Channel Migration Trends: Where Are Your Consumers Shopping Now?

The lines between brick-and-mortar and online shopping continue to blur. Data from Circana’s Liquid Data Go receipt panel for the latest 52 weeks ending Jan. 1, 2026 shows that 84% of consumers report that they are omnichannel buyers who shop across both physical and digital spaces. These buyers are not merely toggling between channels to engage in transactions: their in-store trips are informed by their digital lives, and their online purchases are often influenced by brands they discover in person.

To reach consumers in this dynamic (and ultimately exciting!) marketplace, emerging brands need to keep in mind that shoppers don’t think in terms of channels – they shop and purchase in a way that works best for them at a particular point in time. Moreover, although e-commerce continues to take hold as a channel, it’s not a simple case of digital replacing physical. Customer experiences are fluid and shaped by a variety of factors across digital and physical spaces.

In this world, agility and information are crucial. The ability to quickly surface information enables small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to show proof of value, react quickly to current market trends, and accelerate growth. By translating vast amounts of market research and consumer data into actionable insights, companies can best determine where, how, why, and when to direct their efforts within various parts of the seamless ecosystem.

Common Challenges for Emerging Brands in an Omnichannel Market

As consumers shift between physical stores, e-commerce sites, and emerging platforms like social media marketplaces, smaller brands face several hurdles:

• Omnichannel complexity: While e-commerce has made it easier for many emerging and growing brands to get their products in front of consumers, the rise of digital options has amplified the complexity of retail. As a result, brands are navigating not just multiple platforms but a fragmented shelf, where visibility and performance vary by retailer, region, and channel. Digital shelf analytics tools often promise answers, but data overload and lack of context can leave SMBs with more questions than answers.

• Resource constraints: Smaller companies typically have tighter budgets and a more limited ability to run broad marketing programs or invest in enterprise-level technologies. This limits their ability to test, learn, and scale quickly.

• Lower brand visibility: Newer brands need to work harder to build recognition across channels – particularly when algorithmic rankings, paid placements, and long-established competitors dominate the landscape.

How Tracking Channel Shifts Unlocks New Growth Opportunities

For SMBs, tracking how shoppers move across channels no longer requires massive systems. Accessible channel-specific datasets unlock a host of growth opportunities that were once out of reach.

Using data-driven tools to track behaviors and growth helps scaling brands get a clearer picture of opportunities within the omnichannel marketplace:

1. Zeroing in on high-demand areas: Identify which retailers, regions, or even hyper-local markets are seeing surges in demand or shifts toward online buying.

   
   

2. Spotting trends early: Granular insights into category performance and consumer behavior reveal early trends, whether it’s a rise in value shopping during economic headwinds or a spike in certain product categories driven by social buzz.

   
   

3. Proactively addressing consumer needs: Tracking migration trends highlights where emerging shopper segments are finding inspiration, what’s driving conversion, and which activation tactics trigger loyalty help SMBs refine their assortment, tailor pricing, and time their promotions to align with moments when consumers are most likely to shift channels.

What Channel-Specific Data Reveals About Your Consumers

Focused analytics gives SMBs the ability to discover not just what consumers are doing, but what’s driving those decisions. 

Verified purchase behavior: 

To create a seamless omnichannel experience, SMBs must use more than general demographics. Many platforms allow targeting based on interests, but this can lead to wasted ad spend. For instance, someone might watch a lot of dog videos but not own a dog. A dog food brand would be far more effective targeting households that are verifiably purchasing dog food.

Category dynamics across channels:

In addition to keeping tabs on overall e-comm versus in-store results, brands can track tap into data that reveals the share of digital sales within a category and how each channel is performing in that category compared to the previous year. This provides clarity on which channels are driving change and contributing the most to category performance.

Competitive benchmarking:

By learning how top brands and parent companies are performing across the latest weeks in e-commerce, scaling brands can see how they stack up against larger competitors. Having weekly performances and data on year-over-year changes makes it easy for SMBs to spot trends, growth patterns, and fluctuations across time periods and gives clarity on which brands are driving growth.

Meaningful performance upticks and shifts:

Understanding channel migration allows SMBs to anticipate seasonal and economic changes. For example, a brand might notice a surge in online delivery orders during winter as people avoid going out. Tracking this weekly or monthly data helps them prepare for these fluctuations and ensures that products are available where consumers are actively shopping.

Hear Directly from Consumers

Emerging brands often have a close relationship with their consumers, and survey insights take that understanding a step further – moving beyond anecdotes and intuition to truly gauge satisfaction and to build loyalty. In an omnichannel market where behaviors shift quickly, this direct consumer feedback gives SMBs a clearer view of how shopper needs are evolving and where to focus next.

For example, if trial and repeat purchase rates reveal issues with customer retention, consumer surveys can uncover the reasons behind the behavior. Is it a matter of price, product quality, or something else? This direct feedback allows brands to refine their strategy, strengthen their product offering, and prove their value to retail partners who prioritize brands that build loyalty.

Navigate the Omnichannel Market with Accessible Retail Data Analytics Solutions

Access to insights on consumer behavior, store-level outcomes, and market shifts enables SMBs to gain clarity about gaps and opportunities to move their brands and products forward. Solutions like Circana’s Liquid Data Go™ provide fast access to POS data, category trends, price elasticity, and even rapid-turnaround consumer surveys, in a simple, self-serve format.

With this intelligence, SMBs can compare online and in-store trends to track category growth across e-commerce and brick-and-mortar, swiftly identify migration patterns in shopper behavior, and spot which retailers or regions are gaining share. This helps them determine the best channel mix, refine promotions, and change tactics if/when needed.

Rather than reacting broadly to “shoppers being everywhere”, SMBs can identify which levers actually impact conversion and loyalty, whether it’s pricing, assortment, timing, or another driver. The result is sharper segmentation, more precise merchandising, and real-time course corrections, across the ever-evolving omnichannel ecosystem.