Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): Digital Consumer Relationality

Digital Consumer Relationality brings together a collection of conceptual contributions that explore how digital technologies, platforms, and social interactions are reshaping contemporary consumer behavior. Moving beyond linear models of decision-making, the articles reveal the complex relational mechanisms through which consumers build trust, construct meanings, engage with communities, and develop enduring connections with brands in digitally mediated environments.

Across diverse theoretical perspectives, the issue highlights the growing interconnectedness of trust formation, emotional persistence, symbolic consumption, community participation, and relational visibility. Together, these contributions portray consumers not as passive recipients of marketing communications but as active participants who continuously co-create value, negotiate identities, and influence marketplace dynamics through ongoing interactions within digital ecosystems.

By advancing the concept of digital consumer relationality, this issue offers an integrated perspective on how relationships emerge, evolve, and endure in platform-driven societies. The collection provides new theoretical insights and future research directions for scholars seeking to understand the changing nature of consumer–brand relationships in an increasingly connected, algorithmically mediated, and socially interactive world.