Brain Upgrade: The Future Shopper Report

The Future Shopper Report: Top 10 Insights for Brands

Please join us for our first Brain Upgrade client webinar of 2025. From AI to immersive experiences, this session will explore the key trends shaping the future of retail.

Thursday 6 February 2025 | 8:30am-9:30am SAST | Virtual on MS Teams

Get ready to level up your retail strategy as we dive into the Future Shopper Report and reveal the top 10 takeaways for brands.

More than ever before, today’s consumer wants control over how they shop, demanding to be at the centre of their own immersive, omnichannel retail universe. They want to engage with businesses and brands across any channel and are willing to switch their allegiance away from those that can’t meet their expectations.

In this session, our commerce and brand experts will take you inside the mindset of the modern consumer – unpacking the key behavioural changes you need to be aware of as we head into 2025.

We will cover the following:

Intro to the Future Shopper Report
Future Shopper unpacked: Top 10 headlines, including SA-specific stats and insights

Jade dos Santos, Strategy Director at VML South Africa, will be in conversation with Enterprise Solutions experts Hugh Fletcher, Marketing Director & Thought Leadership Lead, and Naji El-Arifi, Head of Innovation.

When: Thursday, 6 February 2025 | 8:30am - 9:30am SAST
Where: Virtual on MS Teams - link will be sent after your registration

The Future Shopper Report from VML – our 8th annual edition – more than 31,000 shoppers across 20 countries have spoken.

The Future Shopper report provides a clear view into the online shopping trends of shoppers today and in the future, including why spending habits are changing and what to expect as we shift towards a world where physical and digital merge.

Amid economic, societal, tech and environmental challenges, we witness a re-normalisation as consumers welcome physical shopping experiences, at the same time placing a higher value on compressed commerce and accelerated customer journeys. Marketplaces maintain their dominance but with a weakening grip, and attrition threatens to derail the progress of D2C channels.
Read more here.

Download your copy of The Future Shopper report today:

Meet our speakers

Hugh Fletcher
Global Demand Content & Thought Leadership Director
VML Enterprise Solutions

Hugh Fletcher is a global expert in e-commerce thought leadership interested in exploring potential and alternative futures driven by innovation and creative research. With over 15 years of client and agency-side experience at both strategic and operational levels, Hugh is a principal author of VML's Future Shopper report.

Naji El-Arifi
Head of Innovation
VML Enterprise Solutions

Naji El-Arifi focuses on solving problems in creative new ways for businesses in a digital-first world. With a background in product management and innovation, Naji has worked with global companies including Lego, Sainsbury’s, Audi and BP, amongst others, demonstrating how technology can solve industry challenges. He's also a two-time winner of WPP's prestigious Atticus Awards.

Jade dos Santos
Strategy Lead
VML South Africa

Jade is a strategic lead with 18+ years of experience in shaping and executing marketing and digital go-to-market strategies for domestic and international enterprises.

He is committed to driving business expansion through digital empowerment, serving clients in both B2C and B2B environments across Africa for multiple industry leading companies.

From AI to immersive experiences: Join our VML South Africa Brain Upgrade webinar to explore the key trends shaping the future of retail.

Secure your spot:

The Future Shopper Report from VML – our 8th annual edition – more than 31,000 shoppers across 20 countries have spoken.

Download your copy of The Future Shopper report today:

Meet our speakers