Message from the President: September 2025

I hope you all enjoyed a refreshing summer break and are back at your desks full of energy. I also took some time off and traveled the US West Coast with my family. Beyond the many wonderful memories, the trip also offered plenty of marketing inspiration along the way.

First stop: tipping. Even many Americans shake their heads at today’s tipping culture. At coffee shops and diners, the card reader cheerfully suggests three options—say 18%, 22%, or 25%. Suddenly, you’re less focused on your latte and more on behavioral economics. Most of us pick the “safe” middle ground (hello, compromise effect!), while grumbling that the baseline seems to creep ever higher. Bewilderment aside, it’s a daily experiment in choice architecture.

Next came a drugstore visit. Here, every second item seemed locked away. Want a toothbrush or shampoo? First you need to call an employee to unlock it. A quick shopping trip can easily turn into a one-hour odyssey, making impulse purchases almost impossible. Is this the final nail in the coffin of the brick-and-mortar experience, nudging even more sales online?

At a major supermarket chain, I noticed another development: some stores now skip fresh produce almost altogether—maybe a few apples and bananas, but no lettuce, tomatoes, or oranges. It makes you wonder: do customers really expect this? Does a slimmer assortment simplify shopping or simply drive them elsewhere? From a research perspective, it’s a natural experiment in assortment strategy playing out in real time.

And finally, the billboards in San Francisco: “Don’t hire humans!” Is the age of AI agents already upon us? Leaving aside the macroeconomic implications, how will this reshape consumer behavior in the long run? By the way, keep an eye on the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science for more on this.

These are just a few impressions from my summer. I’m sure you, too, have your own marketing insights from your travels. Let’s share them at the upcoming Annual Conference in Savannah and the World Marketing Congress in Vilnius—I look forward to seeing you there!

Marko Sarstedt
President of the Academy of Marketing Science