Trade marketing trends for 2026

People don’t shop in silos anymore. Someone might first encounter your RTD on social media, then see it on a dinner menu, and finally pick it up in a specialty store.

For FMCG and retail, this means linking digital campaigns with physical displays, so brand messages reinforce one another. For beverage and F&B, it means visibility in online platforms that tie into on-site activations: especially across “drinking occasions”: home, horeca, festivals, and convenience. For luxury, curated digital lookbooks should flow into exquisitely designed display pieces that tell the same story.

Consistency matters. A campaign that feels connected across online, in-store, and on-site moments creates coherence and builds trust. And when people trust your brand? They buy.

Shoppers remember how they feel. A display that simply shows a product is fine. A display that invites interaction, play, or curiosity sticks.

In FMCG, think enhanced digital signage, AR/VR, and interactive packaging linking shelf presence to digital content and ecommerce. 

In beverage and F&B, imagine tasting walls that adapt to seasons or events or sound and motion at the shelf to increase attention versus static POS. In luxury, curated environments that feel like mini showrooms invite consumers to discover.

Studies show: Lighting, motion, smell, and touch matter. They create a moment worth remembering and they create brand ambassadors. 

Today’s consumer, whether grabbing a soda, choosing a wine, or selecting a luxury fragrance pays attention to how things are made and how they arrive in store or at an event.

Sustainable materials need to look premium and last. A  that feels cheap undermines your brand. One that feels thoughtfully made tells a story about quality and values without saying a word. 

Consumers are critical about green claims, so your sustainability programs need credible proof points on sourcing, waste reduction, and refill or recycling schemes in both retail and F&B.

The generic display in the aisle is fading fast. Consumers, and especially those in premium categories, respond when a message feels made for them. Personalized and targeted. 

This is even more relevant since AI-driven personalization across retailer and shopper marketing touchpoints are possible. 

For FMCG, this means hyper personalized in-store activities using loyalty data and AI to tailor offers and sampling by store, audience, or even individual shoppers. For beverages, AI can be used to personalize marketing and adapt offers by location or outlet type (e.g., different RTD mixes for a convenience store versus a festival).

When personalization is tied to place, moment, or lifestyle, people take notice. It’s not complicated, but it does take thought. How can you show up in a way that speaks to and means something for your potential customers? How do you ensure that they cannot ignore your message because they feel it is made for them? 

Here’s where brands really get to shine. A well-designed digital display or an illuminated sign starts a conversation. It makes someone pause, smile, or reach out for their phone to take a photo. That’s true for any brand, across all markets.

Creative designs should feel fresh, expressive and aligned with the brand’s story. Beautiful lighting, unexpected forms, elegant materials, modular designs and smart placement all work together to make something worth remembering.

When trade marketing moves beyond shelves and into real places people spend time, that’s where magic happens. One concept that captures this shift perfectly is the Smart Bar: physical environments that blend storytelling, product interaction, and social experience. The smart bar ensures that all POS materials in a space are connected, they show movement, interaction, and gather data you need from your (potential) customers to get smarter and make better informed choices.

Sounds abstract? Think of a bar that changes color or animation when a certain beer is tapped, think about fridges that show your brands’ message when something is taken out of that fridge, or think about a LEDNeon that dims when no movement is detected. Smart dispensing systems, AI-driven vending, and digital menus create new touchpoints where beverage brands can tailor assortments and promotions in real time.

On-trade visibility is now shaped by multi-sensory, occasion-based presence, moving beyond logos on coasters. Branded pop-ups, gamified tastings, and immersive spaces turn a drink into an experience designed to be shared.

You can read more about the bar of the future in this blog.

For beverage brands and F&B venues, Smart Bars are a chance to bring your product’s personality out into the world. Making the pour at the bar brand moments people share in conversation and on social media. For luxury and lifestyle brands, similar experiential spaces extend the brand into real life in meaningful ways.