ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) becoming an ordinary part of everyday life, sensorial reset and climate-impacted world are among the key strategies crucial to enable brands to master the retail landscape in 2028, according to the world’s leading consumer trend forecaster.
On AI Ordinary, WGSN said the real intelligence lies in using AI to enhance human strengths and experiences distinctly rather than replace them.
It said retailers can embed AI into their workflows while valuing human intelligence.
“Lead with the human premium by making people your ultimate unique selling point. Scale efficiency with AI while letting human strengths, including creativity, care and connection, define your brand and customer experience,” it said in a blog.
WGSN said reawakening the senses will be a crucial business strategy and tangibility will become a new market of value.
“In a wired world, the biggest disruptors could be the things that reconnect us to what we can see, smell, hear, taste and touch,” it said, adding that digital fatigue gives way to emotional apathy in an overstimulated world.
“Enhance brand recall and premium positioning by harnessing the senses to differentiate products and services,” it added. “Offer repair, resale and participation models as proofs of value that deepen customer engagement and extend product lifespans.”
The trend forecaster further said resilience will be also a baseline business imperative in 2028 as a climate-impacted world changes every aspect of daily life.
“The era of distant pledges is over; consumers need immediate, frictionless adaptation,” it said.
WGSN urged retailers to deliver continuity by offering products that keep working in heatwaves, systems that guarantee delivery during disruption and communications that guide people calmly through crises.
“Resilience will be most appealing when it’s invisible to customers,” it said. “Develop cross-sector partnerships to scale climate transition -- think finance with tech or public with private. Use simple, relatable language to clearly communicate innovations.” / PHILEXPORT NEWS AND FEATURES