The modern consumer is evolving and becoming more demanding.

Modern commerce is undergoing a significant evolution. Transparency and information quality have redefined commerce in 2025. And this evolution forces brands to completely rethink their approach to product information and customer experience.
A consumer who has become an expert in their own purchase journey
The consumer of 2025, and the one evolving in 2026, is nothing like the consumer of ten years ago. They navigate seamlessly across channels and multiply touchpoints before making a decision. The data is clear: 73% of buyers combine multiple channels during their journey, and it takes an average of 6 interactions with a brand before triggering a purchase. This multiplicity of touchpoints reveals behavior that has become almost professional in evaluating offers.
Beyond this technical mastery, we observe above all a shift in decision-making criteria. Brand values, ethics, environmental impact, and authenticity now weigh as much as price or functional product features. The modern consumer seeks coherence between what they buy and what they believe in. They expect smooth and personalized experiences, but remain vigilant about privacy protection. This contradiction between personalization and data privacy is one of the major challenges for brands in 2026.
Moreover, artificial intelligence has entered this complex landscape, generating as much interest as caution. Consumers are curious about the possibilities it offers in terms of recommendations and personalization, but remain cautious about the use of their personal data.
The information paradox: too much content, not enough quality
The most striking finding of Akeneo’s report, conducted in August 2025, is that despite the explosion of product content from brands, 66% of consumers abandon a purchase due to missing information. This figure reveals a fundamental paradox of commerce. Brands produce vast amounts of content, but fail at the essential task: providing truly useful information at the decisive moment.
Data shows that some information is generally well-provided. Prices, sizes, and visuals receive decent ratings from consumers. However, everything related to sustainability, allergens, supply chain, or brand values remains dramatically under-documented. And these are precisely the pieces of information that correspond to the new priorities of buyers.
This gap is not trivial. It reflects a mismatch between brands’ content strategies, still focused on traditional product attributes, and the expectations of a generation that wants to understand the origin, impact, and purpose of what they buy. Marketing teams continue to produce standardized product sheets while consumers seek a story, a commitment, and proof.
The return crisis is a symptom of a deeper problem
The consequences of missing or misleading information are measured in billions. Between 40 and 50% of consumers have returned a product due to incorrect or misleading information: wrong size, unrepresentative visuals, inaccurate descriptions. Globally, the cost of returns reaches $900 billion. This staggering figure represents far more than a financial loss for brands. It symbolizes massive ecological waste, customer frustration that erodes trust, and inefficiency in current e-commerce strategies.
The emotional aspect of this issue should also be highlighted. 67% of customers feel frustration or injustice when a return is charged to them. This reaction is understandable: the consumer believes they trusted the information provided by the brand. When this information proves false, they feel deceived. Charging them for returns adds insult to injury and risks losing them. But for brands, the stakes go far beyond financial loss. Every return caused by incorrect information is a missed opportunity to build a trustful relationship and a warning signal about the quality of their product information system. This is why we work daily with Akeneo PIM on our clients’ projects, helping them establish true product data governance to reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction.
Value lies in reliable information
Akeneo’s report highlights a crucial point: consumers are now willing to pay 25 to 30% more if product information is clear, reliable, and complete. This shift shows how much information quality now impacts purchase decisions.
Price, once the number one criterion, is losing ground. In luxury, its importance drops from 45% to 33%. In sports, from 45% to 28%. In fashion, from 49% to 40%. This does not mean price no longer matters, but rather that customers now consider many other factors in their perception of value.
Today, trust, transparency, and coherence with their own values take precedence. A more expensive product, but precisely documented (with information about its origin, impact, or the brand’s commitments), is often considered more attractive than a cheaper but opaque product.
Personalization as a major loyalty lever
More than half of consumers say they become more loyal when offered a personalized experience. And 40% are even willing to pay 25% more for a truly tailored journey. In other words, personalization is no longer just a marketing bonus; it is a real value driver.
But intelligent personalization cannot be improvised. For it to work, three elements are essential. First, reliable and complete product data to provide meaningful recommendations. Second, a good understanding of customers, built on properly collected and used data, respecting the trust they give to the brand. Finally, AI technologies capable of adjusting content, suggestions, and journeys in real time according to context.
Conversely, poor personalization can become a barrier. Recommendations based on incorrect data create frustration and drive customers away. The challenge is therefore double: build solid technological infrastructure and instill a true culture of data quality across the organization.
The omnichannel equation for a smooth and coherent experience
Today’s purchase journey is clearly divided: consumers research online, then often buy in-store. Search engines and marketplaces dominate the discovery phase, with 26% and 22% of searches. But at the point of purchase, physical stores remain the leader with 30%, just ahead of marketplaces at 27%.
For brands, this means each touchpoint must tell exactly the same story. What the customer sees on the website, on a marketplace, in an app, or in an ad must perfectly match what they find in-store. Otherwise, frustration sets in and trust decreases. The report also notes an increase in dissatisfaction, whether on apps, websites, or comparison platforms.
Technically, this is a real challenge. Companies must connect disparate systems, manage real-time stock, harmonize descriptions, align prices and offers. Many still fail to provide a unified view. Yet it has become a basic expectation. Consumers do not think in channels: they interact with a brand, period.
Transparency and storytelling are the new drivers of premium pricing
42% of customers say they are willing to pay more if a brand clearly explains its values, demonstrates sustainability efforts, and shows transparency in its supply chain. More than a third would even pay 10% more just for this transparency.
These figures indicate a real shift in consumption. Buying is no longer just about choosing a product; it is also about joining a story, beliefs, and a vision. Brands that authentically tell their story and prove their commitments create a strong emotional connection that can justify a higher price.
But beware: transparency can no longer be just marketing promises. Consumers quickly detect greenwashing or vague claims. They want proof, reliable certifications, and concrete data. A brand claiming sustainability must show product carbon footprints, explain material choices, and document social practices. In short: say it, but above all, demonstrate it.
The power of social proof and more authentic content
65% of consumers say they are influenced by other customers, and 54% by influencers. User-generated content (photos, videos, testimonials) has become the most powerful influence lever. This marks the end of the era when brands fully controlled their message.
Younger generations go further: they buy directly through the content creators they follow. The purchase journey shortens: discovery, recommendation, and transaction can happen in a single flow, without visiting the brand’s website. This raises important questions about customer relationships and journey control.
Consumers seek authenticity. They want to see the product in real-life use, understand its benefits and limitations, and read honest reviews. Overly polished or commercial content is immediately rejected. To gain credibility, brands must accept giving up some control over their image.
Practically, this means facilitating review collection, encouraging photo and video sharing, and integrating these contents into product pages and marketing campaigns. The goal is to create engaged communities who can become the brand’s best ambassadors.
The five pillars of a winning strategy
Faced with these transformations, brands must rethink their approach around five key axes.
The first is to treat product information as a true strategic asset. This includes investing in Product Information Management (PIM) solutions, establishing strict data governance, centralizing and harmonizing content, and measuring information quality as rigorously as product quality.
The second axis relies on using artificial intelligence to enrich and personalize the experience. AI can detect product data errors, generate context-appropriate descriptions, offer relevant recommendations, and anticipate customer needs. But its use must remain transparent and serve the customer, never manipulate them.
The third pillar is to truly put the customer’s voice at the center of the strategy. This means systematically collecting reviews, analyzing feedback and complaints, integrating user-generated content, and monitoring social media conversations. Every interaction becomes a source of learning for continuous improvement.
The fourth axis is to make commitments tangible and verifiable. Sustainability, compliance, ethics, transparency cannot remain abstract concepts: they must be conveyed through concrete information accessible at every touchpoint. Consumers seeking a product’s origin, carbon footprint, or manufacturing conditions must find this information easily.
Finally, the fifth pillar concerns optimizing every step of the customer journey. This involves ensuring omnichannel consistency, smoothing transitions between channels, harmonizing data, and eliminating friction. The ideal journey is one where the customer obtains the information they need when they need it, regardless of the channel.
In this new world, where consumers are demanding but willing to reward those who meet their expectations, information and experience have become as strategic as the product itself. So, is your e-commerce ready for these transformations?
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