Consumer product brands are at a crossroads, struggling to integrate digital and physical elements in ways that resonate with consumers. The future of consumer products report explores why current efforts fall short and provides actionable insights on how brands can create innovative, emotionally engaging products by adopting systems thinking and pursuing new definitions of value.
This research comes at a time when brands need to innovate genuinely and clearly define the value of digital elements in physical products. With 3,000 respondents, it offers a comprehensive snapshot of consumer attitudes towards digitalisation, product innovation and increasingly complex lifestyles across the United Kingdom.
Some of the key findings and recommendations for brands in ‘The future of consumer products report 2025: Creating meaningful digital and physical experiences’ include:
Brands are struggling to define value for digital elements in physical products
Digitalisation presents a huge opportunity for consumer product brands to innovate and better integrate digital elements into physical products. However, systemic innovation is lacking, and brands are falling behind in digital integrations that offer real value to consumers and that help them to manage complex lifestyles and achieve their goals. While 54% of consumers feel their lives are increasingly complicated, only 53% believe that digital technology helps them to manage this complexity.
Too many brands treat digital as a bolt-on instead of reimagining products holistically
Many consumers fail to see the value of bolt-on approaches to digital, with many even finding it overwhelming. And while physical products such as washing machines, fridges, personal care products and other appliances have traditionally delivered tangible benefits, brands are struggling to communicate the intangible benefits of digital features. 30% of Gen Z and 24% of Millennials feel that digital technology hinders them and makes their lives more complicated. And 67% of Gen Z want products that integrate seamlessly into their lifestyles.
And more. Download the full report now.
Download the “The future of consumer products report 2025” here
“The rise of digital transformation presents a huge opportunity for consumer product brands to lead with innovation, and to integrate digital and physical elements in ways that resonate with consumers. Yet most current efforts fall short and have failed to gain traction.”
