Consumers aren’t behaving unpredictably. They’re trying to regain a sense of control.

They want stability, but not sameness. They’re embracing artificial intelligence while placing a premium on human connection. They’re spending more selectively, but will still pay for experiences that help them feel restored, understood or more like themselves.

Hili Banjo, managing director and customer growth strategy products portfolio lead at Accenture, believes these consumer behavior trends reflect the same underlying shift: People increasingly see themselves as the main characters of their own stories.

That doesn’t mean they expect brands to make everything about them. It means they want greater agency over how they live, work, spend and define what comes next. The brands that earn their loyalty will be the ones that help them feel more secure, more human and more in control.

During her keynote at the Women in Retail Leadership Summit earlier this year, Banjo identified five consumer signals showing how that desire for agency is reshaping retail.

1. Consumers want stability without giving up surprise.

Banjo calls the first signal the “stability premium.”

In Accenture’s research, 46 percent of consumers said they wanted more enduring stability. Yet 45 percent of those same consumers said they were hooked on the constant cliffhangers of change.

That tension helps explain both the return of nostalgic brands and the popularity of blind boxes and other purchases built around anticipation. Consumers want something dependable to hold on to, but they don’t want the experience to become boring.

For retailers, the opportunity is to provide consistency while still making room for discovery. Stability doesn’t have to mean sameness.

2. Consumers want to feel seen, not processed.

Technology can make shopping faster and more personalized. What it cannot always do is make someone feel truly understood.

When Accenture asked active generative AI users the channel in which they preferred to receive purchase recommendations, the physical store ranked first.

For Banjo, that finding is a reminder that the store was never only about product. It was also about interacting with someone who understood what the customer needed.

As more transactions become automated, human connection becomes more valuable. The question for retailers is no longer only whether customers found what they came for. It’s whether they left feeling more understood or connected.

“Fulfillment is now a commodity,” Banjo said. “Connection is the moat.”

3. Employees need to know they still matter.

The need for agency isn’t limited to customers. It’s also shaping how employees respond to AI.

Workers are wondering whether they’re using AI enough, relying on it too heavily, falling behind, or helping to eliminate their own jobs. Often, they’re holding several of those concerns at once.

That uncertainty can push companies toward more control and constraint. Some governance is necessary, but Banjo argued that employees don’t simply need to be managed through this period. They need to be led through it.

That means acknowledging the uncertainty, communicating a clear point of view, and showing employees where their judgment and experience still matter. People are more likely to commit to change when they can see a role for themselves in what comes next.

4. Spending is becoming a form of restoration.

Consumers may be more selective, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped spending on themselves. They’re reconsidering what they want that spending to provide.

Banjo described a shift away from overly produced, perfectly optimized experiences and toward restoration. Consumers want more spontaneity, creativity and time with other people. Nearly four in five expect brands to create products and experiences that support their joy and well-being.

That desire might show up in a $150 LEGO set, floor seats at a concert, or a $12 coffee that creates a pocket of personal time on a Tuesday.

The purchases look different, but each gives the customer something she feels is missing from her life. For retailers, the opportunity is to understand what customers are trying to reclaim and whether the brand can credibly help them do it.

5. Women want to define aging for themselves.

Midlife was once marketed as the beginning of decline. Today’s consumer is increasingly treating it as a period of reinvention.

Women in this stage of life have the spending power, cultural influence and confidence to challenge categories that have historically overlooked them. Conversations about menopause, perimenopause and hormonal health have moved into the mainstream, while the longevity economy is attracting serious investment.

However, the customer driving this growth isn’t looking for another product that tells her to fear aging. She’s looking for what Banjo called “pro-living.”

“Anti-aging” defines the customer by something she should resist. “Pro-living” recognizes what she still wants to do, become and experience. It gives her control over how she writes her next chapter.

Give the Customer a Role in What Comes Next

Together, Banjo’s five signals describe a female consumer who is more anxious, more intentional and more aware of her influence.

She wants something dependable in an unstable world. She wants technology to make her life easier without making her feel less human. She wants products and experiences that support the person she is still becoming.

The question for leaders isn’t how to keep up with every change in consumer behavior. It’s whether their brands help customers feel more in control of their own stories.

The companies that do will be the ones customers choose to write into them.