Businesses may soon find their competitive edge not on screens, but through experiences that consumers can touch, smell and feel, as digital fatigue and the growing sameness of online platforms push brands toward more immersive ways of connecting with customers.

Trend forecasting firm WGSN said companies from 2030 to 2035 will increasingly shift from competing for attention to creating deeper, multi-sensory experiences that build stronger emotional connections and customer loyalty.

“As digital life intensifies, overloading sight and sound, brands will need to design beyond screens, feeds and the flattening impact of AI (artificial intelligence). The next growth frontier is sensory depth,” it said.

The report said value will increasingly depend on how products, spaces and services make consumers feel rather than simply what they see, click or buy.

“Value will no longer come from what people see, hear, click or buy alone; it will come from how products, spaces, services and stories make people feel,” it added.

WGSN said businesses can respond by transforming physical assets, from product packaging to retail spaces, into interactive experiences designed to trigger memory, emotion and meaning.

The report identified three areas that will shape this shift: polysensorial storytelling, color, material and feeling (CMF), and the Digital Sensorium.

It urged marketers and designers to move beyond visual aesthetics by incorporating texture, scent, sound, weight and movement into product and brand design, while using technology to make digital experiences feel more tangible and emotionally engaging.

“Design sensorial and emotional responses, using color, material, texture, scent, sound, weight and movement to expand CMF beyond surface aesthetics,” the report added.