The digital environment is in constant motion: some ideas appear and disappear within a few weeks, others gradually transform and become part of the everyday reality of business.

Trends in the digital environment do not exist separately from context. They respond to the economy, human behavior, technological shifts, and changes in audience expectations. That is why it is important not just to note what is currently “on top,” but to understand the reasons behind these changes and how they affect brand communication.

For companies that work with offline audiences, digital has long gone beyond the smartphone screen. Modern advertising technologies are increasingly integrating into physical spaces—stores, shopping malls, showrooms. Screens for advertising appear here that do not simply broadcast messages, but shape the atmosphere and mood at the point of sale.

This material brings together basic theory about the nature of trends, an expanded view of the key directions of 2025, as well as context for understanding how these changes may develop in 2026. The emphasis is placed on practical understanding rather than a superficial list of buzzwords.

Trends: what they are and why they arise at all

A trend is not random popularity and not a single viral video. It is a sustained direction of change that forms at the point of tension between audience expectations and outdated interaction models. When old tools stop working, a demand for new approaches emerges.

In most cases, trends are born from very simple needs. People need to make decisions faster, obtain information more easily, save resources, or interact with brands more comfortably and naturally. This is exactly where solutions such as interactive displays for customers appear, allowing not just viewing, but interacting, choosing, and exploring a product in a convenient format.

It is important to distinguish the scale of change. Microtrends or hype are short-lived and are often tied to a specific platform or format. A full-fledged trend is supported by several drivers at once—technology, user behavior, and business interests. Global trends affect not only marketing, but also consumer culture and business models as a whole.

In retail, this is especially noticeable. Digital advertising in retail has ceased to be just a carrier of promotional messages. It works with context, time of day, traffic, and directly influences offline sales impact by changing the customer journey inside the store.

For a modern audience, memes are increasingly actively used in marketing as a tool for capturing attention. They work quickly, emotionally, and without unnecessary explanations, allowing brands to instantly “embed” themselves into the information context in which the consumer lives. In an overloaded media space, memes become a short cultural code that is read at first glance.

A meme is not a trend, but a language. Meme culture reflects how the audience experiences change, adapts to instability, and looks for simple emotional responses. Through irony, self-irony, and visual codes, people speak about fatigue, escapism, the search for balance, and new values.

Brands that consciously use memes in their communication demonstrate an understanding of context and the living language of the audience. This approach reduces the distance between the company and the consumer, makes the brand closer and more human, and attention is attracted not through pressure, but through recognizability and shared cultural experience.

What will define digital in 2026?

In 2026, digital advertising become more pragmatic, but at the same time significantly more human. The market is gradually moving away from demonstrating technologies for the sake of technologies themselves and shifting toward scenarios where digital tools enhance real experience, help navigate, choose, and interact without overload.

The focus shifts from loud formats to usefulness, context, and emotion. That is why digital solutions are increasingly integrated into physical spaces—stores, shopping malls, showrooms—and work not as a separate channel, but as part of a unified environment of interaction with the brand.

1. Retail media 2.0

E-commerce ceases to be just a storefront with products. Marketplaces transform into a space of experience, where the purchase becomes part of a scenario rather than a final click. Online and offline converge: interactive kiosks appear in physical points of sale, helping to find a product, compare characteristics, or continue the purchase journey in a digital format without breaking the logic.

2. Sincerity as a communication strategy

The era of perfectly polished brands is gradually coming to an end. The audience values living language, honest intonations, and self-irony. In retail spaces, this manifests through simple, clear messages, dynamic content, and video content that does not pressure, but explains and accompanies the choice.

3. Charisma is more important than expertise

In 2026, people come not only for information, but for a sense of contact. Presentation, atmosphere, and “vibe” become important. That is why brands increasingly combine visual solutions with elements such as audio design, which enhances the mood of the space and helps create a recognizable identity without visual noise.

4. AI as a partner, not the main hero

Artificial intelligence technologies remain behind the scenes, optimizing processes and adapting communication. Digital advertising with artificial intelligence analyzes context, time, and audience and automatically selects relevant display scenarios, but meanings, intonation, and emotion are still shaped by humans.

5. Hyperpersonalization as the new norm

Personalized offers are no longer a pleasant bonus—they are becoming an expected standard. Personalized content for customers is formed based on behavior, location, and previous experience, while an application for digital signage allows messages to be quickly adapted to specific points of sale or audience scenarios.

6. Zero Click content

The fewer actions required from the user, the higher the trust. The audience does not want transitions and complex paths—they want to understand the essence immediately. That is why short, clear visual messages and intuitive navigation become key in both physical and digital environments.

7. Digital detox and slow life

Against the background of information overload, the value of silence, pauses, and simplicity is growing. In 2026, brands increasingly and consciously simplify communication, reduce the number of stimuli, and work with space in a way that does not tire, but calms and structures the experience.

8. The era of communities

Micro-communities, local codes, and a sense of “one’s own people” come to the forefront. Digital solutions help brands speak with the audience on the same level, taking local context into account and creating a sense of belonging rather than mass appeal.

9. Active mascots and living characters

Thanks to the development of AI, mascots cease to be static characters. They interact, respond, and engage in dialogue, becoming a full-fledged part of brand strategy. In 2026, it is not just images that work, but those that are logically integrated into the overall system of communication and experience.

The impact of trends on audience attention and advertising effectiveness: statistics from Western studies

– Shoppers respond to “new formats” directly at the point of sale. In a Nielsen study on digital screens in grocery stores, it was noted that 4 out of 5 brands achieved additional sales growth of up to +33% thanks to DOOH / digital displays in stores—this clearly shows how “trendy” (dynamic, visually strong) formats can influence results.

– The fight for attention has become tougher—and that is precisely why formats that are “read” instantly win. A Microsoft report on attention in the digital age (Spring 2015) describes a decline in the ability to maintain long-term focus in an environment of constant switching between screens and content—advertising that immediately delivers meaning and emotion has a significantly higher chance of being noticed.

– A “native” approach works: creative made specifically for a platform’s format delivers a substantially stronger effect. According to Meta data (as covered by industry media), Reels ads created natively for the format can increase purchase intent by 5.3 times—an example of how content consumption trends (vertical video, fast pace, sound) directly change advertising effectiveness.

– Advertising has a stronger impact when it is “embedded” into the decision journey rather than sending a person somewhere else. The Google ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth) concept emphasizes that the moment of research/choice happens before the purchase—therefore, content that provides an answer immediately (briefly, clearly, in the right place and moment) more easily wins attention and trust.

How to work with trends

The main question a brand should ask itself every time is: “Is this trend about our audience?”. If the answer is unclear or doubtful, even the loudest trend will not bring results. Trends cannot be copied mechanically—they need to be adapted to one’s own context, interaction format, and real consumption scenarios.

In practical terms, this means working not with abstract ideas, but with tools. For example, digital advertising panels should not be just a carrier of creative content, but part of the logic of the space: in a store, shopping mall, or showroom. They must correspond to the pace of people’s movement, the time of contact, and the expectations of the audience at that specific point.

Equally important is Digital Signage management. Without a clear control system, any trend quickly turns into chaos. Content must be updated on time, match the situation, and scale easily—otherwise even a strong idea loses its effect.

The technical base also plays a key role. A digital signage player built on stable solutions, often in the form of an Android set-top box, makes it possible to ensure uninterrupted screen operation and quick adaptation to new formats. It is precisely this flexibility that allows brands to respond to trends not in months, but in days.

A separate level of maturity is remote content management. It allows testing hypotheses, changing display scenarios, and working with a network of screens centrally, regardless of geography. Combined with a CMS for digital signage, this turns trends from theory into a manageable tool rather than a one-off action.

In large spaces, LED video walls are increasingly used, where not only visual impact matters, but also the synchronization of advertising content. When image, movement, and message work as a single whole, the trend is amplified by technology rather than overshadowed by it.

Trend as a system, not as an effect

The most common mistake is perceiving trends as separate features. In reality, they work only when they become part of a system: strategy, technical infrastructure, and daily processes. A trend should strengthen the brand, not distract from it.

In 2026, those who win will be the ones who know not how to chase trends, but how to embed them into their own ecosystem. When technology does not shout about itself, but quietly works for the customer experience, a trend stops being a fashion and becomes a competitive advantage.

Advision is a content management system for remote control, media planning of video and audio content broadcasting, and a supply-side platform for monetising advertising time. We also implement a Wi-Fi tracking system to measure quantitative indicators of the advertising audience. We help Digital Signage owners and DOOH advertising operators earn money from advertising, automate work processes, and build a reliable media infrastructure using AdTech and MarTech software solutions.

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