To simplify shopping for customers in 2026, retailers will provide curated product selections online and in-store, experts told EMARKETER. This will also strengthen loyalty and improve the shopping experience, attracting new customers and encouraging them to return regularly in the year ahead.

As shoppers increasingly discover new products on social media and through generative AI-powered chatbots, experts expect curated selections to pop up on many platforms.

• 73% of Gen Z US shoppers and 67% of millennials say social media is their main source for learning about new products, according to a December 2025 report from Salsify.
• 39% of consumers planned to use AI for discovery and shopping during the most recent holiday season, per November 2025 data from First Insight.

Building trust and loyalty by cutting irrelevance

Industry leaders say retailers can earn shoppers’ trust by cutting down on choices and showing the most relevant and interesting products. This means using curation strategies in all places where customers are interacting with retailers.

“In 2026, we’ll guide our clients to deprioritize irrelevant sends, short-term promotions, and any tactic that might chip away at consumer trust,” said Ryan Warren, chief CRM officer at Razorfish. “At the same time, we’ll double down on what we’re calling ‘Big L’ loyalty: Programs that move beyond traditional points-based programs to incentives offering access, exclusivity, recognition, and community, so consumers feel seen and valued.”

Retail media networks will help in this curation effort by delivering informed product suggestions and campaigns to shoppers throughout their journey, experts say. RMNs have deep knowledge of shopper preferences and the reach across channels like search, and even CTV, to keep messages and search results relevant.

“Search will transform into a personalized marketplace, blending intent, content, and commerce so consumers interact with the most relevant brands and experiences in real time,” said Mac Hagel, president of media at Razorfish. “Commerce media in 2026 becomes less a channel, and more a connected growth engine powering the full funnel.”

Narrowing down choices for shoppers

In 2026, industry leaders believe retailers will narrow down product choices and pull back on irrelevant promotions in an effort to deliver what shoppers want. Often, shoppers are taking the initiative in turning to social media and other digital platforms to narrow down choices.

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

• 75% of shoppers say having the ability to narrow down choices strengthens confidence in their purchasing decisions, according to an August 2025 survey from The Decision Lab and Morning Consult/Pinterest.

Retailers and brand partners will step up to help in narrowing choices for shoppers, wherever consumers are discovering products.

“AI-driven insights will guide content strategy, but human curation and storytelling will remain essential,” said Matt Grandchamp, vice president of sales for NowThis. “Brands that can blend machine efficiency with authentic narrative will win in 2026.”

Curated shopping lists for omnichannel shoppers

As consumers are already asking genAI chatbots to build product lists based on budgets or other prompts, retailers have to remain relevant in a fragmented omnichannel journey. Shoppers are constantly refining buying decisions based on new curated choices they see on social media, streaming services, and other digital channels.

“In the lead-up to the 2025 holiday shopping season…consumers moved fluidly through a multi-touch journey where discovery and decision-making blended together,” said Rodrigo Paolucci, global head of marketing at Channel Factory. “Holiday shopping began

weeks before the sales period, with consumers turning to creators, reviews, tutorials, and AI-

assisted search to shape their gift lists.”

He added: “Context and environment influenced those decisions, shoppers gravitated to trusted, relevant content, and brands that showed up in those suitable environments carried more weight.”

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