Forrester

Cyber Monday came early this year — and it lasts through January (and beyond)! 🎉 If B2B Summit North America or CX Summit EMEA is already on your radar for 2026, here’s your early gift: Register now and get two tickets for the price of one with our Plan & Prosper offer. 📍 B2B Summit North America: Phoenix, April 26–29, 2026 📍 CX Summit EMEA: Amsterdam, June 8–10, 2026 🎟️ Voucher code: PROSPER2FOR1 ⏳ Offers end January 31 (B2B) and February 27 (CX) Give your team the gift of clarity, alignment, and a stronger strategic plan heading into the new year. 👉 Learn more and register: 🔗 B2B Summit North America: https://forr.com/4obuInN 🔗 CX Summit EMEA: https://forr.com/48lCk1l #ForrB2BSummit #ForrCX

As Black Friday approaches, it’s tempting to focus only on top-line spikes and door-buster moments. Our new retail predictions show a tougher truth: 2026 will be defined by a flight to profitability, not growth at any cost. Here are three shifts we see coming in 2026 that every retailer should keep in mind as the holiday rush begins: 💥 Specialty retail faces a shakeout. A wave of bankruptcies among overstretched specialty retailers will expose fragile balance sheets and overbuilt store networks. 🤖 AI chatbots become core shopping companions. Roughly one-quarter of shoppers will use AI chatbots with specialty retailers for discovery, comparison, and service. Retailers that invest in helpful, branded assistants will turn peak season questions into profitable conversions. 🔁 The era of generous online returns starts to end. Rising costs will force major retailers to tighten return policies, using data and machine learning to reserve the most generous terms for their most valuable customers. Get the full picture of where retail is headed in 2026: - Read the full blog from VP and Principal Analyst Sucharita Kodali: https://forr.com/44oWrKD - Download the 2026 Predictions guide for B2C marketing leaders: https://forr.com/4odIGFO #ForresterPredictions #Retail #BlackFriday #E-Commerce

AI is no longer a future trend in financial services. It’s already rewriting how customers seek advice, discover products, and interact with financial institutions. In our 2026 predictions, we see three big shifts on the horizon for the banking and investing industry: 🔍 More than half of people under 50 who seek financial advice will turn to generative AI tools for guidance. 🌐 Human visits to bank and investment websites will drop by 20% as AI agents take over product discovery and research. 🤖 Nearly half of tier-one banks will deploy AI agents to handle back-office tasks and automate more than a third of manual processes. The real question is no longer whether to use AI but how fast and how confidently financial institutions can adapt to a zero-click, machine-driven future while still earning customer trust. Want the full outlook for 2026? - Check out our Predictions 2026 hub: https://forr.com/48xJ25x - Read the blog from Principal Analyst Aurélie L'Hostis: https://forr.com/44asxKn #ForresterPredictions #FinancialServices

🎥 Meet Forrester analyst John Buten. Before joining Forrester, John was a client sitting on the other side of the table. That experience shapes how he works with leaders today. In his view, impact is often less about a perfect answer and more about getting everyone to speak the same language, agree on a path forward, and have a steady hand that brings people together. That’s where real change starts. Follow the link in the comments to watch John’s full video and hear how he helps teams align and turn shared understanding into impact. #MeetTheAnalyst

AI is changing everything about how research is delivered and consumed, but it only works at scale when it’s built on trust. In his latest blog, Chief Technology Officer Michael Facemire shares how Forrester is reimagining research delivery for the AI era and why trust sits at the center of every decision. Key insights include: 🔒 How Izola and AI Access were built on a foundation of trusted Forrester IP, guardrails, and continuous testing so clients can move faster with confidence. 💡 Why AI has to be a superpower for employees as well as clients, with clear strategy, training, and policies that keep sensitive data protected. 📈 How raising the AI quotient across the organization helps leaders turn experimentation into real outcomes, not just pilots and prototypes. Trust is not a feature of our AI strategy; it’s the foundation, and it’s what will separate the leaders from the rest in an AI-powered world. Read the full blog here: https://forr.com/3LHGkBG

Tech nationalism is no longer an edge case. It’s becoming the backdrop for how governments think about AI, security, and procurement for 2026. Our latest public sector and government Predictions blog explores what this shift really means for mission and technology leaders: 🌐 Governments move from global digital norms to domestic-first AI models, reshaping how AI is selected, trained, and hosted. 🤖 Agentic AI raises the stakes for security, as state-linked activity pushes right up against diplomatic red lines. 🛡️ Defense-aligned vendors gain ground in civilian software deals, as resilience and security weigh more heavily in procurement decisions. ⚖️ Leaders must learn to balance sovereignty with openness, so that resilience does not harden into rigidity. For public sector organizations and the partners that serve them, 2026 will require clearer choices about which risks you can share and which capabilities you must own. 🔗 Get a quick take in the blog: https://forr.com/480ktN1 #ForresterPredictions

This week on the CX Cast, Martin Gill and Angelina Gennis talk to Rick Parrish about why conventional metrics are no longer sufficient and how Forrester’s Total Experience Score can unite brand, customer, and employee experience into one cohesive framework. ➡️ In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why being “metrics-obsessed” can actually be counterproductive. - How the Total Experience Score differs from legacy measures such as Net Promoter Score℠ (NPS) and customer satisfaction score (CSAT). - The interplay between brand perception, customer experience, and employee experience — and why ignoring one puts the others at risk. - Real-world implications: where to start, where most get stuck, and how to shift your mindset toward “total” experience. 🔗 Listen now: https://forr.com/4qUZILp #CX #TotalExperience

Customer experience teams are at a breaking point. Budgets are tight, headcounts are under scrutiny, and too many teams are stuck in what we describe as “the orbit of dysfunction” around metrics and dashboards instead of meaningful change. In our 2026 CX predictions, we look at what happens next. A few highlights: 🔹 Some CX teams will slide into a “death spiral” of metrics obsession that turns them into replaceable reporting functions. 🔹 At least two major scandals will emerge when firms lean too heavily on AI-led customer research without the right guardrails. 🔹 Three in 10 firms will damage their total experience growth with frustrating AI self-service that erodes trust and loyalty. Ready to see what’s coming in 2026 and how to respond? 📖 Read the full blog here: https://forr.com/4r0ws5U 📘 Download the 2026 Predictions guide for CX, B2C marketing, and digital leaders: https://forr.com/49eVvfi #ForresterPredictions #CX #CXStrategy

🎥 Meet Forrester analyst Audrey Chee-Read. Behind every Forrester insight is a real human conversation. When Principal Analyst Audrey Chee-Read meets with marketing leaders, the discussion typically starts with best practices but very often evolves into a deeper working session. Follow the link in the comments to explore our revamped YouTube channel and watch Audrey’s full video on how she connects patterns across clients so leaders feel less alone, see their challenges in context, and walk away with clearer next steps. #MeetTheAnalyst

In this special 🌟Predictions🌟 episode of Forrester’s What It Means podcast: ◾ VP and Principal Analyst Ted Schadler reveals what percentage of CIOs will be asked to bail out business-led AI failures in 2026. ◾Principal Analyst Tony Plec details how much ungoverned generative AI will cost B2B organizations in the year ahead. ◾Principal Analyst Audrey Chee-Read unveils the percentage of consumers who will opt for offline brand experiences over online ones in 2026. Watch the video clip below to see Ted Schadler discuss the question of who should be responsible for AI success in the enterprise today. Listen to the full episode here: https://forr.com/3XwlU0Q