Across the consumer goods ecosystem—from consumer packaged goods (CPGs) to retailers to media agencies—one challenge recurs: by the time you get the data, the window to act has closed.

Consumer behavior is more dynamic than ever. Yet, most brand teams wait weeks for category performance reports. Agencies spend hours wrangling dashboards to measure lift. Retail partners are left guessing whether a campaign drives real share or just delivers impressions.

The real issue isn’t lack of data; it’s the delay between the question and the answer.

That insight gap costs more than time. It can mean missed trends and inefficient spend for CPGs. For retailers, it’s the difference between personalized, partner-ready strategies and reactionary discounting. For agencies, it can derail planning cycles and blunt creative effectiveness.

The result? Delayed decisions. Missed moments. Budgets wasted on assumptions.

In the race to “AI everything,” many organizations have overlooked a simple truth: if the inputs aren’t real, the insights won’t be either.

To break that cycle, we need to rethink what qualifies as a meaningful insight. It’s not just whether it came from an AI engine. but whether the data is fresh, grounded in reality, and accessible when needed.

• “As one of the world’s largest CPG companies, we’re constantly looking for ways to move faster and make smarter, more connected decisions. The shift we’re seeing is industry-wide. From fragmented RMN spend to more strategic, insight-led partnerships—it isn’t just about consolidation. It’s about finding partners who can close the gap between data and action. AI is a powerful unlock but only when it’s built on real-time, real-world inputs. That’s what Fetch brings to the table: actionable intelligence, scale, and seamless execution that help us move with confidence across retail, media, and commerce.” —Nicole Lesinski, director, category and ecommerce strategy, Nestlé USA

A new generation of tools that combine real-world purchase behavior with natural language AI are making a meaningful difference. Not because they’re flashy, but because they remove friction.

Take FAST by Fetch. It’s built to answer business-critical questions using verified real-time receipt data from real shoppers. Want to know who’s gaining share in your category week-over-week? Which region is underperforming on a campaign? Whether your competitor recently launched a promotion in club stores? Just ask.

This isn’t about one tool. It’s about a mindset shift.

The most effective brands, retailers, and agencies are no longer chasing dashboards—they’re chasing alignment. They want data understandable by marketers and analysts alike. Tools that surface problems and possibilities before the opportunity window closes. And AI that supports decisions—not just decks.

In today’s landscape, it’s not enough to be data-driven. You have to be decision-ready.

AI will keep evolving. Buzzwords will multiply. But the organizations that win will be the ones that know the difference between intelligence and theater—and invest in the systems that close the gap between question and action.