Retail therapy 2.0: Emotional discovery is the next click

Once a Saturday ritual on the high street, shopping has shape-shifted into a 24/7 digital drip — from TikTok hauls to Roblox skins to one-click Amazon finds. But in the shift from discovery to delivery, something got lost: the spark. ✨

Criteo’s latest report — The Spark of Discovery: Reigniting the Emotion of E-Commerce — dives into this exact tension. Surveying 6,000 consumers and 600 brand leaders across the UK, US, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea, it maps out the new mood in retail:

🛍️ In-store still satisfies: 40% of shoppers prefer IRL experiences, with sensory appeal (71%) and practicality (64%) topping the list of reasons why.

📦 E-com: All speed, no spark? 54% want joy from online shopping, but 76% say the experience lacks surprise or delight. Also, 79% find it lonely, 78% overwhelming and 29% say it feels like a chore. Still, efficiency (63%) and convenience (61%) keep it relevant.

🛒 Impulse still hits: 50% of consumers make unplanned purchases, mostly in-store (36% vs. 13%) – #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt numbers excluded? 🧐 Anyways, 36% say the unexpected find is missing online and 49% feel most satisfied when they stumble across something unplanned.

With 61% of brands saying discovery is the biggest barrier to engagement, emotion is the missing layer. So, how can digital touchpoints recapture the magic of the unplanned and unforgettable?

🕹️ Enter at unexpected moments: Walmart meets shoppers where they already are, like Minecraft Discords. It’s not a storefront; it’s a fandom touchpoint.

🧠 Use AI for emotional design: Google’s new AI tools let users describe a vibe and get matched with curated beauty and fashion items — less scroll fatigue, more creative spark.

🏬 Reimagine retail as experience: If joy can’t be scaled digitally, bring it to life physically — like H&M’s Berlin portrait pop-up celebrating self-expression, or Glossier’s perfume launch, featuring AI-generated poetry and an immersive confetti cloud.