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Every January, the industry predicts “more digital.” That’s not a prediction. That’s inertia.

At Connections, we work inside retailer ecosystems every day. Unboxing moments. In-home media. Monetization models that actually move revenue. Here’s what we see shaping 2026, straight from the people closest to the work.

1️⃣ Trust becomes the real premium currency
Consumers trust the brands they buy from. Spending their hard-earned dollars with brands that they feel connect to them through product, mission, and customer service. Customer retention will continue to be big in 2026. Brands will need to continue to influence their customers. A gifted. tangible discount to another like brand inside their package is a great way to do so.
- Megan Stratton

2️⃣ Retailers will diversify revenue or fall behind
The win/win nature of generating significant incremental revenue whilst giving your best customers added value through complementary, non-competitive ad partnerships will become too difficult to ignore any longer for a lot of e-commerce retailers. - Richard Downey

3️⃣ Digital trust erosion accelerates the return to physical media
The continued rise of bots across social platforms like X, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram is eroding confidence in digital-only campaigns. As trust declines, agencies will increasingly look for media that is tangible, verifiable, and brand-safe. That shift will drive more campaigns toward specialized print partners who can activate package inserts at scale. - Ryan Rager

4️⃣ Print never left. It just got smarter
Or did it ever really fall off? Printed package inserts continue to be relevant because it delivers focus, recall, and action at home where decisions are made. Making sure print is part of your 2026 plan is the move. - Megan Stratton

5️⃣Physical retail media will begin to dovetail with digital
Retail media growth is locked in. What changes in 2026 is that more retailers will start to appreciate that tangible, physical retail media is a profitable and symbiotic partner to their ever-growing digital retail media activities.  -Richard Downey

We’ll be unpacking all of this and more as we head into 2026. If your media plan still lives in silos, it’s already behind.

Media geeks. Strong opinions. Proven results.