Consumer Day, celebrated on March 15th, has ceased to be just another promotional window and has become one of the most strategic dates for Brazilian retail. In 2025, national e-commerce generated R$8.3 billion during this period, according to a survey by Neotrust Confi. This result highlights the strength of the occasion in the first half of the year and helps explain why it is seen by many brands as a barometer for the year: it anticipates trends, validates strategies, and engages consumers before the next major seasonal events on the commercial calendar.
However, in 2026, there is a point of attention for brands: the consumer no longer decides solely based on the discount. They decide based on the journey. The linear logic – search, comparison, and purchase – has been replaced by a fragmented flow that moves between social networks, search engines, marketplaces, artificial intelligence, and physical channels. In this scenario, the date ceases to be merely promotional and begins to demand strategic maturity.
Below are five strategic moves identified by mLabs as fundamental for capturing consistent results on Consumer Day:
1. Treat social media as a conversion channel, not just an awareness channel
Social media platforms are no longer exclusively at the top of the sales funnel. Today, they actively participate in all stages of the purchase decision, from discovery to conversion. According to the mLabs study "The New Purchase Journey" in partnership with Conversion, among Generation Z (16-28 years old), for example, 87% discover products through Instagram and 80% through TikTok. Furthermore, 59% have already purchased directly through Instagram and 46.5% through TikTok.
Among Millennials (29 to 44 years old), 34.8% also make purchases on the social media platforms themselves. With the expansion of native features, such as TikTok Shop, the integration between content and transactions has become more fluid and, often, instantaneous.
In this context, insisting on treating social media solely as a visibility channel means ignoring a significant portion of potential revenue. “Social media is no longer top of the funnel. For many brands, it's both middle and bottom of the funnel at the same time. The mistake is continuing to treat social media as a visibility channel when it's already a revenue channel,” says Kiso.
2. Orchestrate search and social interaction in an integrated way
While social media has taken center stage in discovery, Google continues to play a central role in validation and comparison. The search engine maintains multi-generational relevance, with usage ranging from 71.5% in Generation Z to 84.5% in Generation X (45 to 60 years old).
What has changed is not the importance of the search, but the dynamics of the journey. Today, consumers can discover a product on TikTok, research reviews on Google, watch reviews on YouTube, and complete the purchase on a marketplace, all in a few minutes. The decision has ceased to be linear and has become simultaneous and interconnected.
When search and social strategies operate in isolation, communication becomes fragmented and efficiency drops. “Search and social don't compete. They complement each other. When these areas work separately, the brand fragments its own message and loses efficiency,” explains the executive. Integration between channels, therefore, ceases to be a differentiator and becomes a basic performance requirement.
3. Do not underestimate the importance of marketplaces
Despite the rise of social commerce, marketplaces remain major demand drivers and continue to play a decisive role in conversion. Among Millennials, 81.8% use these channels. The percentage remains high among Generation X (76.3%) and even among Baby Boomers (68.4%), which caters to an audience aged 61 to 79.
These numbers show that, for a large part of the public, convenience, reputation, and perceived safety still weigh heavily in the choice of purchasing channel. On strategic dates such as Consumer Day, ignoring these environments means giving up scale and visibility.
According to Kiso, the challenge is not just being present, but balancing volume with profitability. "Marketplaces continue to be major demand concentrators. Ignoring them on the right date means giving up scale. The challenge is to use the channel without losing brand strategy and margin," he assesses.
4. Adapt the message for each generation
If the journey is fragmented, the behavior is also heterogeneous. Each generation navigates through different channels and with distinct expectations.
Generation Z lives primarily in a social environment and converts itself on the platforms themselves. Millennials combine social networks, marketplaces, and official websites. Generation X maintains a more structured profile, prioritizing marketplaces (76.3%) and their own websites (62.6%). Baby Boomers, on the other hand, concentrate their purchases on channels perceived as safer, with only 11.7% buying via social networks.
Given this scenario, generic campaigns tend to lose relevance. Personalization isn't just aesthetic—it's strategic. "When a brand speaks to everyone in the same way, it speaks to no one. The journey has changed, but many campaigns remain generic. And the consumer notices," Kiso points out.
5. Consider omnichannel as a minimum requirement
The consolidation of e-commerce is evident: the frequency of weekly online purchases is identical among the three youngest generations (44.5%), indicating broad digital maturity. Even so, the endpoint of conversion can vary and, in many cases, continues to happen in physical stores, especially among more mature audiences.
This reinforces the idea that omnichannel is not just about multiple presences, but about the true integration of experience and data. Consumers move seamlessly between feeds, search engines, marketplaces, official websites, and physical stores; and they expect brands to keep pace with this movement without disruption.
“Omnichannel isn’t about being on every channel. It’s about connecting them all. If the consumer moves between feeds, search, marketplaces, and physical stores, the brand needs to move along with them, with integrated data and a consistent experience,” says the founder of mLabs.
