POV: Your Mum Always Buys the Same Brand cover art

POV: Your Mum Always Buys the Same Brand

POV: Your Mum Always Buys the Same Brand

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Today I’m looking at what happens to brand loyalty when AI starts doing more of the shopping. We’ve all seen how shoppers stick with the brands they know, even when there might be a cheaper or supposedly better option sitting right next to them. But what happens when an AI assistant starts comparing products, making recommendations and potentially changing the way consumers discover and buy?I’m drawing on research I co-authored with Bazaarvoice, along with findings from WPP Media, Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, NP Digital and Kantar, to unpack how brand preferences are formed before a shopping trip even begins, and why that matters as AI reshapes the purchase journey. I’m also digging into what this shift means for retail media networks, particularly the future of sponsored product ads, on-site AI advertising, and the growing risk that shoppers will turn to third-party AI assistants instead of retailer-owned platforms.This episode is sponsored by GrowthLoopTimeline00:37 – What the Bazaarvoice research reveals about why shoppers stay loyal to their favourite brands.01:52 – Why brand preferences are often formed before the shopping mission even begins.02:21 – The priming and active stages of the consumer purchase journey — and why brand building matters long before checkout.04:34 – Will AI shopping assistants undermine brand loyalty? The surprising gap between trusted brands and AI recommendations.05:38 – Why the consumer purchase journey is getting more crowded, with social media, influencers and new media touchpoints competing for attention.08:07 – How agentic shopping threatens the traditional retail media model, and why sponsored product ads could be particularly exposed.10:21 – Why retail media networks are betting on native AI ads, and the risk of shoppers asking ChatGPT instead of the retailer's assistant.Links & ResourcesCheck out the newsletter version of this podcast episode for visual representations of the research discussed.Check out my POV: your Mum always buys the same brand comedy skit!Bazaarvoice, What Is a Brand Worth When AI Does the Shopping? | [September 2026. I co-authored this research. Based on Bazaarvoice's Brand Equity Survey of more than 3,600 shoppers in the US, EMEA and Australia.WPP Media, How Humans Decide | October 2025. Produced with Oxford University's Saïd Business School. Based on WPP Media's database of Momentum purchase-journey studies, covering a decade of research into 1.2 million consumer journeys across more than 200 categories in 47 countries.NP Digital, customer journey touchpoints | April 2025. Survey of 300 companies in 2021 and 800 companies in 2024.Kantar, Media Reactions 2026 | 2026. Consumer survey based on around 23,000 interviews in 33 markets.EMARKETER and Bain & Company, Retail Media's Growth Is Outpacing Confidence in What Comes Next | September 2026. Survey of 61 US sell-side retail media leaders, conducted July 2026.Read my related articles:Why Agentic Shopping Poses an Existential Threat to Retail Media (Part 1)The Return To OnsiteCheck out Basket Case, a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series where we talk shop.I'm sharing comedy skits on Instagram about retail media! Follow along: @retailmediabreakfastclubSubscribe to Retail Media Breakfast Club's daily newsletterFollow Kiri Masters on LinkedIn
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