As a digital marketer, you’re used to the uphill battle of increasing profitability through near-constant change. But this year, it might feel like you’re doing it in deep mud. In addition to staying on top of seasonal trends, privacy changes, new AI capabilities and fragmented customer journeys, you’re also contending with macroeconomic uncertainty from U.S. tariffs and the challenges they bring: supply chain volatility and a rapidly evolving customer mindset.
Consumer behavior is changing
This uncertainty is affecting purchase behavior. A recent Salesforce survey found that 77% of consumers have changed their shopping habits since the U.S. announced new tariffs in April 2025, with 29% holding back on discretionary purchases.
In the B2B space? Your sphere of influence is larger in 2026. A Forrester report shows that, to reduce risk, “on average, 13 internal stakeholders and nine external participants influence buying decisions — and that number increases for more expensive or complex purchases.”
Many buyers, regardless of industry or vertical, aren’t quite ready to jump right into new purchases. That same Forrester report showed that 60% of business buyers reported purchasing some form of trial before making a decision, and only about a third planned to convert to a fully paid version from the same provider.
And, according to NerdWallet, 51% of Americans believe prices for consumer goods and services will continue to rise throughout 2026, leading to a wait-and-see attitude toward big-ticket purchases.
But as a digital marketer, you can’t take a wait-and-see approach to your campaigns. You’re already in the thick of it, and to protect your margins, you need to transition from reactive management to proactive intelligence.
Don’t panic, predict
When news of a tariff, port strike or alarming consumer stat breaks, it can trigger knee-jerk pivots, such as pausing top-of-funnel ads or raising prices, which may create even more challenges.
As with any trend-related decision, you need industry- and business-specific insights to make the smartest, most impactful decisions. And to get to those insights, you need a solid data foundation that collects and connects accurate first-party customer data (both online and offline) with business intelligence, such as inventory data, sales reports, competitor information, economic indicators and more.
Once you have a solid, privacy-centric foundation in place, you can use your data to proactively analyze and model scenarios, helping you prepare for potential shifts and:
Stay ahead of demand
Demand and buyer behavior can shift dramatically in 24 hours. Panic buying before storms. Pandemic runs. (Remember the toilet paper shortage and bare shelves in 2020?). Quick purchasing surges (and sharp dropoffs) can have a dramatic impact on your revenue if you’re not prepared. But if you are, you can take a giant leap past your competitors.
With real-time predictions based on inventory, demand and revenue modeling, you can adjust your marketing to direct the right audience to available inventory at the right time, reducing wasted spend and the risk of poor customer experiences.
Plan for unexpected costs or market fluctuations
What if a 15% tariff hits your bestseller category in Q3 and your expenses skyrocket? Or a new competitor emerges, selling at a lower price point that you feel pressure to match?
Planning for the “what ifs” now can help you know how to react when they happen. That could include data modeling to identify your highest-value customers or the customers most likely to churn. It might mean testing price floors or loyalty programs. You can run any number of advanced data projects based on your organization’s needs. Armed with predictive insights, you can develop and test strategies before activating them.
Fix friction before it hits your bottom line
Is your brand experience living up to what customers expect in 2026? Is sentiment toward your industry, business, or products and services changing? Instead of seeing revenue decline and investigating the cause, you can use LLMs and other AI tools to identify and understand shifts in consumer sentiment in real time, allowing you to pivot your messaging and media mix days or weeks before your competitors.
In 2026, your best counter to macroeconomic uncertainty is your data. Knowing how to use it not only to hit your goals but also to predict what’s next and gain an advantage is key. We can help you piece it all together, translating complex analysis into smarter media decisions your entire team can understand and act on. From integrating disjointed tools and disconnected data to advanced modeling and media activation, we'll partner with you to turn uncertainty into opportunity.
Interested in learning more? Reach out and let’s discuss your next steps.
