The New Retail Battlefront: Execution and Engagement

According to Forrester’s latest research, the AI hype is over. How can it be? And if it is, how can companies prosper on this new frontier and position themselves for growth in the months ahead? What else is keeping B2B and B2C revenue leaders up at night?

In our latest series, our sales acceleration experts weigh in on this and other pressing sales-shaping trends with deep, diverse insights.

Q: How can consumer electronics and home appliance brands thrive in a market marked by slow volume growth, consumer caution, a volatile economy, price sensitivity, and intense competition?

In a slow-growth consumer electronics and home appliance market, brands that rely on product innovation or advertising spend alone will struggle—because when volume is flat, the real battle is won or lost at the point of customer engagement. Price-sensitive consumers aren’t simply looking for the cheapest option; they’re looking for confidence in their decision, which means the quality of the human interaction in the purchase journey has never mattered more. Brands that invest in smarter retail execution—price territory coverage, deeply trained in-store advocates, and data-driven performance management—will systematically take share from those that don’t. The winners in this environment will be those who treat sales execution not as a cost to be minimized, but as a strategic capability to be continuously optimized.

Q: What three things can mobility brands do this year to drive top-line sales?

1. Own the Switching Moment

Consumer sentiment data indicates that more than 9 in 10 consumers would consider switching carriers, and nearly 40% are willing to leave a major carrier for better options. That level of market fluidity is not a threat—it’s an opportunity. But it is only captured by brands whose people show up at the right time, in the right place, with the right conversation. In a saturated market where new subscribers are largely coming from competitors, the quality of human engagement at the point of consideration is often the deciding factor between gaining a subscriber and losing one.

2. Expand Revenue Per Relationship, Not Just Subscriber Count

Globally, average revenue per mobile user is expected to tick down marginally, underscoring persistent pricing pressure and the fragility of mobile monetization in mature markets. The brands that grow top-line revenue in this environment won’t do it by adding lines alone—they’ll do it by deepening the value of every customer relationship through bundled services, connected home products, and ecosystem upsells. The conversation at the point of sale has to evolve beyond the device and the rate plan.

3. Treat Retention as Aggressively as Acquisition

Churn often runs in the 1–2% range per month in telecom markets, meaning millions of customers may change providers annually. Even though retaining a subscriber is far less costly than replacing one, most mobility brands dramatically under-invest in the proactive retention conversation relative to new customer acquisition. Brands that systematically identify at-risk customers and engage them with relevant, personalized messages with reasons to stay will protect top-line revenue in ways that no promotional campaign can fully compensate for.

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