VML Report Reveals Several Shaping The Consumer Experience

According to VML’s 10th annual Future Shopper report, the consumer reality paints a pragmatic picture that highlights a growing disconnect between industry AI ambition and true consumer behaviour.

The global study reveals that while AI adoption has surged, shoppers continue to make purchasing decisions based on the fundamentals that have always mattered: value, product availability, trust, and frictionless customer experience. Faced with economic pressures, consumers are focused on embracing AI as a tool but are far from allowing it to replace human judgment.

‘The race to adopt AI can distract brands from the harder question: why should someone choose them?’, said Parusha Partab, Chief Strategy Officer at VML South Africa. ‘South African shoppers are under financial pressure and scrutinising what deserves their money and trust. Brands have to make that choice feel worthwhile. Creators, compelling storytelling and useful product information can build desire and confidence, but the price, product and shopping experience have to justify both. AI investment should strengthen that connection between what a brand promises and what people actually get.’

South Africa’s AI Consumer Reality By The Numbers

VML’s Future Shopper research points to a growing confidence gap and rise in consumer scrutiny:

– 59% of SA respondents use ChatGPT; 41% use Google Gemini.
– 61% cross-check AI-generated product recommendations before purchasing, higher than the global response of 58%.
– 52% say AI-generated product imagery reduces trust in a brand; 50% skip content they believe was created using AI.
– 55.4% worry AI shopping tools are commercially influenced, compared to 53% of respondents globally; 59.7% say sponsored search results make it harder to find the best products.
– 42% don’t want AI involved in their shopping at all.

‘AI can help a brand get discovered. It still has to give people a reason to care,’ said Partab. ‘In South Africa, creators sit close behind family as the biggest influence on what respondents want to buy, yet more than half say their feeds are cluttered with low-quality AI content they have no interest in. That should challenge how brands show up. The opportunity is to create something people want to watch, take part in and return to. Every interaction should build recognition of the brand and what makes it worth choosing. Otherwise, brands risk producing more content while becoming less memorable.’

What The 2026 Future Shopper Report Reveals

The report highlights several shifts shaping the shopper landscape:

Economic pressure is reshaping what matters: Nearly 70% of South African respondents report greater financial anxiety than ever before, leading many to cut discretionary spending. Shoppers are prioritising more carefully, but protecting “sacred luxuries” like clothing, coffee, and beauty.

Search remains essential, even as confidence in digital discovery is eroding: Search engines have reclaimed their position as consumers’ top source for product inspiration and search, even as shoppers grow more skeptical of the platforms. Nearly 45% of SA respondents say search quality has declined over the past year, nearly 60% believe sponsored results make it harder to find the best products, and 49% feel their favourite online platforms have become worse over time.

Consumers are redefining the value of personal data: More than 52% of SA respondents say they would exchange deeply personal information (including real-time location, shopping habits, and health metrics) for monthly income, signalling a sea change in attitudes toward privacy, data, and value exchange.

Flawless customer experience has become a brand differentiator: Online and offline shopping have reached near parity, with 51% of respondents’ spending now taking place online. Regardless of channel, respondents rank price, product availability, and frictionless experiences above all else. More than half from SA (54.4%) say they won’t shop with brands that fail to meet their basic digital expectations, while 48% regularly abandon purchases because of frustrating online shopping experiences.

Influence is at an inflection point. Family remains SA respondents’ biggest influence (22%), followed closely by traditional creators (20%), who rank higher than friends (9.7%). AI tools still lag behind in South Africa, with only 1.9% of local respondents citing them as influencing what they like to buy.

‘A decade of Future Shopper research tells us that commerce never stands still, but the foundations of great brands remain remarkably consistent,’ said Neil Dawson, global chief strategy officer of VML. ‘Today’s consumers are more informed, more demanding, and more discerning than ever. The winners of the next era of commerce won’t simply be the brands with the best technology and data, they’ll be the ones that earn and sustain consumer confidence,’

Now in its 10th year, Future Shopper has become one of the industry’s longest-running global studies examining how technology, culture, and consumer expectations are reshaping commerce. Over the past decade, it has tracked the evolution of everything from mobile shopping and marketplaces to social commerce and AI-powered discovery.

Download the Future Shopper 2026 report.

VML SOUTH AFRICA
https://www.vml.com/south-africa