Connecting the Dots 2026 (GWI)

Summary:

This report from GWI, a company that sells consumer research data and insight tools, covers five marketing trends for 2026 that it says marketers may be missing: AI in marketing, the gap between what consumers say and do, social media use, World Cup audiences and Gen Alpha.

The report combines several of GWI’s own surveys. GWI Core is a continuous online survey of over 1 million people a year aged 16–64 (or 16+) in 54 markets. GWI USA covers 80,000 Americans aged 16+ a year. GWI Kids covers 20,000 children aged 8–15 in 18 markets. A bespoke survey of 550 US advertising and marketing professionals ran in August–September 2025. GWI Zeitgeist is a monthly survey in 11 markets. Most data is self-reported, and some figures are indexed against a global average.

Key findings:
• AI is now standard in US marketing teams – 84% of marketers say they use it at work. GWI argues that generic AI trained on open-web data can produce bland or stereotyped insights.
• Marketers value consumer insights more than they use them – many rate insights as important, but fewer actually base decisions on them.
• “Impulse” and “planned” buying overlap – even shoppers who call themselves impulsive often have a product in mind already, and big purchases build on intent that grows over time.
• Social media isn’t fading – average weekly time on social and short video is higher than broadcast TV, streaming and radio combined.
• World Cup audiences are broader than brands expect – they include gamers, mobile-first fans and culture-first viewers, and some sports fans skip the tournament entirely.
• Gen Alpha is not “mini Gen Z” – kids influence real spending, their gaming is social and mixed with offline life, and their screen use shows some signs of balance.

Margin notes:
This is a vendor report: GWI sells the insight data and AI tools it recommends. The report mixes surveys with different audiences, ages, markets and time frames, so comparing sections directly is risky. Most findings are self-reported online survey answers rather than observed behaviour, and some strategic conclusions go further than the data shows.