The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) hosted a virtual-only conference on January 22nd, featuring presentations from various companies discussing key consumer trends to keep an eye on in 2025. Topics covered during the event included: Retail Trends Shaping 2025 and Beyond by PSFK, The Not-Yet-Trending Report from Pinterest, Future Consumer 2026 according to Pinterest, Life Trends 2025 – How People’s Evolving Relationship with Technology is Shaping the Future of Brands presented by Accenture Song, The Next Big Thing from CES summarized by Cooley Insights, and Culture Codes for 2025, as seen by agency Refinery29.
Presented by PSFK founder Piers Fawkes, Retail Trends Shaping 2025 and Beyond identified a cross-section of current and future trends shaping the retail industry, grouping them into more mainstream or emerging categories. Piers also offered his company’s take on ‘potential’ trends for retail in the not-too-distant future. One of the more interesting current retail trends called out by PSFK was that shoppers still want to discover items through physical experiences, and “increasingly seek spaces that combine shopping, entertainment, and cultural connection, turning retail into vibrant community hubs.” Looking forward, Fawkes sees creative partnerships and label collaborations as ways to reinvigorate retail brands and engage modern consumers. PSFK also shared two fascinating potential future trends for retail. The first was the idea of stores operating as a ‘smart wardrobe,’ where customers subscribe to a service that gives them access to a full wardrobe, eliminating the need for permanent ownership. The second trend was the integration of wellness into retail, creating wellness zones within reimagined spaces that offer relaxation, fitness, health-focused experiences, and related products.
The Life Trends 2025 session, conducted by leaders from Accenture Song, was another thought-provoking presentation, featuring five emerging life trends that are impacting how people are feeling about and responding to today’s business, technology, and societal changes. The five trends that Accenture discussed were: 1) the Cost of Hesitations, 2) the Parent Trap, 3) the Impatience Economy, 4) the Dignity of Work, and 5) Social Rewilding.
Two of these five trends stood out to me. First, the Cost of Hesitations highlighted the impact of the overall decline in trust, particularly in the online world. As a result, Accenture pointed out that “hesitation is becoming a reflex as people can no longer automatically trust product images, reviews, marketing campaigns, and content they’re served.” This trend and observation mesh with privacy and trust concerns that Harmelin mentioned in its own Consumer Behavior Trends presentation earlier this month.
A second trend that I found particularly interesting was the ‘Social Unwilding,’ which speaks to consumers’ desires to reconnect with each other and the world around, rediscovering joy without the influence of technology. The presenters also noted that in the 1990s, digital firms used to say, “Everything that can be digital, will be.” However, now consumers are again questioning whether that should be true.
Overall, the 2025 Consumer Trends virtual conference hosted by the ANA offered a variety of insightful trends and commentary that most people in the marketing or advertising industries would find useful.
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