J. Walker Smith is the Knowledge Lead for the global consulting and strategy practices of Kantar. Walker has been described by Fortune as “one of America’s leading analysts on consumer trends.” He is co-author of four highly regarded books, a conference keynote speaker, a blogger, a columnist and a former public radio commentator. He is a 2021 inductee into the Market Research Council Hall of Fame and the 2020 recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Charles Coolidge Parlin Award for outstanding contributions to the field of market research. He is a 2012 inductee into the North Carolina Journalism and Media Hall of Fame. In 2014 and 2015, he won the WPP Atticus Award for Strategy and in 2013 for Consumer Insights. Walker holds a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- AI In Marketing: ATM Or iPhone? in
Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026
Imagine consumers delegate shopping to agents. Businesses will no longer sell to humans. They'll be selling to smart technologies. No need to communicate with people. No need for marketing.
- A Lot Of A Little Is Still Not Enough in
Planning & Buying Insider on
03/18/2026
Insurgent brands accounted for 36% of aggregate growth across all categories, which seems pretty impressive, given that they only comprise an aggregate share of less than 2%.
- AI Is A Brand Hack in
Planning & Buying Insider on
03/04/2026
Information asymmetry has been the cornerstone of brand value, enabling marketers to both sell more and sell for more. AI changes that.
- Don't Be Dumb in
Planning & Buying Insider on
02/19/2026
AI is dumbing down marketing like never before. Not dumb in a pejorative sense. Rather, in a practical sense, as in skewed evidence. Marketers may not care about it, but marketers certainly know about
it. It's central to the way AI works and it's no secret.
- The Economy All-In-One: New Home Starts in
Planning & Buying Insider on
02/04/2026
I am occasionally asked what metric I think is best for keeping track of consumers. There's no hesitation with my answer. It's new home starts. Let me explain why.
- What's So Big About AI? in
Planning & Buying Insider on
01/21/2026
Open AI researchers found product purchasing was 2.1% of all ChatGPT conversations. Which raises a critical question: Is this big or not? The answer is, it depends.
- In AI We Trust, Or Not in
Planning & Buying Insider on
01/06/2026
The data says few people trust AI. At least not in the U.S. But should we trust the data? The answer: It's a little mushy.
- Marketing Is The Conscience Of Business in
Planning & Buying Insider on
12/10/2025
Business leaders are one of least trusted groups, but they would stub their toes even more if not for marketing, because marketing is the consumer-first, conscience of business.
- Marketing Turns Ideas Into Business in
Planning & Buying Insider on
11/26/2025
AI will make it harder to do something unique. The old secrets are secrets no longer, and new advances will mainstream more quickly.
- Change Is Overrated in
Planning & Buying Insider on
10/22/2025
Change is the watchword of marketing, but it is overrated, because the fundamentals of marketing are unchanging and nothing about digital or AI changes that.