2025 challenged many of retail’s long-held assumptions. What looked like familiar patterns often turned out to be something different entirely, and in the process, a few key trends were either missed or misread by brands trying to make sense of shifting shopper behavior.

Here are three trends from 2025 that were either overlooked or misunderstood, and why they will matter in the year ahead.

1. Resale is on the rise

Sustainability and affordability have converged to fuel one of retail’s most underestimated engines: Secondhand and rental markets.

• 35% of consumers across the Americas are looking for used items more than ever before and nearly 1 in 5 say they’re now renting instead of buying new, according to Ellen Jackowski, chief sustainability officer at Mastercard. .
• If tariffs raise prices, she said Gen Z is the most likely generation to shift to secondhand (26%), followed by millennials (24%), Gen X (21%), and boomers (16%).

But this shift isn’t just about price.

“We're seeing equal enthusiasm for the hunt itself, the thrill of discovering vintage pieces, and a genuine desire to reduce waste and maximize value in an increasingly resource-constrained environment,” she said.

The 2026 takeaway: By treating secondhand as a core product strategy and not a side experiment, retailers can capture loyalty from shoppers who increasingly see “new” as optional and “smart value” as the real luxury.

2. More isn’t always better

Choice overload has quietly become one of retail’s most pervasive conversion killers. But most brands still assume shoppers want more: More SKUs, more content, more pages.

But that may not be the right approach.

“Most of the industry still assumes shoppers want more options and more content. What we’re seeing is the opposite: They want better options, and they solve that through curation,” said Julie Towns, vice president, product marketing and product operations at Pinterest.

Pinterest research confirms this trend:

• 75% of shoppers feel more confident when choices are narrowed.
• 68% of Gen Z say the act of curation builds confidence and curators are 59% more likely to buy.

The 2026 takeaway: Curation can be a brand differentiator. Retailers will gain ground not by expanding assortments but by intentionally narrowing them, helping shoppers cut through noise and reach decisions faster.

3. Search is still alive and kicking

AI isn’t replacing search; it’s fundamentally reshaping how people discover, evaluate, and choose.

“Search is not only alive, it’s been reborn into an AI-powered discovery engine,” said Brian Stout of Ogilvy. “While search has transformed, most brands' SEO strategies haven't. They are no longer optimizing for an algorithm, but for intelligence.”

This shift is becoming increasingly evident:

• 64% of marketing professionals say reduced use of traditional search engines will have the biggest impact on digital advertising, found Funnel and Ravn Research.
• 61% of US adults say AI-powered search helps them compare specific products or services and 60% say it helps summarize reviews for specific products or features, according to August data from McKinsey & Company.

The 2026 takeaway: Retailers who treat AI search as a new front door rather than another channel will win. That means optimizing feeds, content, and product data for conversational queries, building credibility through transparent signals, and designing experiences that help the AI explain their products, not just list them.

This article was prepared with the assistance of generative AI tools to support content organization, summarization, and drafting. All AI-generated contributions have been reviewed, fact-checked, and verified for accuracy and originality by EMARKETER editors. Any recommendations reflect EMARKETER’s research and human judgment.

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