New Year, New Me: How to Drive Brand Profitability in 2026

As consumers adopt new habits in the new year, brands must meet them where they are — equipped with real-time insights and shoppable media experiences. Powered by first-party data, MikMak helps brands understand the macrotrends shaping 2026 commerce and turn seasonal motivation into measurable results through frictionless shoppability and precise analytics.

In this report, you’ll discover the emerging forces that will define 2026 and how your brand can take advantage of shifting trends, with specific insights and recommendations for Grocery, Alcohol, Beauty, Personal Care, and Health & Wellness brands.

1. AI Commerce Agents Will Redefine How People Shop

According to McKinsey Research, intelligent AI agents capable of anticipating needs, comparing products, and executing purchases are set to transform the digital commerce experience, projecting up to five trillion dollars in global retail influenced by this new model by 2030.

MikMak data further underscores this point, revealing that MikMak customers have seen a more than 150x rise in ChatGPT referral traffic since December.

ChatGPT Traffic Over Time | Dec 2024 - Sep 2025

These shopping agents will represent the next evolution of eCommerce marketing, making every product feed, ad placement, and data connection more important than ever. Brands that want to win in 2026 need to structure their content and data in ways these systems can easily interpret and recommend. Using Where-to-Buy tools and implementing a strong omnichannel marketing strategy will ensure your products stay discoverable and shoppable across every channel.

2. Shoppers Are Shopping Across A Diverse Array of Platforms

Adobe’s 2025 Digital Insights Report revealed a ten percent year-over-year increase in online holiday spending, driven largely by convenience and personalization.

At the same time, Forbes predicts that immersive commerce, sustainability, and AI-powered personalization will define 2026 commerce. These trends point to an ecosystem where commerce media and real-time analytics connect awareness, engagement, and conversion in one continuous loop.

Research in MikMak’s recent Omnichannel Commerce Strategy Playbook showed that consumers are most likely to convert from Paid Search media, and most traffic is coming from Paid Social. However, a large portion of product discovery is happening on Organic Search.

As the data shows, while Paid Search and Social lead when driving awareness, balancing media across channels can lead to conversions throughout the shopper journey. Here are MikMak’s best practices and examples for each channel so your brand can optimize its omnichannel campaign strategy.

3. Data-Driven Agility Is the Key to Brand Profitability

For brands asking “How can my brand prepare for 2026?,” the answer lies in agility and leveraging actionable insights. Adopt an always-on approach across social, retailer, and owned channels. Invest in first-party data to understand which moments drive purchase intent. Use real-time commerce media insights to measure performance end-to-end and adapt strategy in real time.

2026 will reward brands that act on insights quickly, connect every shoppable experience, and build personalized commerce experiences across the entire path to purchase.

Perspectives from Our Partners at Pinterest

Visual discovery continues to be one of the most powerful drivers of inspiration and intent.

“Our platform is designed for moments of intention. People come to Pinterest with goals in mind, giving brands an opportunity to meet them at the very start of their journey.”

— Carlos Garcia, VP of Sales, CPG, Pinterest 

As discussed in our webinar with Pinterest, The Magnum Ice Cream Company, and Spieckerman Retail, nearly 96 percent of Pinterest searches are unbranded, meaning consumers are open to discovering new products. Combined with MikMak’s first-party data, Pinterest enables brands to connect discovery with checkout in a measurable way.

WATCH WEBINAR

“With partners like MikMak, advertisers on Pinterest can reach and measure in detail the audiences ready to buy, helping close the loop from inspiration to conversion.”

— Carlos Garcia, Pinterest

Pinterest’s integration with MikMak’s Headless Commerce API and its proprietary technology makes every ad shoppable without leaving the platform. This eliminates friction and gives marketers the insights needed to refine creative, retailer strategies, and media performance across the funnel.

What Grocery Brands Need to Know for 2026

The start of the year fuels wellness and convenience-based Grocery shopping. Consumers are looking for easy, nutritious options that fit their new routines. MikMak data shows January and March remain peak periods for online Grocery traffic, with another lift in spring as meal-planning habits stick.

Grocery Shopper Insights

Most Online Grocery Traffic Comes from Paid Social

Pinterest Sees the Highest Conversion Rates for Grocery

Walmart is the Preferred Checkout Option for Online Grocery Shoppers

WATCH WEBINAR

“We really value our partnership with MikMak and Pinterest. The integration that you guys were speaking of earlier, we were lucky enough to move forward with the beta in Q3 where we were able to have one of our campaigns, without leaving the ad experience, directly add to cart. So we were super excited that it surpassed click-through rate and CPC benchmarks. Really, the least amount of clicks for someone to be able to add to cart, the better.”

— Katie Kelleher, The Magnum Ice Cream Company 

What Alcohol Brands Need to Know As They Navigate Marketing During “Dry January” and Enter 2026

The “Dry January” movement is reshaping early-year Alcohol marketing. MikMak data shows Alcohol engagement rebounding by springtime. Successful brands balance moderate messaging with aspirational storytelling and premiumization.

Share of Alcohol Traffic by Month

Alcohol Shopper Insights

Most Online Alcohol Traffic Comes from Paid Social

Meta Sees the Highest Conversion for Alcohol

Instacart is the Preferred Checkout Option for Online Alcohol Shoppers

What Beauty Brands Need to Know During the New Year Scale-Back

The MikMak Shopping Index shows that Beauty consumers start the year slowly. However, as we enter March, the weather starts to warm, and social events, such as weddings and parties, become more regular, shoppers begin to experiment more, and Beauty brands see more traffic. Brands that keep spending on media and keep their products top-of-mind for consumers, tend to see the most success. 

Beauty Shopper Insights

Most Online Beauty Traffic Comes from Paid Social

Meta Sees the Highest Conversions for Beauty

Walmart is the Preferred Checkout Option for Online Beauty Shoppers; Target Closely Follows

WATCH WEBINAR

"I would say that consistency starts with structure, which means that all our product content, brand assets, they come from the centralized product information management and the digital asset management systems. So both our own channel and the external channel, for example, on the retail, they use the same core materials. So our global brand teams, they create the master assets, the product visuals, videos, product claims and storylines, and the local markets they adapt and translate those assets to their realities."

— Evgeniia Monnet, NAOS

Omnichannel is the Name of the Game for Personal Care Brands

Shoppers expect a seamless experience for everyday products. Using an omnichannel marketing strategy that connects paid media, brand websites, and retailer options ensures convenience and retention.

Personal Care Shopper Insights

Most Online Personal Care Traffic Comes from Paid Social

Meta Sees the Highest Conversions for Personal Care

Target is the Preferred Retailer for Online Personal Care Shoppers

"We are working with a third-party tech called MikMak [..] this is an ad that appears on a whole host of different places. It actually empowers the consumer to make their decisions. This is actually channel agnostic; it empowers the consumer to make the choice. It turns every piece of creative into something that is shoppable, whether it be on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or a display unit on Yahoo, it doesn't matter. The technology actually affords us this amazing creative canvas and allows us to monetize every piece of creative we have"

— Vice President, Integrated Marketing and Media for North America, Unilever

Health & Wellness Brands Should Ride New Year Resolution Hype to Year-Long Success 

Over 60 percent of New Years Resolutions are based around Health. This time of year can be a major time for brands to win and foster consumer loyalty. According to MikMak data, Paid Social drives more than three-quarters of online traffic in this category, emphasizing the importance of commerce media for visibility and measurement. Brands that stay close to the data at the beginning of the year, and optimize their strategy accordingly will win.

Health & Wellness Shopper Insights

Most Online Health and Wellness Traffic Comes from Paid Social

Top Conversion Rates by Platform

Walmart is the Top Checkout Option for Online Health and Wellness Shoppers

“We've made a strong effort to look more externally, leveraging MikMak for instance and that real-time data usage, which most recently we were just looking at to drive a lot of our LinkedIn strategy, actions, and plans. So, I do think it is just given a lot of uncertainty, we're definitely relying on the data to make some real-time decisions on how to pivot and how to be choiceful.”

— Amy Chan, Colgate Palmolive

As brands navigate AI innovation, evolving consumer behavior, and media fragmentation in 2026, profitability will depend on adaptability.

The most successful brands in 2026 will make every interaction shoppable, measurable, and frictionless.

You can do this by leveraging commerce media to unify analytics, measure performance, and connect discovery to purchase intent and it with an omnichannel marketing strategy to engage shoppers consistently across every touchpoint.

 Continue Learning

To explore these insights further, watch our on-demand webinar with MikMak, Pinterest, The Magnum Ice Cream Company, and Spieckerman Retail: 👉 Watch Now

  Take the Next Step

Schedule a Demo to see how MikMak helps brands accelerate growth, strengthen retailer relationships, and prepare for 2026.