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Customers don’t make sense. Until they do.
Your customer doesn’t care what sector you’re in.
They’re making choices across travel, retail, food, entertainment and everything in between — often in ways that seem contradictory.
This week, we follow the customer rather than the category to uncover what’s really competing for their wallet — and where growth could come from next.
FEATURE ARTICLE
Contradictory customers: How personal-level economics help explain ‘irrational’ spending
Consumers can be optimistic about their own lives while deeply pessimistic about the economy. They’ll cut back in one place while protecting spend somewhere else. Contradictory? Not really.
Jonathan Wright, Managing Editor at RetailX, explores the personal economics behind seemingly irrational spending — and why understanding the pressures shaping individual customers can tell us far more than the economic headlines.
→ Read "Contradictory Customers"
THE CUSTOMER MOMENT
The match might last 90 minutes. The commercial moment lasts much longer.
A big sporting event doesn’t create a sports economy. It reshuffles spending across food, drink, travel, hospitality, retail, entertainment and technology.
Because customers aren’t thinking in sectors. They’re thinking: Where are we watching? Who’s coming? What do we need? And how are we getting home?
The brands that understand the whole occasion stand to win far more than attention.
→ Read "The BIG Sporting Moment"
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Breaking the silos: Your biggest competitor might not sell anything you sell.
Customers don’t divide their disposable income into neat industry categories. A better holiday, a great meal or a new subscription can all take spend away from somewhere else.
So if you’re only watching competitors in your own sector, you’re only seeing part of the battle for share of wallet.
Growth means looking over the fence.
CustomerX
Where growth leaders pinch what's already working
Why solve a problem from scratch when another industry has already cracked it?
CustomerX brings together leaders from retail, FMCG, travel, hospitality, finance, media and technology to share what’s working — and what you can steal, adapt and apply to your own customer strategy.
Two days. Different sectors. Shared challenges. Better answers.
14–15 October 2026 | Olympia London