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While online shopping remains undeniably convenient, many are beginning to wonder: Is it still fun? According to a new study from Criteo, 75% of consumers now see online shopping as purely functional. For a growing number of shoppersparticularly younger ones fueling the revival of Americas shopping malls and returning to physical storesthe excitement of browsing online has started to fade. Nearly 80% of online shoppers described the experience as lonely. Theres no one in the fitting room to hype you up, no sales associate offering styles you wouldnt normally pick for yourself. Just endless scrolling, decision fatigue, and return labels. Often, it starts with tapping on an Instagram ad and ends with an Apple Pay purchase destined to sit in your closet with the tags still on, quietly outlasting the return window. As a result, 29% of shoppers now view online shopping as a chore. More than a third say they miss the joy of discovering something unexpected in a store. Another 78% report feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of options online. If youve ever browsed Temu, Shein, or TikTok Shopwith their flashy, chaotic interfaces and algorithm-fed feeds of crazy low pricesyoull likely relate. Only about half of consumers find online shopping to be relaxing or enjoyable. Today, we no longer go shoppingwe are always shoppingbut that hasnt made the experience more exciting. Instead, online retail has become a functional necessity, optimized for speed but stripped of surprise and spontaneity, says Marc Fischli, Criteo’s executive managing director. Our research shows that consumers crave the thrill of the unexpected, yet too often, discovery is being left to chance. Brands that dont reinject joy into the shopping journey risk fading into the background of a transactional, forgettable experience. AI could help personalize the online experience and recreate that feeling of stumbling upon something special. In fact, 43% of online shoppers said they wouldnt mind if retailers used their data to create more personalized experiences. Until then, the doomscrolling continues in search of that elusive dopamine hit.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Every week, I talk to software agency founders who are burned out on routine. Theyve mastered the frameworks. Theyve scaled their teams. But what theyre really searching foroften quietly, sometimes urgentlyis purpose. And then something happens. I show them a project where their skills can help thousands of people access healthcare, education, or safety. Their posture changes. The questions sharpen. Wait, we can actually do that? Yes. By doing what they already do bestideate, build, solvebut on a problem that improves lives and even saves them. That moment is electric. The term that doesnt match the work? And yet, after more than a thousand tech-for-good matchesincluding over 100 AI-driven collaborationsI keep returning to one thing that still doesnt feel solved: a term. Pro bono. Its the term most often used to describe this work. But in tech, it rarely sparks that same excitement. It sounds like a gesture. A side project. Something small. Thats not the kind of work were seeing. At Tech To The Rescue, we facilitate projects where software teams build AI tools that process multilingual crisis data in real time to support emergency response; create AI chatbots to combat malnutrition in rural Ecuador; develop early-warning systems in conflict zones; or deploy tools that accelerate child abuse prevention or disease early detection. These arent feel-good sprints. Theyre high accountability, impact-critical buildssolving problems that are urgent, complex, and impossible to address with off-the-shelf solutions. From courtrooms to code: The pro bono paradox In the legal world, pro bono is institutionalized and respected. In tech, its fuzzy. Theres no standard or incentive. Too often, its misunderstood as junior level or one-off. Were not ready to throw the words out. But we are challenging it. In our world, “pro” already stands for professional. These are scoped, outcome-driven, expert-level projects. When we say pro bono, we mean fully committed tech partnershipsnot side gigs. Its time to reclaim the words. We call this “extreme matching.” We dont pair teams with nice ideaswe match them with necessary ones. This isn’t volunteering. It’s strategic problem solving. The collaboration gap: When technology isn’t the problem At our recent AI for Health Matching Day, we brought together experts across sectors. Professor Angela Aristidou at Stanfords Institute for Human-Centered AI and UCL School of Management said it plainly: The gap is not techits collaboration. It echoed something I hear often. Tech leaders often say, Wed helpif someone asked, and if we actually knew how. Nonprofits say: “We didnt think a company like that would take our call”or admit they dont know how to start. At the same event, Radhika Batra, MD, founder of Every Infant Matters, showed how AI diagnostics and mental health tools are saving livesbut only through deep partnerships. Her organization has helped over 700,000 children avoid blindness. Norberto de Andrade, founder of Polipro.AI and Metas former AI policy director, emphasized cross-sector collaboration, experimentation, and prototyping legislation as essential tools in designing a more humane and sensible system for us all. These arent just technology problems. Theyre narrative and systems problems. And the way we talk about this work shapes how seriously its taken. Beyond charity: The terminology trap limiting tech’s social impact In tech, language becomes culture: Agile. Open Source. DevOps. What we call something affects who shows up, how its funded, and what gets prioritized. Just like vibe codinga buzzy term for playful AI experimentationis trending on social media, maybe impact coding or purpose coding can describe something more vital: human-centered, real-world problem solving. Maybe it’s something we havent named yetbut urgently need to. What matters is that we start naming and understanding the work in ways that reflect its scale and transformative potential. From Google.orgs fellowship program to Salesforces 1-1-1 model , tech giants are implementing structured corporate giving frameworks. Meanwhile, smaller agencies and startups struggle to find similar models that fit their scale. Yet our internal data reveals something surprising: SMEs often commit proportionally more time, resources, and consistency to pro bono collaborations than larger companies do. Its a counterintuitive finding that challenges conventional wisdom about who drives the most meaningful impact. We now need the language, recognition, and infrastructure to match. Talent wants alignment At the same time, this momentum is being fueled by a new wave of talent demanding greater alignment between their work and their values. According to Randstads 2025 Workmonitor report, which surveyed over 26,000 workers across 35 markets globally, 29% have already quit a job because they didnt agree with their leaders viewpoints or stances. Nearly half (48%) said they would not take a job if the company didnt share their environmental or social values. And 43% have considered quitting because of their companys stance on political issues. Pro bono, high-skilled, social impact work is already happening. Its not small. Its not random. Its not charity. These are long-term, mission-critical partnerships that demand rigor and deliver real results. Whether we keep the term pro bono or evolve it into something new, one thing is clear: The story needs to changebecause the impact already has. And the companies that help rewrite it will define what tech-for-good truly means in the decade ahead. Jacek Siadkowski is the CEO and cofounder of Tech To The Rescue.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. There’s a Japanese proverb that perfectly captures what resilience means to me: “Fall seven times, get up eight.” Not just bouncing back after setbacks, but actually finding ways to advance despite them. Resilience has been on my mind a lot lately. Between the inevitable aging parent health concerns, making sure the kids are all right, and navigating the constantly shifting business landscape (seriously, there is a reason they call us the sandwich generation!) I’ve been thinking about how we build that musclenot just to survive challenges but to grow stronger through them. I wanted to share some thoughts on building resilience across the many dimensions of our livesbecause let’s face it, the only constant is change, and we all need strategies to keep moving forward. Personal resilience: Know your North Star I think resilience starts with being clear about your core values; they are your map when everything is swirling and you feel lost. I saw this with my brother recently. He’s an integrative doctor with a growing practice, helping patients with chronic conditions like Lyme disease. His practice had gotten so busy that he started burning out. He realized that if he didn’t prioritize his own self-care, he wouldn’t be able to help anyone else. (Theres a reason flight attendants remind you to put on your own oxygen mask first!) That’s the foundation of resilience right thereunderstanding what matters most to you and making choices that align with those values, especially when things get tough. Its not always easy. I’ve learned this in past toxic work environments. Looking back, even painful experiences taught me important lessons. Each one made me more clear about what I didn’t want and helped me become more discerning about what was right for me. When you’re clear on your values, you can weather almost any storm because you have an internal compass guiding you. Team resilience: Create psychological safety Team resilience builds on personal resilience, but it’s about creating an environment where everyone can thrive together. At FINN, our weekly status meetings sometimes turn into emotional check-ins, especially after difficult world events. There are times when we spend the entire hour talking about how we’re feeling, supporting each other through lifes challenges. Sure, the work is critical, but we see each other as human beings first. This psychological safety is vital. It allows us to be vulnerable, to fail without fear, and to learn together. Another aspect of team resilience is embracing diverse perspectives. Our team spans nearly every generation, from boomers to millennials to Gen Z, with team members across the country and around the world. This diversity creates an incredible symbiotic learning environment where we all teach each other. Organizational resilience: Clarity in your mission What makes organizations resilient? It comes down to clarity around mission, and an almost stubborn practice of valuesthat North Star principle again, but at the organizational level. Weve built a culture of communication where leadership is honest about challenges and potential risks, and are very committed to our principles. Weve remained steady; we’re a safe harbor in the storm because we have utter clarity about who we are and what we stand for. This reminds me of companies that jumped on the DEI bandwagon without genuine commitment. When pressure started to mount, they abandoned these initiatives because they had been responding rather than operating from core values. True organizational resilience requires authenticityknowing what you stand for and sticking to iteven when it’s hard. Another crucial element is having a brain trusteyes and ears beyond your core team. You need people connected to your culture and customers, who can tell you what’s really happening. Are there trends or threats on the horizon? What’s the client feedback saying? What are best practices we’re missing? You can’t be resilient if you’re not willing to subject yourself to unfiltered truth. You need to see blind spots before they become bigger problems. Brand resilience: Anticipate challenges Ive noticed that when we prepare for the worst, the worst seldom happens. Brand resilience is like that. How brands interrogate their purpose, weather storms and maintain trust through difficulties requires a huge amount of planning and soul-searching. Companies that do the hard work of anticipating challenges, examining vulnerabilities, and shoring up weaknesses are going to emerge from crises, perhaps even growing in the process. One interesting approach is to anticipate your organizations worst-case scenarios, real monster-under-the-bed situations, and working through those potential crises before disaster hits. This proactive stance means analyzing the data and asking tough questions. How transparent should you be about vulnerabilities while still projecting strength? What resilience stories will resonate most with your stakeholders? I experienced this firsthand at a previous agency. As marketing lead, I had to stand in front of the company weekly, reporting on new business pitches we consistently lost because, despite our best marketing efforts, the executive leadership wasn’t truly committed to investing in the necessary resources to level up. I tried to put the best face on things, sharing messages of hope while knowing behind the scenes that fundamental changes weren’t happening. It taught me that transparency has its limits in leadership. You need to be transparent enough that people feel secure, but sometimes you need to carry certain burdens yourself. Finding that balance is part of resilience. The resilience mindset Resilience isn’t about never fallingwe all fall. It’s about finding the lesson in each setback and using it to move forward with greater wisdom and strength. So when you face your next challengewhether personal, professional, or somewhere in betweenremember: Each time you get up again, you’re not just returning to where you were before, you’re moving toward somewhere new. Celia Jones is global chief marketing officer at FINN Partners.
Category:
E-Commerce
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