RESEARCH REPORT

The empowered consumer

The key to deeper consumer relationships: reducing the noise around decision-making.

10-MINUTE READ APRIL 30, 2024

WRITTEN BY

Nguyễn Quốc Đài

Giám sát nghệ thuật

Kay Nguyễn

Biên kịch

Emily Weiss

Senior Managing Director – Global Industry Sector Lead, Travel

Oliver Wright

Senior Managing Director – Global Consumer Industries Group Lead

Emma Blackburn

Research Senior Manager – Global Consumer Insights Lead

OFFERED BY

Accenture Strategy

Global consulting services

Fundamental shifts across the consumer journey

01 Discovery

75%

of consumers wish they could identify options that meet their needs more quickly and easily.

Whether as intuitive digital services or human agents, generative AI-powered advisors are an incredibly accessible way to access the hyper-personalized advice that consumers crave. We expect the rise of these tools to fundamentally redirect the role of consumer marketing away from mass advertising and toward evidence-based information.

Generative AI-powered advisors can calm the confusion consumers feel by helping them compare options based on the metrics they care the most about — whether those are benefits, sustainability credentials, nutrition labels or something else.

02 Conversion

63%

of consumers have had the frustrating and disappointing experience of attempting to buy a product only to find that it is out of stock (on average across categories)

Conversion comes down to what happens at the point of purchase and consumers don't all share the same expectations. For consumers seeking independence, multi-modal search engines imitate the flexibility and agility of the human mind to create more accurate search results.

This could make the shopping experience significantly more personalized, adding value and easing the information gathering workload.

03 Loyalty

78%

of consumers say it is important for conversational AI advisors to recognize them and remember their preferences

Companies can cultivate loyalty by sharpening the value exchange with consumers, such that it's worth sharing more usable data in return for hyper-personalized experiences.

Because of how they understand consumers, generative AI tools make it possible for organizations to design experiences based on human purpose, not brand purpose. This is a profound shift.

Be data-powered and delightfully human

Generative AI is changing the consumer journey in ways that will fundamentally reshape how companies engage with their customers.

But technology alone isn't enough. The most successful companies will be those that use AI to enhance human connection, not replace it.

The future belongs to brands that can be both data-powered and delightfully human — using AI to create experiences that feel personal, relevant, and genuinely helpful.

This is a huge shift, and it's happening now.

Where could reinvention take your business?

Explore how generative AI and other emerging technologies are reshaping industries and creating new opportunities for growth.

Learn more about our approach to transformation through our generative AI studios and innovation labs.

Read the report Read the executive summary

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