New Retail Revolution: Digital Business, Neuromarketing and Consumer Experience

The way people shop is changing rapidly as digital commerce and social media become increasingly embedded in everyday life. In Malaysia, the latest statistics released by the Statistics Department of Malaysia (DOSM) in June 2026 show that 80.3% of businesses used social media, while 74.4% maintained an online presence and 44.1% used e-marketplaces. E-commerce transaction income also reached RM1,288.1bil, representing an 8.8% increase from the previous year, while business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce income grew by 11.3% to RM374.7bil. These figures highlight the growing importance of digital platforms in shaping how businesses connect with consumers and how consumers discover and purchase products. 

This transformation has created what is increasingly known as ‘new retail’. Unlike traditional e-commerce, which primarily focuses on selling products through online channels, new retail integrates physical stores, e-commerce, social commerce, mobile applications, artificial intelligence, data analytics, digital payments and other digital technologies. The result is a more seamless customer journey in which consumers can discover, evaluate and purchase products across multiple platforms. This movement towards interconnected retail is closely related to the broader development of omnichannel and cross-channel retailing, where businesses seek to integrate consumer experiences across online and offline touchpoints.

However, the new-retail revolution is not only about technology and platforms. Behind this transformation lies another important development: businesses are becoming increasingly interested in understanding how the human brain responds to marketing stimuli. As consumers move between physical stores, e-commerce platforms, social media and livestreaming channels, businesses are seeking to understand what captures attention, creates emotional engagement and ultimately influences purchasing decisions.

Neuromarketing combines insights from neuroscience, psychology and marketing to understand how consumers respond to products, advertisements, brands and shopping experiences. Rather than relying only on what consumers say in surveys or interviews, neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience use neuroscientific and physiological approaches to investigate cognitive, emotional and behavioural responses during consumer decision-making. Recent research highlights the growing application of neuromarketing across different stages of the consumer buying journey, while also recognising the methodological and practical challenges involved in applying neuroscience to marketing research.

The rise of digital business has made this understanding even more valuable. In a highly competitive online environment, businesses have only a few seconds to capture a consumer's attention. A visually attractive advertisement, a personalised product recommendation or a limited-time promotion may influence whether a consumer continues scrolling or decides to explore a product further. Recent research on neuromarketing and the marketing mix further suggests that insights from consumer neuroscience can contribute to understanding how marketing activities influence consumer responses and can inform the development of more effective marketing strategies.

The human brain plays a central role in consumer decision-making, although purchasing behaviour involves complex interactions among multiple neural systems rather than the activity of a single brain region. The prefrontal cortex, for example, is associated with higher-order cognitive processes involved in evaluating alternatives, decision-making and goal-directed behaviour. Emotional processing also contributes to consumer responses, while memory-related processes influence how consumers recognise and recall brands and previous experiences. These interactions help explain why consumer decisions can involve both rational evaluation and emotional responses.

However, the future of retail is not only about understanding the consumer brain. It is also about creating an ecosystem in which technology, data and commerce work together. In this area, China has emerged as one of the world's most advanced and influential new-retail markets. China's new-retail ecosystem demonstrates how online and offline commerce can increasingly operate as part of one connected environment. Consumers can discover products through short-video platforms, interact with influencers, watch livestreams, receive personalised recommendations, pay through digital wallets and have products delivered through highly developed logistics networks. China's official statistics also show the scale of this transformation: in 2025, online retail sales of physical goods reached 13.09 trillion yuan, accounting for 26.1% of total retail sales of consumer goods, while the country's online retail sales increased by 8.6% overall. The Chinese government has also identified e-commerce and livestream selling as important drivers of new forms of consumption.

Malaysia and China have already developed foundations for greater cooperation in digital trade and cross-border e-commerce. The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), for example, reported in February 2026 that its eBizLink cross-border e-commerce programme generated RM274mil in export sales between 2023 and 2025. The initiative benefited 1,855 Malaysian companies through 37 digital export promotion activities across international markets, including China. The programme demonstrates how digital platforms and cross-border e-commerce can support Malaysian businesses in accessing international markets.

The opportunity is particularly relevant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Instead of relying solely on traditional distribution channels, smaller businesses can increasingly use digital platforms to introduce their products to international markets. The challenge, however, is not simply to be present online. Businesses must understand how consumers discover information, respond emotionally to content and make purchasing decisions. At the same time, the use of neuromarketing must remain ethical, responsible and centred on creating genuine value for consumers. The future of retail, therefore, lies not simply in using technology to sell more products, but in using technology and consumer insights to understand people better and create experiences that are more relevant, meaningful and trustworthy.

Dr Nurul Aqilah Mhd Yusak is an Assistant Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

The SEARCH Scholar Series is a social responsibility programme jointly organised by the Southeast Asia Research Centre for Humanities (SEARCH) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT).