By combining the strengths of humans and AI, companies can fully reimagine the way they sell, making it faster, more intelligent, more empathic, and more data driven. The future vision for B2B sales—with humans and AI working in tandem to achieve outcomes neither could deliver alone—is moving from theory to reality. Our recent survey of B2B sales professionals revealed three strong viewpoints: salespeople want that vision, managers see the need, and customers increasingly expect it.

In 2021, System1 released Feeling Seen, a groundbreaking study on how to make advertising resonate with underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBT communities, and over-55s. At the time, exploring a whole generation felt too broad. Generations were seen as mass audiences, not defined by shared culture or identity in the way other groups were.

But Gen Z changed everything. Raised in a world shaped by social media and digital culture, they consume, connect, and express themselves in ways no other generation has. The industry became obsessed with them. But are brands actually connecting?

Predicting what matters in fashion was once an elite sport, the province of those who attend those big runway shows in New York, Milan, London, and – right now – Paris, like the editors of influential magazines. (A line from 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, about Miranda Priestly, a tyrannical fashion editor, conveys the idea succinctly: “You still don’t get it do you? Her opinion is the only one that matters.”)

We took a look at some of the biggest surveys of the year to understand how shopping is changing and what brands can do to position themselves to win more business. 

One message rings loud and clear across sources: Inflation and tariffs are increasing costs and economic uncertainty along with them. Holiday spend is only expected to rise modestly this year as consumers tighten their budgets, while e-commerce is set to grow ~7–9%. Businesses can tap into this potential by coordinating the customer journey around key moments and channels. 

TikTok is beginning to resonate with food and beverage brands as a platform through which to capture shoppers’ attention, sell through TikTok Shop and even develop new products.

Amanda Parker, head of food for TikTok Shop, told Modern Retail at the Groceryshop conference in Las Vegas that while the platform initially had success with smaller entrepreneurs,major CPG players like Mars and Coca-Cola have joined TikTok Shop as an additional channel of commerce.There, food and beverage brands can introduce new flavors or new products, do R&D, or offer limited-time-only flavors — things that they may have historically done through a grocery partner.

Ecommerce brands have already implemented generative AI for daily operations, and Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly capable of handling complex, multi-step tasks. Generating product descriptions, improved search functionality on the website, generating email/ad copy, and automated bundling and upselling product recommendations are just a few ways that generative AI has made running a brand both easier and quicker.

What are beauty products? Who buys them? Where are they sold? What factors matter most to people who shop for beauty products? We asked 15,000 consumers and 100-plus executives for their perspectives on today’s beauty market. In this podcast episode, we highlight the themes that emerged from our research.

The answers to these questions are evolving, which means beauty brands and retailers can’t simply keep doing what they’ve been doing for the past few years. The second edition of our annual report, The State of Fashion: Beauty, dissects the dynamics of today’s beauty industry, whose core segments—skin care, cosmetics, hair care, and fragrance—are expected to constitute a $590 billion market by 2030.

After years of retooling their businesses for search engines, brand and retail leaders say they’re getting ready for a new frontier: GEO. The term, which means generative engine optimization, refers to optimizing web content to show up in results from AI-driven search platforms, like ChatGPT or Google Gemini. It’s a new way for brands to stand out and reach customers, especially considering thatnearly 60% of U.S. consumers have used a generative AI tool for help with online shopping, per an August 2025 survey from Omnisend. If a customer asks an AI engine about buying lip gloss or a T-shirt, the relevant brands want to make sure they show up.