platforms in real time, identify the formats that convert best, and optimize digital media investment by integrating campaign data, social posts, and e-commerce performance metrics.

4. Generative AI as the New Shopping Assistant

55% of Gen Z consumers have already purchased products recommended by generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or brand assistants (Capgemini). Additionally, 52% of all users who use AI for shopping have already replaced traditional search engines with AI-generated recommendations.

This technology not only guides product discovery, but also enhances personalized experiences, delivers context-based recommendations, and even creates customized content for each shopper.

With ADA AI, marketing teams can interact directly with their data, generate analyses in seconds, answer complex questions using simple prompts, and make optimization decisions with greater agility — without relying on technical resources.

5. Radical Transparency: Less Marketing, More Truth

According to Euromonitor, consumers are seeking more transparent brands, with clear production processes, honest messaging, and demonstrable sustainable practices. 64% expect brands to notify them when ingredients or product quality are reduced without a corresponding price decrease (Capgemini).

“Shrinkflation” and “skimpflation” are being actively monitored, and brands must learn to communicate processes — not just results.

With Listening, brands can monitor mentions in real time, detect shifts in perception, analyze negative sentiment related to product changes, and adjust their communication before a crisis escalates.

6. Low Processing and Nutritional Awareness

Mintel highlights that 47% of adults in the U.S. consider the level of processing a concern when purchasing food — even above price.

The “Trust the Process” trend is driving interest in less processed, more natural foods that clearly explain their production methods. There is also growing acceptance of products made with upcycled ingredients, as an ethical and ecological response to waste.

Using Listening, brands can track real-time conversations about ingredients, processing, and sustainability, detect emerging concerns, and identify the messages that generate stronger connections with conscious consumers.

7. E-commerce Keeps Growing, but Becomes Invisible

Latin America will continue its growth in digital sales, with particularly strong momentum in mobile commerce. The channel is becoming more organically integrated into the consumer experience, blurring the lines between social, retail, and content.

Apps, live commerce, and omnichannel strategies will set the pace. The point of sale is no longer a place — it is a moment.

8. The Consumer as Co-Creator

According to ITONICS, consumers increasingly expect to have an active voice in the development of products, campaigns, and brand decisions. The “prosumer” logic (producer + consumer) is emerging as a collaborative model.

In addition, 59% of users who use AI expect to receive recommendations aligned with their personality and preferences (Capgemini), which requires brands to deeply understand each consumer and create spaces for continuous two-way interaction.

Close the Gap Between What Consumers Want and What Your Brand Delivers

2026 will not wait for brands to catch up. Decisions are made faster, habits shift in real time, and attention is increasingly difficult to win. What works today may not be enough tomorrow.

In this new landscape, the key is not having more data — but knowing what to do with it. Listening better, analyzing faster, planning with focus, and executing with precision.

At Bunker DB, we work every day with mass consumer brands to help them become more agile, more intelligent, and more effective in their marketing decisions.