Consumer and retail

Redefining consumer value in a world of constant change.

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Consumer and retail companies are competing in a market where demand, channels, and expectations keep shifting.

Global retail sales are on track to reach $28.7 trillion by 2028ⁱ. Within this expanding market, digital channels continue to gain significant ground, while global e-commerce is projected to hit $6.8 trillion, capturing roughly 24% of the total retail market share by the end of the forecast period.

Demand is dynamic. The harder question is anticipation. Consumer and retail leaders must now reconcile three pressures at once, including shifting consumer expectations, supply chain volatility, and rising sustainability demands, while AI, data, and direct-to-consumer models change how demand is created, captured, and served.

Forrester Research, 2024.

What’s reshaping consumer and retail?

The challenge is to know where demand is moving, where the value chain must change, and where the next source of growth will come from.

Consumers expect relevance at every interaction.

In many categories, personalization, values, and convenience have become baseline expectations. Brands need to tailor products and experiences to individual context while balancing sustainability and affordability.

Data and AI are changing how companies anticipate demand.

Leading companies are moving from hindsight to foresight, sensing demand earlier, shaping portfolios dynamically, and aligning pricing, promotion, and availability in real time.

Sustainability is becoming a driver of competitiveness.

Responsible sourcing, resource efficiency, and circular models are reshaping how value is created, strengthening margins, building consumer trust, and supporting access to future growth.

Turning consumer insight into coordinated action

Leading organizations are placing the consumer at the center of every decision, from product development to last-mile delivery, while building operating models that are flexible, responsive, and designed to evolve.

Organizations that connect intelligence, sustainability, and consumer relevance will be better positioned for growth, resilience, and lasting brand strength.

Why Strategy&

Strategy& partners with consumer goods companies, retailers, food and beverage leaders, and lifestyle brands on the choices reshaping consumer markets.

We help clients turn consumer, channel, and value chain choices into measurable commercial progress.

1

Consumer and retail expertise

We advise leading consumer and retail businesses on consequential decisions across brand, growth, channel, and consumer experience.

2

Strategy through commercial impact

We work alongside leadership teams to translate ambition into measurable outcomes across consumer, brand, channel, and value chain.

3

Analytics and AI for consumer relevance

We embed advanced analytics and AI across our work to sharpen demand sensing, personalize engagement, optimize pricing and assortment, and improve productivity across the enterprise.

Our services

We work across the full breadth of consumer and retail markets, from setting brand and growth ambition to delivering the consumer, channel, and value chain decisions that bring it to life.

01.

Agriculture and food strategy

Reshape agriculture and food strategies to build resilient supply, sustainable sourcing, and growth aligned with shifting consumer values and global demand.

02.

FMCG strategy and growth

Redesign FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and packaged goods portfolios, brand strategies, and routes to market for an AI-enabled, consumer-led, and increasingly direct-to-consumer environment.

03.

Lifestyle and apparel strategy

Shape lifestyle and apparel strategies across brand, product, and channel to capture growth in a sector defined by changing consumer values, digital commerce, and sustainability.

04.