Decoding Consumers in 2026: Understanding Evolving Preferences
When I wrote this in 2024, the list of consumer trends ran from sustainability to virtual reality. Two years on, some of that has faded and some has hardened into law. Here is what has changed, with the evidence, and what it means for a small service business.
1. Trust now sits level with price and quality
Edelman's 2026 Trust Barometer special report on brands found that 88% of people call trust in a brand an important or critical reason to buy, on a par with quality (89%) and value (88%). The report also found that people give far more weight to what unpaid customers and peers say about a brand than to what the brand says about itself.
What to do: collect honest reviews and client stories, make it easy for happy clients to refer you, and let other people do the talking wherever you can.
2. People want a human in the loop
PwC's Voice of the Consumer 2026 surveyed 21,808 people in 27 countries, including the UK, with a focus on health and wellbeing. Only 18% counted AI tools among the top five influences on what they do for their health, against 57% who cited healthcare professionals. When choosing products and services to support their health goals, value for money was the attribute people looked for most, chosen by nearly three-quarters.
What to do: if you are a therapist, coach or wellbeing practitioner, use AI and automation for the admin behind the scenes and keep yourself at the centre of the relationship. Be clear about what clients get for their money.
3. Ethics and honest claims
Since 6 April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, the Competition and Markets Authority can decide for itself that consumer law has been broken and fine a business up to 10% of global turnover. The same law bans fake reviews and reviews that hide an incentive, and the CMA has published guidance for businesses.
What to do: make only claims you can prove, whether about results, sustainability or reviews. If you offer anything in return for a review, say so.
4. Personal, but careful with data
People respond to messages that are relevant to them, and they expect their data to be handled properly. Both are achievable. Personalise from what someone has made public in a business context, keep a record of opt-outs, and honour them. The ICO's business-to-business marketing guidance sets out the UK rules, including that marketing emails must say who you are and give a valid way to opt out.
Done well, personal messages work. On one client account, messages written for each person drew replies from 13.6% of people, against 7.7% for the client's own templates, with the same audience and sequence over 16 weeks.
5. Fast, simple digital experiences
The 2024 version of this article predicted that augmented and virtual reality would shape customer expectations. I have dropped that prediction, because I could not find good evidence that it matters to a small service firm. What clients clearly do value is simpler: a quick reply, easy booking, clear prices and painless payment.
What to do: answer enquiries the same day, let people book and pay online, and send confirmations and reminders automatically.
Putting it together
None of these trends needs a big budget. They need consistency: honest proof, quick replies and a human voice. Most of the work behind that is repetitive, which makes it a good fit for automation. The 10-Hour Audit maps which parts of your client journey can run without you, and builds the first of them.
